THE CANADIAN PRESS
Corey Holmes is putting his football future in God’s hands.
Usually at this time of year, the shifty running back-special teams star is in training camp preparing for the upcoming CFL season. However, Holmes was released by the Saskatchewan Roughriders shortly after their Grey Cup win over Winnipeg for salary cap reasons and has yet to sign with another club.
Holmes, 31, a seven-year CFL veteran, is leaving the door open to a possible return to Canada but it could be slammed shut next week. Holmes has applied to become the head football coach at Greenville-Weston High School in Greenville, Miss.
A deeply spiritual man, Holmes said he’ll know by June 19 whether he’s got the coaching job. If successful, he will retire as a player to don the headset full-time.
“Getting cut from the CFL, at first, was sad but I knew God had something bigger for me,” Holmes said. “If it’s meant for me to go back to Canada in the middle of the season then God is going to direct me.
“If it’s for me to get this job, then I’ll definitely be there and be the one to help these kids get to the level, and not just in football but also in life. I don’t want to operate outside what God has for me.”
But Holmes couldn’t simply rely on his pro football background to apply for the coaching job. He first had to become certified, which required writing and passing two separate tests in April. After doing that, then he could throw his hat in the ring at Greenville.
Holmes wasn’t qualified to apply for the Greenville job when it originally opened in April. A successor was found, but the post was never filled as the school’s board didn’t approve the successful candidate.
If Holmes is hired, he will face a huge challenge. Not only has he never been a head coach before, but Holmes would take over a football program that last year was 0-11 and outscored 313-74.
“It is a big job and a big task,” Holmes said. “But I’ve been tackling big tasks of that nature all my life.
“A lot of times people judged me by my size and not my talent when I was trying to play professional football. When I played, it wasn’t all about my ability on the field. It was about knowing where I had to be and the things I had to do on the field that made me a high-level player when I was in the CFL.”
The five-foot-eight, 190-pound Holmes proved to be a versatile performer during his CFL career, spent mostly with the Roughriders. He could line up in the backfield as a tailback, play slotback and also return kickoffs and punts. In fact, he’s Saskatchewan’s career leader in both kickoff and punt-return yards.
In 2005, Holmes was named the CFL’s top special-teams player and was a finalist for its outstanding player award after recording 3,455 all-purpose yards, the third-highest total in league history.
But the Riders dealt Holmes and safety Scott Gordon to Hamilton in April 2006 for the first overall pick in the Ottawa Renegades dispersal draft. Saskatchewan used that to take quarterback Kerry Joseph, who last year led the club to its third Grey Cup title and was named the league’s outstanding player before ultimately being traded to Toronto.
In August 2007, Hamilton traded Holmes back to Saskatchewan where he accumulated 1,203 all-purpose yards (73 rushing, 135 receiving, 411 returning punts and 584 on kickoffs) and scored five touchdowns in nine games.
Holmes played special teams in the Grey Cup win, returning two kickoffs for 43 yards and nine punts for 83 yards against Winnipeg.
After Holmes was released he did speak with the Montreal Alouettes, prompting reports he had been offered a contract. Holmes said while the Als were interested, no formal contract offer was made.
This off-season, Holmes worked with his wife to open a daycare centre in Greenville, which takes care of 26 children daily.
But it’s the prospect of coaching and working to restore a struggling program that really excites Holmes.
“This is the biggest high school in the city of Greenville and we don’t have any kids signing scholarships,” Holmes said. “How does that look?
“People will get behind the program if they see kids going to sign with the University of Auburn or the University of Tennessee. It has been done here but the leadership here, people aren’t really caring about the kids. They’re making excuses by saying these kids can’t accomplish this or that.
“But we were kids once and we have accomplished a lot of things. People told me I’d never make it far in football, but what if I had listened? I will never tell a kid what he can’t become. I’m going to push him to become whatever he wants to become and I’m going to make sure I do my part with God leading me to help kids out the best I possibly can.”
