On Friday afternoon,
Concordia Stingers athletic director Patrick Boivin officially opened up the
vacant head coaching football position for all applicants.
For Boivin, this is his
first big move since coming into power, given his strong business acumen, he
has created a search committee to help him throughout this process. Instantly
upon hearing this, I anointed this group as the "knights of the roundtable".
No question there are
strong voices with Andre Bolduc, Sylvain Girard, and Liam Mahoney. This trio
has a good pulse on the current situation considering they're prominent former
players of the program.
However, this is where
it becomes befuddling. To the surprise of many within the CIS community, the
inclusion of former Stingers and current Queens Golden Gaels head coach, Pat Sheahan, and RSEQ member Tom Allen has raised a few eyebrows.
It could be argued that
the Stingers last great run of dominance was under Sheahan in the late 90s. But
how could any athletic program include a current CIS head coach of a school
they recruit against on a yearly basis? Could anyone imagine if the Laval Rouge et Or asked Montreal Carabins head coach Danny Maciocia to be a part of their
search committee if Glen Constantin decided to move on?
How does Sheahan now
approach a top tier recruit who may be looking at Concordia? I would love to be
a fly on the wall during his recruiting pitch while he doubles himself as a member
of this search committee.
As for Allen, he has
worked tirelessly to help elevate the RSEQ profile. However, there are those
within the football community who have mixed reviews on his tenure. He has a
past connection to the Bishop's Gaiters. If you're Concordia, would it not have
made sense to bring on an important donor of the program to aide this search
rather than Allen?
When the Stingers
season mathematically ended in early October, when did Boivin realize that a
change needed to happen towards the end of the agonizing Gerry McGrath era? Concordia
is already behind the eight ball in the search for their next head coach as
December is here.
The likely target date
for a new head coach being named won't be until in the early part of the 2014
calendar year. This year's recruiting class will be handcuffed with no actual
leader in-place to convince them to come to Concordia.
Furthermore, with
spring camp not too far away, the new coach in charge will need to assemble a
staff, and implement his systems, which would take a while to master
considering these are not his very own recruits.
This program requires
substantial upgrades in their image, facilities, and overall talent. Whomever
assumes this task will need at least two years before they could become
competitive. That is based on recruiting well in their backyard, which
Concordia has failed to do so in the last few years.
The question that
remains; does the athletic program have the deep money pockets needed to reel
in a big name coach? Here are three candidates (in no particular order) that could be on the list.
Jacques
Chapdelaine: The former B.C. Lions offensive
coordinator parted ways with the CFL club. He has already become a
hot name candidate in both leagues. In the CIS circles, according to multiple
reports, Simon Fraser University (NAIA),
the alumni would like bring back the former Clan star and are willing to shell
out the dollars. But SFU administration could be looking elsewhere (Jeff Reinebold). Could the Stingers be
interested? It would require a lot of finances to sway him to come back east.
He did win the Rouge et Or's first ever Vanier Cup and it would add another
intriguing storyline with his return to the RSEQ. The offense would be
revolutionized into a modern day scheme. It will take a lot of convincing, but
it is worth a phone call to gauge his interest.
Bryan
Chiu: The current assistant has been a part of the
current staff since 2010. He has grown into his position where he is well
respected by the alumni, players, and fans. By popular vote, a lot of the
players and fans hope Chiu gets an opportunity to lead this program. Some fans
have imagined the staff he could put together in trying to revive this sagging
program. Even without knowing what the future holds for many inside the football
walls, Chiu continues to work in trying to better the team's situation. One has
to wonder if himself and others on the staff are working for nothing if they
will not be retained. If he is Concordia's top choice, it is better they notify
him now than in January so he can start assembling his staff.
Brad
Collinson: The former Stingers and current Rouge et Or
assistant is one the few remaining links to the Stingers being relevant, but
that was over a decade ago. Collinson has earned his stripes in helping Team
Quebec win multiple gold medals at the nationals. He is a fantastic recruiter
that has redirected the Vanier College pipeline from Concordia to Laval. With
his time spent learning from Constantin, he will most certainly apply a new
tough minded attitude to a sullen environment. Collinson knows what it takes to
win (see his three Vanier Cup rings), he is charismatic, and media friendly. But could he be the white knight to save this descending program? They
certainly need an infusion of optimism and he can bring it to the table.
Just 15 years ago,
Concordia’s head coaching position was a desired job. Today, the program resembles
little of its past glory years, and will surely take major renovations to help
clean up the decaying mess. Certainly, if the Stingers are able to raise the
capital within their alumni hierarchy, create an excitement among the remaining
fan base, win back the recruiting territory, this program could be relevant in
the near future.
Follow me on Twitter @MoeKhan19
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