OTTAWA

Maybe Edmonton Eskimos GM Ed Hervey just has a short memory.

A compensation dispute between the Eskimos and Ottawa RedBlacks is back in the hands of CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge after the teams could not reach an agreement with help from a mediator on Friday. The teams have been locked in a squabble over Edmonton’s hiring of former RedBlacks offensive co-ordinator Jason Maas to be their head coach in mid-December.

“We had a mediation and there wasn’t any obvious resolution so the matter will be deferred to the commissioner,” said Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group president Jeff Hunt on Tuesday. “It’s important to make the distinction it wasn’t an arbitrator who hears everybody out, then makes a ruling at the end. This was a mediator, who kind of tries to say, ‘Hey guys, can you work something out?’ We went through that process and we were unable to come up with an arrangement that both parties were happy with.”

Let’s spin back in time and look at what happened. On Dec. 7, the Saskatchewan Roughriders hired Eskimos head coach Chris Jones to be their head coach with a lot of other titles behind his name. That left Edmonton without a coach and, interested in Maas, who had a year remaining on his contract with the RedBlacks, the Eskimos asked for permission to speak to him. Ottawa gave Edmonton that go-ahead, but a couple of days later, notified the Eskimos that there would be a cost if Maas was hired.

“Our bone of contention is that while we had originally given permission — and at no point was permission taken away — I had informed them that we would want to discuss compensation if we were to lose him with a year left on his contract,” said Hunt. “I said we would want to put compensation into the discussion.

“They initially pushed back on the notion ... Then there was an exchange and ultimately I felt like it was agreed that there was an understanding that in the event they were going to hire Jason, they would talk to me about compensation — which didn’t happen.”

With the compensation issue hanging — and Maas furious with Ottawa for not granting him his release — the clubs agreed to let the hiring go through a week after Jones departed. Then the teams would try and work through it later. And here we are, three months later, with no resolution.

“I would hope that in the next month we’d have something resolved,” said Hunt. “It’s not distracting us in any way, it’s business as usual. But it’s a matter of principle that we need to let run its course.

“One of the components in this discussion is are we able to put conditions on coach moves? Already out of this issue, the league has put forward a new tampering rule as it relates to coaches. So you could say some good has already come from this. The idea, from my view, is not to prevent coaches from enhancing their careers and moving up — you want that for everybody.”

As it relates to Hervey, there’s a great deal of irony here. In 2005, Hervey, who had spent six years as a receiver with the Eskimos, verbally agreed to a contract with the Ottawa Renegades. The Renegades were so sure they had a deal, they called a press conference to announce the signing. One problem, Hervey notified them at the last minute he had decided to re-sign with the Eskimos. With no signed contract, Hervey backed out. While surprised and disappointed, Renegades coach and GM Joe Paopao said he wouldn’t file a protest with the CFL.

“I don’t see what good that would do,’’ Paopao said. “All parties had agreed on a contract and we took it at face value ... usually verbal agreements are pretty good. Until a deal is done, it’s not done.”

It appears that Edmonton’s contention is that the RedBlacks had agreed to let Maas go — with no compensation involved. Their argument is: “You can’t change your mind at the last minute.”

Can’t change your mind? Funny words coming from a guy who left an Ottawa CFL team hanging a decade ago.

LOOKING SHARP

You may not see them for a couple more months, but the RedBlacks uniform will have a bit of a different look this season — with a changeover of the CFL’s uniform supplier from Reebok to Adidas. “It’s getting a little tweak,” said Hunt. “It’s a modest change. It’s not dramatic, but I think people will notice. I happen to quite like it and I think fans will, too.” Adidas actually owns the Reebok brand anyway.

tbaines@postmedia.com

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