Rider players Gene Makowsky (left to right), Jerrell Freeman, Marcus Adams and Chris Getzlaf
Photograph by: Bryan Schlosser, Leader-Post files
EDMONTON — Ken Miller is a former biology teacher, but he can also teach lessons in chemistry.
Miller has created an environment that has helped the Roughriders develop into a close-knit team — not to mention a Grey Cup participant for the second consecutive year.
The Roughriders' head coach is quick to defer to the players when asked about the cohension within the ranks.
"First of all, it's their relationship with each other,'' said Miller, whose CFL team is to play the Montreal Alouettes in Sunday's Grey Cup at Commonwealth Stadium.
"There's a thread of respect between players, whether it's in the receiving corps or on the defensive line, whether it's offence or defence, whether it's special teams. All of it kind of fits together in some kind of a crazy patchwork quilt. When you look at it on the underside, it looks unorganized or whatever it might be — but when you turn it over, it really is pretty attractive.''
The leadership of the veterans is a key factor.
"I have seen the promise in the nucleus of the veterans that we've had over a period of time,'' Miller said. "That's another intangible. Our veterans are so inclusive. When we get a new player, they bring them in and they kind of initiate them into the Rider way — the way that we operate in our locker room, and the way we conduct ourselves. That is kind of a self-perpetuating environment, I believe.''
Roughriders receiver Jason Clermont was asked about Miller's role in creating that environment.
"He keeps us grounded by teaching us about small life lessons in the big picture,'' Clermont said. "We just build those up over the season. We prepare for obstacles that haven't even presented themselves, and we have a plan to overcome them before we even know what they are.
"Guys are on an even keel. We have a great sense of reality. We know who we are. For the most part, we know who the teams in the league think we are. We just know how we're going to have to play.''Read more:
"Guys are on an even keel. We have a great sense of reality. We know who we are. For the most part, we know who the teams in the league think we are. We just know how we're going to have to play.''Read more:
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