Even after the weekend, I still can’t believe this 1-3 team is now hosting the CFL West Division final.
What a rally from a team that came together after its first bye week and rattled off 12 wins in 14 games to eclipse the Eskimos, Bombers and Stampeders, who got off to much hotter starts in 2019.
And if you’re a believer that a team reflects the personality of their coach, you shouldn’t be surprised the Riders turned their season around with little change to the roster.
Head Coach Craig Dickenson, who is a front runner for the Coach of the Year award, has been well regarded as a great educator, extremely prepared and an even better person who commands respect — a coach players hate letting down.
Dickenson does have rookie coaching blunders with challenges or game management, but even those things don’t get to his team and he always is the first to accept the blame.
But he’s also a coach who won’t take much of the credit, when he deserves plenty of credit for the first 13-win season since 1970 in Saskatchewan.