Moderately Successful Coach Leaves Riders – Leaves No Cup Behind
Ironically it was just after I received an email asking about a number of Rider game worn jerseys I was putting up for sale that I got word about Chris Jones leaving the Riders for the Cleveland Browns.
I was looking to let go of some jerseys and Chris Jones decided to let go of his position as Vice-President of Football Operations, General Manager, Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator in favor of becoming a defensive specialist with the Browns. Coming a week after signing an extension, the extension did have a clause allowing Jones to jump for opportunities in either the NFL or NCAA.
As it turns out, Jones, a master networker, had landed the Browns job thanks to his acquaintance of newly hired Cleveland coach Freddie Kitchens Jr. through both of them being at the University of Alabama – Jones as a graduate coach and Kitchens as the Alabama quarterback.
When you look at how Jones abandoned the Edmonton Eskimos after winning the Grey Cup in 2015 and brought almost his entire staff to the Riders, Jones cutting loose of the Riders should not have come as a surprise. In the mercenary world of coaching, where you could lose your job at a moment’s notice, any chance to move up to the more lucrative world of NFL or NCAA coaching should be embraced – especially in the face of the CFL’s latest effort to shoot itself in the foot – the coaching numbers and football operations cap.