Eskimo players, coach take blame as GM fired

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This article was published 03/08/2010 (5869 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — Nobody needs to remind the Edmonton Eskimos that one win doesn’t constitute a turnaround.

Putting the brakes on an 0-4 losing streak with a 28-25 win over the B.C. Lions last Friday didn’t prevent the Eskimos from firing GM Danny Maciocia the following day, and it certainly doesn’t translate to job security for anybody who was on the field for practice Monday.

That much is abundantly clear.

"We can’t relax. We can’t settle down. We can’t get complacent," receiver Kelly Campbell said. "We got one win, which is good to get the monkey off our back, but we’ve got to work even harder and get better every day.

"I don’t think we’ve shown anything yet. We got a win. It was an ugly win, but it was a win. We’re a better football team than we’re playing right now, even with that win."

Team president Rick LeLacheur made waves last week when he warned that jobs were on the line after four straight losses. It turns out Maciocia’s fate was sealed before the outcome against B.C.

After a meeting with the team’s board of directors, LeLacheur dismissed Maciocia, who coached the Eskimos to the 2005 Grey Cup championship, saying it wasn’t in the long-term interests of the team to keep him despite two playoff appearances in the last four seasons.

"We all played a part in this," quarterback Ricky Ray said. "Some people kind of take the bullet for the rest of the guys.

"You’ve got to come together and try to make it as positive a situation as you can. I think that’s what we’re going to do. We had a big win, but we lost one of our guys. The worst thing we could do is be satisfied with one win."

In the aftermath of Maciocia’s firing, coach Richie Hall told reporters, "It should have been me."

Several players were visibly shaken after the announcement of the firing was made. The atmosphere wasn’t much lighter Monday, but it was back to business.

"You’ve always got to look at yourself," Hall said. "It’s not about finger-pointing. It’s looking at yourself. What can I, what can we, individually and collectively, do better to go forward?

At 1-4 in the CFL’s West Division as they prepare to host the Toronto Argonauts at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday, the Eskimos don’t have the luxury of savouring their come-from-behind win over the Lions.

Maciocia’s firing simply drove home what most players in the locker-room already know — the business end of the game dictates that results, not good intentions, are the bottom line.

— The Canadian Press