‘I’m sick of losing’: Ed Gainey looks to improve playoff fortunes

Ed Gainey is no stranger to the pain of a heartbreaking loss in the CFL playoffs – and he’s sick of it.

“Every year we do really well in the regular season – we finish first or second in the West – and then we pretty much play one game and then we’re done,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defensive back said. “I’m sick of losing to Calgary. I’m sick of losing to Winnipeg. I’m ready to take that next step and handle business and do what we’ve got to do.”

While Gainey has been with the Riders since 2016, his CFL career started with the Montreal Alouettes in 2012.

“Jim Popp was there all the way. I had a pro day back at home in (Winston-Salem, NC.) and there was a handful of NFL scouts there and Jim Popp was the only CFL scout out there,” Gainey said. “He offered me a contract and asked me if I wanted to play. I took it for what it was and I thanked the man upstairs for the opportunity and I ran with it.

“I didn’t know anything about the CFL and it was crazy. I’m a big football guy and NFL or nothing for me. So when the CFL came, it was an opportunity for me to keep playing. When I got up here and I saw the field goal posts at the front of the end zone I was like, ‘Wait a minute. I think I have seen these highlights on ESPN and stuff every now and then.”

But Gainey’s playoff heartbreaks were also just beginning. In 2013, the Alouettes lost the East semi-final 19-16 in overtime.

In 2014, Gainey, then a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, made it all the way to the 102nd Grey Cup.

Victory appeared to be on the way for Hamilton but an illegal block on a Brandon Banks 90-yard punt return nullified what could have been a game-winning touchdown. Hamilton needed to start the drive from their own 12-yard line. Time eventually expired and the Calgary Stampeders emerged with the 20-16 win.

“That still drives me. I know what it feels like to be in a Grey Cup and I know what it feels like to lose,” Gainey said.

And one of the most heartbreaking – at least for Gainey personally – came in the 2015 East final against the Ottawa Redblacks. With just 1:20 left, Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris connected with Greg Ellingson for a 93-yard game-winning touchdown. The defensive back covering Ellingson on that play – Gainey.

“I got bombed on the game before the Grey Cup. Greg Ellingson got me and balled on me,” Gainey said. “They always like to say no one player loses the game but when you’re the player that gives up the last touchdown of the game, you want with every bone in your body to get some kind of payback, some kind of credibility back.”

But he still talks about those games to this day, using them as a learning experience.

“I’m the type of person that learns from other people’s mistakes. I always try to share stories with the younger guys on the team so they can actually care enough and think about why I’m sharing it with them,” Gainey said. “Hopefully it will hit home with more guys than not.”

After the heartbreaking play, his career in Hamilton came to an end.

But Saskatchewan would come calling in 2016.

“Coach (Chris) Jones and coach (Jason) Shivers believed in me, they saw the potential in me and came and got me. They showed me how much they believed in me and that was just the reassurance I needed to get back to the player I knew I was,” Gainey said. “Coach Shivers said he was going to make me an all-star.”

Gainey’s life went through another type of major change in 2016 when his son Grayson was born on Oct. 21.

“I love my dad with every inch of my heart but he had his issues when I was growing up and he wasn’t really there. I still talk to my dad and I love my dad – I have nothing against my dad, everyone goes through different things in life. I just wanted to make sure that me and my son have a better relationship and that we would be best friends. I just want to be there for my son,” Gainey said. “When I’m up here playing football I want to let him know that I’m not up here just to have fun. I’m up here to handle business. I’m up here to play ball and be great while doing it so I can continue to provide for my family but also do what I love.

“If I set a good example with that then maybe he will believe in himself in whatever he wants to do in life. I just want him to know that if you have the confidence enough to believe in yourself and block out whoever tells you no, the sky is the limit.”

The confidence from the Riders paid off for the Riders as Gainey rewarded them with two CFL all-star seasons in 2017 and 2018. During that 2017 season, Gainey had 10 interceptions with four of them coming in an Aug. 13 game against the B.C. Lions.

“I worked hard to get where I needed to be. Fortunately, God had a different route for me. I didn’t get to the NFL, I came up here to the CFL and I had to scratch and claw my way to a spot on defence and through a lot of adversity, I finally got there,” Gainey said.

Gainey is one of the longest-serving Riders currently on the team, seeing it go from a 5-13 team in 2016 to hosting their straight playoff game on Sunday.

“It makes me feel proud. I came over here knowing this team needed to change its identity and rebuild and ever since I got here, we’ve been getting better and better so it makes me happy and makes me proud,” Gainey said. “We’ve just got to keep moving forward and continue to get better and get this Grey Cup.”

Unfortunately, in 2019 it was another heartbreaking loss for the Riders as quarterback Cody Fajardo’s final pass clanged off the north end zone crossbar, securing a 20-13 win for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

And then a chance at redemption has been a long time coming with the 2020 season getting cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was just back at home spending a lot of time with my family and I just wanted to see what I could get into as far as business endeavours and figure out what I wanted to do in life once football is over,” Gainey said. “It roughly introduced me to life after football.”

But 2021 eventually came and with it, a new season and a chance for Gainey to get back to do what he loves.

“It was a blessing. I honestly didn’t think we would have a season this year, it meant the world to me,” Gainey said.

Gainey has once again been a major contributor for the Riders’ defence. Gainey has recorded three interceptions – tied for the team lead – and is a veteran presence in a secondary that has been dealt numerous blows due to injury.

Through it all, the defence has kept its swagger.

“We play with confidence. We play with that much more energy knowing that the guy across from us is not better than us and we believe that with all of our heart,” Gainey said. “Not to sound cocky and not to make anyone feel lesser but at the end of the day, we are professional athletes and we’ve made it this far and that type of mindset got us here.

“When you get a lot of guys like that around each other and can actually play with each other and not bump heads and build relationships with each other off the field and have each other’s back, it says a lot about you as a teammate and as a player and as a person.”

“We’re not going to back down from any fight or any competition.”

While his focus remains on the task ahead in the West semifinal against Calgary, he admits it would mean a lot to get back to the Grey Cup.

“That’s what we do this for. I’ve been in the league for nine years and I only went once and I lost,” Gainey said. “For me, to become the great player I want to be, I have to have a ring under my resume to do that.”