‘An exciting opportunity:’ Burris throws hat into Riders’ ring

Henry Burris is eager to hear his name chanted again in Saskatchewan, but not derisively this time.

The former Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback was the subject of “Hen-reeee!” taunts whenever he returned to Regina as a player with opposing teams during his CFL career, most notably as a member of the Calgary Stampeders.

Now, the 48-year-old Burris wants to be considered for the Roughriders’ vacant head-coaching job, and he’d love to be a fan favourite again at Mosaic Stadium.

“(The Riders and Stamps) were competing at an all-time high, so for me, those are memories that’ll never be forgotten. Now it’s all about rewriting the book and recreating those memories,” the two-time CFL most outstanding player told The Green Zone’s Jamie Nye on Friday.

“But it’ll be good to do it on the side of the team in the green if that opportunity is given.”

The Roughriders are seeking a new head coach after telling Craig Dickenson his contract wouldn’t be renewed.

Dickenson was Saskatchewan’s head coach for five seasons, compiling a 34-34-0 regular-season record. The Riders went 6-12-0 in each of the past two campaigns and missed the playoffs both times.

While the names of established coaches like Scott Milanovich, Pete Costanza, Jordan Maksymic and Buck Pierce have been bandied about, Burris has decided to throw his hat in the ring – even though his name likely wasn’t top of mind for the fans who used to taunt him.

“You’re going to have people who are for you and (those who are) always against you,” Burris said. “A lot of times, you’ve got to go out and prove people wrong when you make those big jumps.

“I know a lot of people say that I have no prior head-coaching experience. Well, I don’t think any first-time head coaches had prior head-coaching experience until they were actually given the opportunity.”

Burris nodded to Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, with whom Burris worked during that NFL team’s training camp this summer.

McVay was just 31 when he was named the Rams’ head coach in 2017 and proved the doubters wrong by guiding his team to a Super Bowl title at the end of the 2021 season.

Burris also has learned the coaching racket from former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy and Jacksonville Jaguars bench boss Doug Pederson when he worked on their staffs.

Burris pointed in particular to the work he did as an offensive quality control coach under Pederson.

“I’ve been put in all the given situations that a head coach and an offensive co-ordinator have to deal with on a daily basis,” he said. “For me, I know that game inside out.

“Really, at the end of the day, as a quarterback who played 20 years, what’s the difference between that young man and a head coach? (There’s) not much difference, but the fact is when I made calls, if they weren’t good, I got hit as far as a response.”

During a media conference this week, Roughriders general manager Jeremy O’Day — a teammate of Burris’ in 2000 and again in 2003-04 — said he was looking for a head coach who could assemble a good staff.

Burris told Nye he’s stayed in touch with former players who have had solid coaching careers, and he believes he can recruit them if he becomes the Roughriders’ head coach.

“You want to have the type of coaches that can create the (right) type of room — each room that you’re going to have positionally,” Burris said. “That comes with having those great relationships with great men who have had success playing this game and coaching this game and always want to see the people they’re working with have this success.

“At the end of the day, we’ve been there and we’ve done it.”

Now, all Burris has to do is convince O’Day to call him. The two men haven’t yet had a formal conversation about Burris’ interest in becoming Saskatchewan’s head coach.

“It’s an exciting opportunity, if there is an opportunity (for me),” Burris said. “I’ve yet to have a talk with anybody. There has been some messaging, but there have been no formal talks.

“It’s definitely a position … I’m more than interested in. To me, it’s the flagship organization of the Canadian Football League and the mindset should be just that, that it’s the cornerstone of the league and when the Riders are doing great, the CFL’s doing great.

“It’s time to get the team back to where it truthfully belongs, and that’s up top.”