One of the most frustrating things about playing any professional sport is that sometimes things appear very obvious to you, yet not so clear to others.

For instance, lets look at the musical chairs procession in the CFL right now.

The coaches have been running around and around all the head coaching vacancy chairs for over a month now and there is only one seat left. And now that Dave Dickenson has withdrawn his name for consideration and re-upped to stay in Calgary as the offensive co-ordinator, there are only two coaches left circling one chair.

The head coaching chair is in Hamilton, and the only two coaches still under consideration, reportedly, are Tim Burke and George Cortez. Speculation is that the Tiger-Cats are waiting until the NFL regular season ends before making their decision because they want to see what will happen with Cortez. George is currently finishing off his first year as the quarterback coach with the Buffalo Bills and depending upon what happens in the final week of the NFL regular season, the team will either finish 6 and 10 or 7 and 9. Chan Gailey is in his second year as head coach of the Bills and coaches in Buffalo have been fired after winning many more than the 10 or 11 wins Gailey will have compiled in two years at the helm. If Chan gets fired, it reasonably stands that George will follow suit, as few assistant coaches get held over when a new regime moves in.

I can understand why the Tiger-Cats are anxious to see what will happen with Cortez. In his time in the CFL he has seemingly had the Midas touch when it comes to working with quarterbacks and offences. Jeff Garcia, Dave Dickenson and Henry Burris all had some of their most productive years under his instruction and tutelage, so the thought process may be that if he is brought in as the head coach he could magically transform Kevin Glenn and Quinton Porter into the dynamic duo. That being said, in my estimation, Tim Burke's appointment and effect on the Hamilton team and specifically their defence would be even more pronounced than an improvement in pivot play, and an exponential improvement on defence would immediately push Hamilton over the top.

The last four years Tim Burke has co-ordinated a defence, it has resulted in an almost automatic berth in the Grey Cup. Granted, the first three of these four years were in Montreal with A.C., the first pivot since Doug Flutie to almost guarantee your participation in the final, but Burke's defences have always been some of the best the CFL has to offer. In Winnipeg he took an already good defence and made it great. In Montreal, his terrific twelves were consistently the backbone of a team that won two Grey Cups in three years.

In my mind, there is not so much wrong with the offence in Steeltown. Anytime your team can score 52 points on the road against the two-time defending champions, offensive talent, weaponry and instruction do not appear to be major hurdles. Khari Jones is only going to improve as an offensive co-ordinator as he gains experience and he has already shown flashes of brilliance during his first year in this role. Judging from the performances of Hamilton against Winnipeg this year, the Ticats should adapt the old adage where if you can't beat 'em, hire their defensive co-ordinator.

Often, when football teams hire new head coaches they base their decisions not only on character attributes and on- field performance, but who they bring to the table with them. While above all else, Tim Burke is a man of high moral fibre, he is both respected by his players and a coach players want to play for -- look at Ian Logan's remarks and reasons for re-signing in Winnipeg -- but what he brings with him is equally as impressive. If I was a betting man and Tim Burke was hired as a head coach in Hamilton, I would wage dollars to donuts that Casey Creehan would accompany him as his defensive co-ordinator or assistant head coach, and I can't think of another pairing in the CFL right now that could dramatically alter or reshape the persona of a franchise like those two could together.

As a Winnipeg loyalist and supporter though, every day that Hamilton waits to see what happens in Buffalo, is a day closer to having both Tim and Casey back for another season in 2012, and that is the best news the Blue and Gold could receive all off-season.

Doug Brown, a hard-hitting defensive tackle with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and even harder-hitting columnist, appears Tuesdays in the Winnipeg Free Press.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 27, 2011 C4