'It's nice to be wanted': Former Alouettes head coach Khari Jones hired by Redblacks

Will be offensive co-ordinator and assistant head coach under new boss Bob Dyce.

Devastated at the time, getting fired as the Alouettes’ head coach last July has turned out to be a brilliant career move for Khari Jones.

Within days of being dismissed by Montreal, 1-3 at the time, Jones was hired by Hamilton as a football operations consultant. After recently being interviewed by Saskatchewan for their offensive co-ordinator’s job, Jones on Saturday was hired by the Ottawa Redblacks, where he will be the OC and assistant head coach under new boss Bob Dyce.

And don’t be surprised if former Als defensive co-ordinator Barron Miles, who walked the plank with Jones at the same time, joins the Redblacks as their DC. That move could be announced as early as Sunday. Miles joined the Bishop’s Gaiters in August as their DC and probably could have remained at the school had he desired.

“It’s good that I have a good perspective on myself,” Jones told the Montreal Gazette on Saturday. “I feel like I’m a pretty decent coach, regardless of what happened. It’s nice to be wanted, nice that people recognize what you’ve done in the league for a long time.”

Jones was in the final season of his contract with the Als and, despite leading Montreal to playoff berths in both 2019 and ’21 — the 2020 CFL season was cancelled because of COVID-19 — he wasn’t hired by general manager Danny Maciocia, always making his position tenuous. He and Miles were fired following the Als’ 41-20 defeat in Saskatchewan July 2, with the team in the midst of 12 days between games.

The Als continued struggling following the switch — Miles was replaced by Noel Thorpe — but recovered from a 2-6 start to finish 9-9, second in the East Division. Montreal defeated the Tiger-Cats in the division semifinal before losing the following week in Toronto.

“It was tough because I wanted to be with the guys,” Jones said of his departure. “It wasn’t always the best situation, but I tried to make the most of it. It helped getting into Hamilton.

“It was a tough start to the season. I wasn’t thinking it was over, but you never know. It took a little bit to get over it, but I’m a pretty resilient dude. I felt like we were going to be fine and turn it around. There were no worries on my end. I’ve been in tough situations and don’t panic … but that was out of my hands and control.”

Jones, 51, is a former CFL quarterback who enjoyed his most success with Winnipeg. He also has an extensive coaching record in the league and was the Als’ offensive co-ordinator in 2018 before replacing Mike Sherman as head coach. Dyce and Jones have known each other for nearly two decades and the two won a Grey Cup together as coaches with Saskatchewan in 2013.

“KJ is a great communicator and teacher who brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and energy to Ottawa,” Dyce stated in a release. “It was important to get a man of integrity like Khari to lead our offence going forward. I’m excited to work with him once again.”

Jones is inheriting a scenario similar to the one he walked into with the Als, who missed the playoffs four consecutive seasons when Sherman was fired. The Redblacks are coming off a 4-14 season that included nine consecutive losses at home. Dyce, who was Ottawa’s special teams co-ordinator, became the Redblacks’ interim head coach following the firing of Paul LaPolice.

“I think it’s a solid group of players,” Jones said of his new organization. “They didn’t put it all together, but when you look game to game, they were in a lot of these games. Things just didn’t go their way for whatever reason.

“I’ve looked at a lot of film and they have some pieces. I feel good about the starting point. Now it’s about going beyond that.”

Jones was popular in the Als’ dressing room. With CFL free agency looming in slightly more than three months, it will be interesting to see how many of his former players might want to be reunited with him.

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com

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