While Jamal Richardson never called Commonwealth Stadium home, being there again sure brought back sweet memories for Jamel Richardson.



Spending the past 12 days enjoying his first Canadian Football League guest-coaching experience at Edmonton Eskimos training camp, the 35-year-old native of Syracuse, N.Y., was reminded of his own playing career that lasted 11 seasons.



No recollection was as vivid or constant as the one that can only be considered the defining moment for the six-foot-three, 226-pound former Montreal Alouettes receiver, who was named most valuable player of the last Grey Cup hosted in Edmonton in 2010 in a game that marked the last time a team won back-to-back championships.



“Standing on the podium getting the MVP of the Grey Cup, that was exciting,” Richardson said. “And just all the battles that we had with Edmonton. It was always a battle, and these guys have always been great.



“Yes, it's one of my favourite places to play.”



Richardson was one of three guest coaches with the Eskimos this year, along with Gabriel Cousineau and Daniel Paquette.



“Having been in these colours, I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn how to coach and be in this position,” said Richardson, who bid farewell to the Eskimos on Thursday to return to his day job as a claims adjuster in Dallas. “Naturally, I was always a coach. When I played, I was coaching the younger guys.”



That didn't necessarily make things easier during the early stages of transition away from being a player, however.



“I was preparing myself for the day, especially when I was coming off my knee injury,” said Richardson, who had an impressive run with the Montreal Alouettes that included three Grey Cup appearances from 2008-13, before sitting out the entire 2014 season and then wrapping up his final year in 2015 with the same Saskatchewan Roughriders team where it all began back in 2003. “That's when I started getting ahead of the game and began writing my goals. Now, I'm just knocking them off, crossing them out and just achieving it.”



High up on that list was finding a way to stay a part of the game. And what better way than passing his experience on in a coaching capacity?



“For a while, I fought it in the off-season,” he said. “But once I started being around kids and football – I train kids at home, I coach my nephew's Pop Warner team – I was just like: 'You know what? I might as well just pursue my dream as an aspiring coach.



“I always watch the CFL, I felt like I was part of this league. This was it. The CFL gave me so much, now it's time for me to give something back to these guys.”



So, Richardson reached out to Eskimos receivers coach and offensive co-ordinator Carson Walch, who coached special teams and receivers as part of then-head coach Marc Trestman's staff in Montreal from 2010-12.



“During the whole process, he and coach Trestman were telling me how to map it out, what route to go and how to move about it,” Richardson said. “Then the opportunity came: 'Do you want to guest coach?' I was like, 'Absolutely.'



“It's exciting for me, I'm back in training camp learning with the guys, running with the guys.”



It wasn't enough to make him want to trade in his whistle for a pair of cleats again, though.



“No, I'm totally over it,” he smiled. “For me, it's just not the same. My body doesn't quite recover the same, and I'm happy with walking away from the game.”



Adarius Bowman, for one, was glad to have him back in it, even if temporarily.



“I definitely was a fan of his since I was a younger guy,” said the 10-year veteran slotback. “Since he's been here, I've actually been able to settle a few things, and I didn't even know he was a fan of mine.



“So for him to kind of remember my Winnipeg days, my Saskatchewan days, when he was like, 'If this guy ever gets it together, he'll be great.' It made me feel good because I remember those Montreal teams. If you were a receiver in 2010-11, that was the guy you wanted to be like.”



NEXT UP: Training camp resumes Friday from 9:20 a.m. to noon at Commonwealth Stadium.



Email: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com



On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge