Kent Austin bears no grudge against Argonauts

Kent Austin has no axe to grind with the Toronto Argonauts.

Austin was unceremoniously dumped as Toronto's offensive co-ordinator last season, less than two years after helping the Argos capture a Grey Cup title.

Kent Austin is used to the scrutiny the Roughriders are always under.
(Troy Fleece/Canadian Press)

But Austin's back in the CFL championship game, this time as the rookie head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at the Rogers Centre on Sunday (CBC, 5:30 p.m. ET).

And the Argos?

All they can do is watch their former co-ordinator lead his team into the big game before a sellout crowd of 53,000 in the Grey Cup's first appearance in Toronto since 1992.

"I have nothing but respect for the Toronto Argonauts," Austin said Wednesday at the Grey Cup coaches media conference with Winnipeg counterpart Doug Berry.

"They gave me an unbelievable opportunity to come here as their offensive co-ordinator. I'm very grateful for that opportunity and I'm still very close with a lot of guys in that organization, not the least of which is Michael [Clemons].

"I don't view what happened at all as a negative because I can draw on those collective experiences, good and bad, to become a better person and coach and, hopefully, I've done that. Things sometimes just don't work out — welcome to the game of life.

"We're all big boys, we know what we signed up for. It doesn't mean there aren't better things in store for you in another situation."

Austin's situation in Regina didn't look all that good, initially.

Roughriders general manager Eric Tillman was forced to release, trade or simply not re-sign many veterans to shave $600,000 from the club's payroll and get it under the league-mandated $4.05-million salary cap.

Under Austin, 44, the Roughriders posted a 12-6 record to not only finish second in the West, but earn their first home playoff game since 1988.

Saskatchewan dispatched the Calgary Stampeders 26-24 in that contest, then earned a 26-19 upset victory over the B.C. Lions (league-best 14-3-1 record) at B.C. Place to advance to its first Grey Cup game since 1997.

"At the beginning of the year, I wasn't sure how well Saskatchewan would do," Berry, 59, said. "Watching this team progress throughout the year, it's been kind of enjoying in a way to be able to watch the way they started off so good.

"Then, they had a little bit of a setback. Then, to come on as strong as they did at the end."

Led Riders in 1989 Grey Cup

Saskatchewan is vying for just its third Grey Cup title, having won previously in 1966 and 1989.

Austin was the quarterback of the 1989 club that captured a thrilling 43-40 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at the Rogers Centre, then known as the SkyDome. 

But being the Riders head coach is unlike any other such job in the CFL.

Saskatchewan football fans are passionate and live and die with the fortunes of their team and aren't afraid to convey that to players or coaches.

When things are going well, there's arguably no better place to be. But when the team loses, there are some fans who go overboard in showing their outrage.

In 2004, after kicker Paul McCallum missed an 18-yard field goal in an overtime loss to B.C. in the West Division final, irate fans pelted McCallum's home with eggs, uttered death threats to his family and dumped manure on his neighbour's property.

Incurred Riders fans' wrath

Austin, too, had to incur the wrath of Riders fans who resented his leaving the club after the 1993 season to join the B.C. Lions.

But Austin felt Saskatchewan's decision to add him to its Plaza of Honour in 1999 did much to stem tide of negativity towards him.

"Look, time has a way of healing a lot of things," Austin said. "It was an opportunity for me to come back to place that I loved, that I had my best football experiences as a player, and to try and give back what I could and be involved in something that I knew would be very, very special if we were able to accomplish a championship.

"I understand there's probably still pockets out there, hopefully they're fewer and further between now. But I'm back and I'm a Saskatchewan Roughrider."

Austin said having played in Saskatchewan helped him when he returned to Regina to become the Roughriders head coach.

"I've said before the pendulum of emotion swings too far in both directions in Saskatchewan," Austin said. "That's the climate that's there and that's actually the climate we want to be in.

"Our players and coaches understand and I certainly understand, I'd much rather be in a place where the fans are invested, they're committed and they're involved because, at the end of the day, when you accomplish something of importance, it will end up meaning more in the end.

"Being the quarterback there, I got that first-hand experience and I was able to draw on those experiences as a coach. It's just a little crazier now than it was when I played."

One long drought will end

Saskatchewan and Winnipeg will be looking to end lengthy Grey Cup droughts on Sunday, with the Bombers' last CFL crown coming in 1990.

But neither head coach says his is under overwhelming pressure to win.

"I always feel like the next game is the next game," Berry said. "It's not like we can prepare any harder against Saskatchewan for this game than we did last week against Toronto or the week before against Montreal.

"This is the next game and, each week, all we try to do is try to get one more game on our schedule and this is it. This is the final one."

Added Austin: "You're not going to go into a game like this without feeling anxious. But that's a good thing because that's going to get you ready to play if you know how to harness it properly.

"We understand pressure. We're in a pressure cooker in Regina and our guys have dealt with situations — ups and downs — as well as any team I've been around."