Riders fire GM Shivers

Roy Shivers, the first black general manager in pro football history, was fired Monday by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Shivers, 65, spent seven seasons as GM of the Roughriders, the third-longest tenure behind Ken Preston (21 years) and Al Ford (11 years).

"Seven years is a long time in pro sport," Riders president Jim Hopson said. "In any pro sport.

"And we seem to have hit the wall, as you say, the last couple of years, with our record and our playoff performance. I think there was concern that we were going to be stuck in that mode."

Hopson said the board of directors voted unanimously to dismiss Shivers prior to Saturday's 46-15 trouncing of the hapless Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Mosaic Stadium.

"We were faced with the decision to start planning for the future," said Hopson, who hopes to announce a replacement later in the week.

CBC Sports football analyst Eric Tillman, a former CFL executive, is a candidate to succeed Shivers in Regina.

Tillman said Tuesday he had spoken with Saskatchewan officials and was going to fly to Regina to meet with the club.

"I'm going to fly out there at some point to visit further and we'll see what the next few days bring," Tillman said.

The Riders (4-5) entered this season as legitimate Grey Cup contenders, but lead the cellar-dwelling Edmonton Eskimos by only two points in the CFL West Division.

Even so, Danny Barrett, whose contract expires at season's end, will remain head coach — for now.

"Our expectation is that this team is going to win and Danny will lead it into the future," Hopson said.

Turned Riders around

Saskatchewan is 52-64-1 since Shivers's historic hiring on Dec. 24, 1999.

Shivers promptly brought in Barrett as head coach, and the two combined to turn around a team that went 3-15 the year before.

And though the Riders clinched playoff berths in each of the past four seasons, they failed to earn a home playoff date, much less win a Grey Cup.

"At this point in the season, our focus remains the same, hosting a home playoff game and competing for the Grey Cup," Hopson said. "But we also have to start making decisions in regards to next season."

Shivers is a 20-year CFL veteran, having also worked in various capacities for the British Columbia Lions, Calgary Stampeders and Birmingham Barracudas.

Prior to that, he played 73 games at running back for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1966-1972.