"REDBLACKS round out coaching staff with additions of Mike Phair, Paul Saint-Vilien"

OTTAWA (April 25th, 2022) - With CFL training camp on the horizon, the Ottawa REDBLACKS have rounded out their coaching staff with the additions of veteran defensive line coach coach Mike Phair and former Carleton Ravens interim Head Coach Paul Eddy Saint-Vilien joining as a defensive assistant. 

A native of Mesa, Arizona, Phair is no stranger to professional football. The 52 year-old, who spent 2021 as a defensive assistant at Stanford University, has served on the coaching staff of five different NFL teams since 2009, most recently as defensive line coach of the Carolina Panthers in 2020. Before that, Phair spent 2018-2019 with the Indianapolis Colts, also as d-line coach. He has also coached with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (assistant d-line coach), Chicago Bears (d-line coach), and Seattle Seahawks (assistant d-line and linebackers coach), as well as the University of Illinois (run game coordinator and d-line coach), Tiffin University, and Arizona State.

Phair has also worked as a scout with the Buccaneers, and Seahawks, helping Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl XXXVII victory in 2003.

As a player, Phair suited up as a linebacker with ASU from 1990-1992, after earning All-Conference honours with Mesa CC.

Saint-Vilien joins the REDBLACKS after spending the last four years with the Carleton Ravens, most recently serving as interim Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator. Prior to his time with Carleton, served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach with the Montreal Carabins between 2014-2017. The Montreal native won the Vanier Cup with the Carabins in 2014 while also capturing the Uteck Bowl in 2014 and the Mitchell Bowl the following season.

He played collegiately for the Spartans of Cegep du Vieux Montreal, as well as a year with the Laval Rouge et Or in 2000. Following his playing career he joined Laval as a video analysis coach in time for the school's Vanier Cup wins in 2003 and 2004. 

I was pleased to see Saint-Vilien's name come up. Again, said from the perspective of someone on the outside looking in, it felt like he got a bit of a raw deal in his the past few months from Carleton. Former Ravens head coach left rather suddenly and when Saint-Vilien assumed the position on an interim basis, many current and former players expressed that the post should be permanent.

In a matter of weeks, it was awarded to Corey Grant, which may turn out to be an excellent hire (he can certainly make a strong case) but Saint-Vilien stepped up when asked to and it's good to see him rewarded. 

Oct. 16th, 1976, Ottawa Citizen: "New Sooner Learns Strange Game Fast"

I spotted the article below about former Sooner Louis Dickenson while tracking down the results of the 1976 senior high school season. 

The body building program appears to have paid off as Dickenson made the 1977 all-conference team. After his playing days, his accomplishments were listed in an advertisement for a local event called  "Building The Body Beautiful" in 1984.

I believe he continued to compete through at least 1985. 

"Time Heals Wounds as Clair, Rough Riders Make Up"

There weren't many on-field highlights to the 1993 Ottawa Rough Riders season but the naming of the stadium after Frank Clair was a notable one off the field. 

Perhaps scheduling this event when the Doug Flutie-led Calgary Stampeders were in town wasn't the wisest choice. I doubt anyone was particularly stunned when the Stamps went on to spank the Rough Riders 47-22.

But there are far more heinous Glieberman missteps on what is a very long list. Fans got to see a wrong made right by the unlikeliest of sources. 

The 1964 Laurentian High School Senior Team

Over the past few days, I've worked on adding far more detail to the high school page. Most seasons included little more than the championship game's score and a brief summary, but I'm now working from 1927 up to the present to add regular season results for the eventual champion, as well as playoff scores for the league. 

1964 got the bulk of the attention this morning. Photography in the local newspapers began to improve around this time so the images displayed with the articles tend to be easier to copy. We have a couple of examples below involving the eventual champion Laurentian. 

Joe Upton is back coaching the Laurentian senior football team. Upton, a former Rough Rider star lineman, took ill a few years back and had to take things easy. But he feels fine now and is anxiously awaiting the start of the senior league schedule. In the picture with Upton are, back row, left to right, Jim Foley and Doug Smith. Kneeling in front is Mark Ciavaglia. 

The above is from the September 22nd Ottawa Journal. The picture below is from two days later, but appeared in the Ottawa Citizen.

Upton was a former Rough Rider but Foley was a future one. The team drafted him in the first round, ninth overall, in 1969. He played for Montreal for a couple of years but finally joined the Rough Riders in 1973 and played through to the 1977 season inclusively, winning two Grey Cups along the way. He is a member of the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame.

In the image below, sporting a different number, Foley is getting some instruction from Upton during the Western semi-final game in November against Rideau.

The mention of Upton's illness in the first picture casts a bit of a shadow on that otherwise happy occasion. Upton had suffered a heart attack during a game in 1961 and while the caption states that he was feeling great, he would succumb to a heart seizure at only 42 years of age in 1967. His obituary appeared in the March 2nd Citizen that year.

One of several articles about his passing included the November 1964 image above as an illustration of Upton "in happier times". No doubt that's true, as they won the championship that year. They would win it under Upton's guidance as well in 1965 and, as if to honour his impact on the program, in 1967 following his passing.