DARIAN DURANT’S TENURE ENDS ON FRIDAY THE 13TH

Saskatchewan Roughriders’ General Manager and Head Executioner Chris Jones brought the hammer down on yet another Roughrider legend,  trading the rights to quarterback Darian Durant to the Montreal Allouettes.  Durant joins a parade of departed future Hall of Fame veteran talent with proven success and plenty of gas left in the tank like Weston Dressler and John Chick, with league sources reporting that Gainer the Gopher is being shopped around, although another trade to Montreal has been ruled out since no one wants or even understands what the hell that inflatable Touché thing in Montreal is supposed to be.  That nut with the drum in British Columbia is also not under consideration.

I watched the 10 minute excerpt of the press conference posted at www.riderville.com and I thought Coach Jones handled himself pretty well, facing a phalanx of pissy local media types lobbing passive aggressive questions that, admittedly, every Roughrider fan on the planet (including me) wanted to ask.  He made a lot of good points without being disrespectful to Mr. Durant, although I am assuming he was hinting that Mr. Durant’s agent was the real reason the negotiations took a bad turn.

Nevertheless, I am sharpening my pitchfork, readying the torches and preparing a truckload of fresh manure in the event that the Saskatchewan Roughriders have another season like 2016.  I will also quietly put it all away and act like this all sounded like a good idea from the beginning if the Roughriders start winning.

One thing you have to admire about Coach Jones– he possesses the largest set of cojones this side of Bill Baker (or maybe Bob Shaw), and this trade signals that Jones is placing the team’s success or failure squarely on his shoulders.  He’ll have no one to blame if this team fails, and if the team succeeds, it will be just as clear that he was the architect, so this trade may be a career decision for Jones.  Failure means he will likely be relegated back to CFL assistant coach status, NCAA Division II head coach, high school football in Texas, or wherever Cory Chamblin is right now.  Success, however, could catapult him into the NFL.  I’m sure he knows this.

I’m also wondering if Saskatchewan Roughriders’ President and Chief Executive Officer Craig Reynolds is feeling a little like Dr. Frankenstein right now.

Anyway, the quarterback position is now obviously a major question mark.  My prediction?  You read it here first:  a trade for Edmonton quarterback James Franklin.

Another prediction:  Darian Durant and Nik Lewis are going to score a lot of touchdowns together next season.

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