Old habits die hard for Riders’ coach Micah Johnson in first training camp post-retirement

Former Roughrider Micah Johnson is transitioning from player to coach, now working with the defensive line in a new role with the team. Donovan Maess has more.

When he lifted the Grey Cup six months ago, Micah Johnson believed he would be preparing for his 13th Canadian Football League (CFL) season at this year’s training camp.

Instead, he announced his retirement in January and it did not take long for him to go from lining up on the defensive line to coaching it.

“It’s been awesome and it’s been real fun,” he told reporters Tuesday. “Especially since camp started getting up with the guys, getting them rolling; it’s been awesome.”

The longtime defensive lineman played 12 Canadian Football Hall of Fame-calibre seasons in the CFL with Calgary, Hamilton and two stints in Saskatchewan. He was a three-time Grey Cup champion and earned several all-star nods as well.

Johnson was announced as Saskatchewan’s defensive line coach the day he retired five months ago.

The 37-year-old said by the time he hung up the cleats, he was already in a mentorship role and felt like a coach – making the transition to his new role nearly seamless.

“I’ve always been a leader every room. So for me, that part is easy, that’s a natural part,” he said.

“Last year when we walked off the field for the Grey Cup, I wasn’t thinking it was going to be my last year. Obviously the opportunity presented itself and it was just a matter of playing for another year or two like I knew I could or at some point getting ready for that transition to the next phase.”

Riders’ head coach Corey Mace said Johnson has fit right in with the rest of the coaches.

“As a rookie in anything, and as a rookie coach, he asks a lot of questions,” Mace added. “If he doesn’t have the answer, he’s not too hardheaded to feel like he’s going to just come up with something. He’ll say, ‘Okay, what do I gotta do now?’ And that’s the right thing to do so he can get led in the right direction.”

Forming an identity

Johnson said he is trying to instill the small things into his group of pass rushers.

“The details. I was big on the details, I was big on film study, I was super big on understanding your opponent,” he explained. “I’m just kind of trying to relay that to the guys. I think a lot of people always look to me [and see] the physical aspect of it.”

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“But it was so much mental that came with my game, too. So bringing the guys, bringing the details to the guys and have them think the game the right way, I think it makes all the difference,” Johnson added.

When current Rider defensive lineman Mike Rose arrived in Calgary in 2018, Johnson was already a veteran presence on that team – which ultimately went on to win the Grey Cup.

The two rushers joined forces again in Saskatchewan last season.

Rose said the passing of more than a decade of pro football knowledge continues to get passed down from his new positional coach.

“I’ve had some great coaches like Cornell Brown, [Corey] Mace himself. Micah Johnson is up there, man,” Rose told CTV News. “He’s very knowledgeable, and outside of his football knowledge, he’s actually very empathetic – which I did not know.”

Rose, who is entering his ninth CFL season, said Johnson is allowing his players to play freer.

“He’s trying to make us not robots,” he added. “I think the biggest thing is he’s trying to make us have some free will, have the ability to make a play and having the confidence to make a play.”

That is a change in mentality for newcomer Desmond Evans – who spent last year in the Tennessee Titans organization in the NFL.

“Down south, you’ve got to play by the system,” he said. “There’s not too much freestyle you can do; you play as a team. But up here you can pull a little switch on them.”

Old habits linger

Having been a football player the majority of his life, Johnson formed a regimented pre-game routine.

One which Mace says he continued to stick with for Saskatchewan’s two preseason games – even as a coach.

“He’s still got his headphones in like, he’s getting hyped,” the head coach joked. “I’m like, ‘Hey, you ain’t playing.’ But that’s just who he’s always been and how he is. And that’s how his group is going to be wired, which is awesome.”

Johnson admitted he has some habits to break.

“There’s a lot of little things like that I gotta break myself with the energy before games,” he said with a smile. “[I] can chill out. All [I’m] going to be doing the signalling. That’s been the adjustment, just little things like that.”