Clermont likely to catch on quickly with new team
By Mike BeamishDecember 4, 2008
VANCOUVER — Where is the beauty in getting rid of The Beast?
Well, it’s in the eye of the beholder, namely Wally Buono, coach and general manager of the B.C. Lions.
Two days after notifying slotback Jason Clermont of his release in a single phone call, Buono met with the media Thursday to explain why his football team needed to jettison a high-impact player with a high profile in the Vancouver sports community — the same player whose popularity convinced the Lions’ marketing department to schedule Jason Clermont Bobblehead Night at BC Place just six weeks ago.
“I can’t be callous about this, but I can’t make that an issue,” Buono said. “The popularity of the player, I can’t, unfortunately, take into consideration. Because, if I do, I’m being swayed by pressures that cloud your judgment.”
A couple of years after Clermont jumped from the University of Regina Rams to the Lions and became the CFL’s rookie of the year in 2002, quarterback Casey Printers bestowed him with the nickname “The Beast” for his tendency to maul and stampede over defenders. In the locker-room, mind you, Clermont was an island of glacial calm, a laconic, steadying leader whose pulse rate never seemed to get above 50 beats per minute.
Why was Clermont let go?
Salary, injuries, a change in offensive philosophy, a need for speed — all of those reasons and more, Buono explained.
“Jason’s the kind of guy who’s going to play hard,” Buono said. “And that’s why you love him so much because he does play hard. And yet, from the club’s perspective, we saw that we could make that position a different athletic type and make the offence and the football club better. We are definitely going to talk to Paris (Jackson) about playing Jason’s position.”
Jackson, a year younger than the 30-year-old Clermont, had a breakthrough season with 76 catches and 1,180 yards, lining up as a wide receiver and a slotback, when Clermont was out with a knee injury. Buono believes that Jackson’s top-end speed makes him a more dangerous deep threat than Clermont and will help relieve some of the double- and triple-teaming that star receiver Geroy Simon faces regularly.
With the release of Clermont and running back Charles Roberts, the Lions will free up close to $400,000 to sign pending option-year players and free agents such as offensive linemen Rob Murphy and Jason Jimenez.
“We brought Charles in (through a trade with Winnipeg) because of the immediate need,” Buono said. “There was no promise beyond that. We have to go forward. Right now, Stefan Logan and Ian Smart are our running backs. We have to bring in competition to push them.”
Clermont knows he’s not the only member of the Lions’ core group headed to a different team in 2009 — he’s just the first.
“The makeover of this team really began with the release of Dave Dickenson,” Clermont said of the quarterback who was let go in December 2007. “I know that a couple more big leaders are going to be released. I can’t really divulge who they are out of respect to the players and the organization. But there’s going to have to be a huge attitude adjustment in the locker-room.”
Clermont said he was down for two days after being “unceremoniously dumped,” but his mood picked up Thursday when two teams contacted him about playing for them next season. The Saskatchewan Roughriders are an obvious fit, based on need and Clermont’s roots in Regina.
“Jason and I had a very pleasant and productive conversation this afternoon,’’ Roughriders general manager Eric Tillman said Thursday. “He has a strong affection for home, and we clearly have a significant respect for his ability, his work ethic and his character. The next step, of course, is the biggest: Is it economically viable to dance the dance?”
When he was GM in Ottawa, Tillman could never live down the fact he picked offensive lineman Alexandre Gauthier and running back Mike Vilimek ahead of Clermont with the first two selections in the 2002 Canadian college draft. Clermont dropped to the Lions, who had the fourth pick.
“My gut feeling is that Jason probably wants to stay in the West somewhere,” said Hamilton Tiger-Cats GM Bob O’Billovich. “I think the ability of the player will peak a lot of interest. The contract ($180,000 a season) might not.”
Clermont said he’ll give his real estate career second priority in the off-season while he trains vigorously to prove that Buono’s decision was presumptive and premature.
“I’ve done my research,” Clermont said. “Every one of the top receivers you can name — Milt Stegall, Allen Pitts, Ray Elgaard, Darren Flutie, Geroy Simon, Ben Cahoon — all had their best seasons at the age of 30 or 31.
“I hope to be another.”
Vancouver Sun
Well, it’s in the eye of the beholder, namely Wally Buono, coach and general manager of the B.C. Lions.
Two days after notifying slotback Jason Clermont of his release in a single phone call, Buono met with the media Thursday to explain why his football team needed to jettison a high-impact player with a high profile in the Vancouver sports community — the same player whose popularity convinced the Lions’ marketing department to schedule Jason Clermont Bobblehead Night at BC Place just six weeks ago.
“I can’t be callous about this, but I can’t make that an issue,” Buono said. “The popularity of the player, I can’t, unfortunately, take into consideration. Because, if I do, I’m being swayed by pressures that cloud your judgment.”
A couple of years after Clermont jumped from the University of Regina Rams to the Lions and became the CFL’s rookie of the year in 2002, quarterback Casey Printers bestowed him with the nickname “The Beast” for his tendency to maul and stampede over defenders. In the locker-room, mind you, Clermont was an island of glacial calm, a laconic, steadying leader whose pulse rate never seemed to get above 50 beats per minute.
Why was Clermont let go?
Salary, injuries, a change in offensive philosophy, a need for speed — all of those reasons and more, Buono explained.
“Jason’s the kind of guy who’s going to play hard,” Buono said. “And that’s why you love him so much because he does play hard. And yet, from the club’s perspective, we saw that we could make that position a different athletic type and make the offence and the football club better. We are definitely going to talk to Paris (Jackson) about playing Jason’s position.”
Jackson, a year younger than the 30-year-old Clermont, had a breakthrough season with 76 catches and 1,180 yards, lining up as a wide receiver and a slotback, when Clermont was out with a knee injury. Buono believes that Jackson’s top-end speed makes him a more dangerous deep threat than Clermont and will help relieve some of the double- and triple-teaming that star receiver Geroy Simon faces regularly.
With the release of Clermont and running back Charles Roberts, the Lions will free up close to $400,000 to sign pending option-year players and free agents such as offensive linemen Rob Murphy and Jason Jimenez.
“We brought Charles in (through a trade with Winnipeg) because of the immediate need,” Buono said. “There was no promise beyond that. We have to go forward. Right now, Stefan Logan and Ian Smart are our running backs. We have to bring in competition to push them.”
Clermont knows he’s not the only member of the Lions’ core group headed to a different team in 2009 — he’s just the first.
“The makeover of this team really began with the release of Dave Dickenson,” Clermont said of the quarterback who was let go in December 2007. “I know that a couple more big leaders are going to be released. I can’t really divulge who they are out of respect to the players and the organization. But there’s going to have to be a huge attitude adjustment in the locker-room.”
Clermont said he was down for two days after being “unceremoniously dumped,” but his mood picked up Thursday when two teams contacted him about playing for them next season. The Saskatchewan Roughriders are an obvious fit, based on need and Clermont’s roots in Regina.
“Jason and I had a very pleasant and productive conversation this afternoon,’’ Roughriders general manager Eric Tillman said Thursday. “He has a strong affection for home, and we clearly have a significant respect for his ability, his work ethic and his character. The next step, of course, is the biggest: Is it economically viable to dance the dance?”
When he was GM in Ottawa, Tillman could never live down the fact he picked offensive lineman Alexandre Gauthier and running back Mike Vilimek ahead of Clermont with the first two selections in the 2002 Canadian college draft. Clermont dropped to the Lions, who had the fourth pick.
“My gut feeling is that Jason probably wants to stay in the West somewhere,” said Hamilton Tiger-Cats GM Bob O’Billovich. “I think the ability of the player will peak a lot of interest. The contract ($180,000 a season) might not.”
Clermont said he’ll give his real estate career second priority in the off-season while he trains vigorously to prove that Buono’s decision was presumptive and premature.
“I’ve done my research,” Clermont said. “Every one of the top receivers you can name — Milt Stegall, Allen Pitts, Ray Elgaard, Darren Flutie, Geroy Simon, Ben Cahoon — all had their best seasons at the age of 30 or 31.
“I hope to be another.”
Vancouver Sun
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