Craig Dickenson ‘another voice’ for Stamps in first year with CFL club

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‘Do it for Dickie!’

‘Win one for the Craiger!’

If those or any other go-get-em mantras are being tossed around the Calgary Stampeders room this week, Craig Dickenson isn’t copping to it.

And if they were, the most recent deposed head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders says he’d likely just shrug them off anyway, preferring to ride with the notion that he’s moved on from his previous incarnation in the CFL.

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“I enjoyed my time in Saskatchewan and wouldn’t trade it for anything, but I’m with Calgary now and loyal to The Horse,” said Dickenson, who was sideline boss for the Riders from 2019 through last fall when he was given the heave-ho.

“I like the people in Regina — they’re good people over there,” continued Dickenson, the slightly older sibling of Stamps boss Dave. “A lot of the same faces from last year, at least management-wise, are still there. But there’s a lot of new coaches and, honestly, a lot of new players. They’ve turned over the roster. And they’ve done a good job.”

That is they were doing a good job until late July.

Since then, however, it’s been ugly for the Riders (5-7-1) — even more so than the winless-in-five Stamps (4-8-1) — with nary a victory since. In fact, they haven’t won in seven contests, with a draw and six losses marring their record.

That slump has allowed both the Stamps and the Edmonton Elks (5-8) to — somehow — remain in the hunt for the third and final playoff spot in the CFL West Division.

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“Like us, they have hit a point in the season where they’ve struggled, making it a big game for both teams,” said Dickenson, of Friday’s fight between the rivals at McMahon Stadium (7:30 p.m., TSN, QR Calgary). “So we’re working hard to make a run here in trying to make the post-season.”

Last year around this time, the circumstances were similar, with the Stamps eventually getting the better of the Riders down the stretch to help beat them to the final post-season berth.

Unfortunately for the older Dickenson, that shortfall helped end his five-year tenure — his first-ever CFL head-coaching experience — in Regina.

“We just didn’t win enough games, honestly,” Dickenson said. “We got the wrong guys hurt at the wrong time … and when you lose guys, it’s hard, and you see that with every time.

“I thought the culture there was outstanding — the guys came to work every day and worked hard and the players cared about each other. But at the end of the day, when you go 6-12, changes are going to be made — and that’s what happened.”

Bully for his brother and the Stamps …

Because Dickenson has fit in well doing a jack-of-all-trades kind-of job in Calgary in 2024.

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“I’m sure enjoying myself — I know that,” said Dickenson, a native of Great Falls, Mont. “It’s been fun every day coming to work and helping out any way I can.

“I certainly feel like a part of this team, and I’m enjoying my role.”

He does a little of this and a little of that — with advising his sibling, especially on defence and special teams, and scouting teams and personnel at the top of the list.

And surely those aspects of his job are coming in handy this week with the 53-year-old’s former team on the docket.

“I didn’t even think about this being his first time playing Saskatchewan (since being released),” said younger brother Dave, 51. “But I know when I played B.C. the first time (after being released by the Lions) — and it’s not like they treated you bad or anything like that — you do want to get that win.

“And it feels better.”

For the older Dickenson, it’s his third tour of duty with the Red and White.

His last go-round in Calgary was as running backs coach and special-teams coordinator from 2004-09.

That came after starting his CFL career with the Stamps back in 2002 — before moving onto the Montreal Alouettes for a year — as a receivers coach.

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“I was coaching (special teams) with the NFL’s San Diego Chargers, and I would always come up here to watch Dave play,” said Dickenson, who was a kicker for the NCAA’s Montana Grizzlies in the early 90s. “I got to know the CFL coaches here — Wally Buono and George Cortez and those guys — when I’d come up. And when we got let go by San Diego in 2001, Wally reached out to me and said he had a receivers coach’s job open and asked, ‘Would I be interested?’

“I did not know about the CFL until David signed,” continued Dickenson, who was Montana’s special-teams coordinator when his QB brother led the program to the Division I-AA national title. “David graduated, and in 1996, that was the year I finally got exposed to what the CFL was. I really enjoyed watching the CFL. And when I got a chance to come up here and coach, I just really gravitated to the game and really embraced it.

“I just think it’s a wonderful game.”

Aside from one more NFL stint — that with the Oakland Raiders as assistant special-teams coordinator in 2010 — the CFL’s been his wonderful place to be since 2002.

“And it’s a good role here,” said Dickenson, of his current duties. “There isn’t anything specific — it changes kind of day to day of what they need. But I’m just trying to add a little bit of football experience and another voice of somebody that’s coached for a long time.”

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Another Dickenson voice, that is.

“He’s done a nice job, and I enjoy having him around,” said Dave. “Craig’s been trying to be a resource for a lot of people. He’s contributed in his own ways, doing a lot of extra stuff for us.

“Craig can fit in with any group possible. Whatever you need him to do, he can do it. Sometimes it’s energy, and sometimes it’s diffusing a situation. He’s good at personnel — he’s a people person. Those are all good things.”

SHORT YARDAGE

DB Bentlee Sanders (hamstring), the Stamps’ starting safety, practised Tuesday for the Stampeders. So did OL Zack Williams (calf) and DL Josiah Coatney (knee) … OL Bryce Bell (calf) did not participate in the first session of the week. Nor did WR Ishmael Hyman (hamstring), WR Cole Tucker (hamstring) or DL Charles Wiley (achilles).

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

X: @ToddSaelhofPM

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