In a province that gave birth to a creature called Rider Nation, whose hot breaths are never far from the back of the necks of those in command of what was once called Canada’s Team; there is never any shortage of experts. And, so, hearing their baying and howling, the Riders’ upper management, which includes Ken Miller, decided to tie the can to head Coach Greg Marshall and offensive coordinator Doug Berry on Friday. And, name Ken Miller as the new head coach, for the second time in his career.

            Not a bad job, if you can get it. Miller, after all, was the lone general in the Riders’ upper crust who fought hard to get Marshall here as head coach, even though Marshall had been turned down eight times in job interviews with a wide-ranging list of other CFL teams. There had to be a reason for that, some thought, when Marshall’s name surfaced last December to replace Miller. But, Miller wanted Marshall, and even if Brendan Taman wanted somebody younger, Miller was Taman’s boss even though Taman was and is general manager. Go figure that one out sometime.

            And so Miller, in his first major job as Vice-President of Football Operations, hires Marshall and it turns out to be a failure so he fires Marshall, although Taman had to do the dirty work of telling Marshall, and then Miller names himself as the new head coach.

            And the Rider Nation rejoices because they had turned on Marshall and Berry, and they loved Miller, who was like their grandpapa, which isn’t surprising since he will turn 70 on October 15^th.

            Don’t think for a minute that this decision was made in the hours following the debacle in Toronto on Thursday. It had to be made before the team even left for Toronto, but it was far more palatable to wait until after the Toronto game because the Riders would head into a break that would last more than two weeks. No matter what happened in Toronto, win, lose or draw, Marshall and Miller were done.

            Marshall never really had a chance to make this into “his” team. The constant presence of Miller at practices, talking to players and coaches in the dressing rooms, prevented Marshall from taking complete control of the whole situation. One of the first rules a good manager follows when he promotes somebody is to stay out of the way, and not be constantly looking over his shoulder. And, Marshall found out that head coaching was a lot different than he imagined, much like Richie Hall did in Edmonton.

            And The Long Knives are always lurking in the shadows.

            Of long-term interest is what happens to Ken Miller when the season ends, regardless of whether it ends out of the playoffs or in the Grey Cup game? He had zero credentials to be put in as Vice-President of Football Operations, giving him power over Taman, who as general manager should be in charge. Miller’s 45-year background in football has been restricted to coaching, in such hot spots as the University of Redlands, Dickinson State, Yacaipa High School and Toronto. He was, as best as can be determined, never in a serious football management position anywhere, and definitely not in pro football where finding talent, in both coaches and players, is crucial.

            Yet, he did have the ability to get the Roughriders to play for him. And, they did have incredible success during his three years, getting to the Grey Cup in 2009 and 2010 where they were out-gunned and out-coached by the Montreal Alouettes both times. Fans like to hang the 2009 Grey Cup loss on the 13^th man fiasco, conveniently forgetting that the Riders blew a 16-point third quarter lead in the biggest game of the season.

            So, while Miller may not have the qualifications need to rebuild the football side of the organization, he does have a pretty fair record as their head coach. And, really, who else could they have put in there once they decided to sacrifice Marshall and Berry and cool off the Rider Nation, which they have done.

            But what lingers is what has happened since Eric Tillman was booted out of town in another decision that had people at the highest levels of management leaning both ways. There is the feeling that the Riders’ talent pool, in both coaches and players, has deteriorated since Tillman left. You need only point to the fact that the Riders have won only something like two of the last 13 regular season games. They can growl all they want that they have lost players like Baggs, Chick and Fantuz to the NFL, and that injuries have swiped other front-liners, and that the loss of guys like Chunky Adams and Chris Szarka ripped a lot of the leadership out of the team.

            But, every club in every sport goes through that, even Montreal. The difference is, the Alouettes have improved their teams every season. They stand still for nothing, not even back to back Grey Cup champions. To be a dynasty, which the Riders thought they were becoming, means you have to improve every season. They haven’t, and this season it’s caught up to them.

            No matter what happens for the remainder of this season, and even if they get to the Grey Cup game, they have to make sure the elements are in place to make the team better in 2012. Drop the ball again, and it’s going to get ugly in Riderville.