CALGARY — Kent Austin’s presence is undeniable, even in his absence.

“If you ask me, he’s here all the way,’’ Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant said Thursday during a Grey Cup media breakfast. “A lot of the things we do, a lot of the plays we run, is him. He deserves a lot of credit.’’

Durant is equally quick to commend the current coaching staff, including head coach Ken Miller and offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice. Their expertise has enabled the Riders to not only survive, but thrive, following the departure of the iconic Austin — who guided Saskatchewan to the 2007 Grey Cup championship in his single, storybook season as the CFL team’s field boss.

A second-year Roughrider at the time, Durant did not play a down during that championship season. Nonetheless, the experience he gained while being coached by Austin was invaluable.

“Here’s a guy who has played the game, who has been through everything I’ve been through,’’ Durant said of Austin, who quarterbacked Saskatchewan to the 1989 Grey Cup title.

“A couple of years ago, when he was installing the offence, it was very unfamiliar to me. But as the year went on and he broke it down to me, going down to the basics, I was able to see that this guy is basically a genius. Everything I’ve learned from him, I put in my game today.

“Another thing I love about him is that he is always open to an opinion. Even though I was the third-string guy, Coach Austin always came to me and asked me what I thought about something, how I felt about this play, and asked me my opinion about certain things. That just gave me so much respect for him.’’

The respect was reciprocal. Austin, who is now the offensive co-ordinator at the University of Mississippi, said Durant was one of the most intelligent quarterbacks he had encountered. Lofty praise, indeed, considering Austin’s background and intellect.

“I heard (that compliment) through you guys (in the media),’’ said Durant, who is to quarterback the Roughriders in Sunday’s CFL final against the Montreal Alouettes.

“We always talked about our knowledge of the game, meaning his and mine. We always thought alike. We had the same attitude — the same swagger when it comes to playing — and I think that’s why we hit it off from Day 1.

“He always asked for my input. He always allowed me to be able to speak to the team and to be able to voice my opinion. Not only that, he listened and he put some of those things in. Here’s a guy who not only went through it all, as a Grey Cup champion, but he understands the value of input coming from the players.’’

So does Miller, who routinely defers to the players by asking them to address the rest of the team following practice. Austin made it clear from the outset that the players would have to assume ownership of the team. That philosophy remains ingrained with the Roughriders.

Schematically, the Austin influence remains discernible. The blueprint resembles that of the 2004 Toronto Argonauts, whose assistant-coaching ranks included Austin and Miller.

“What we really have now is vestiges of that,’’ said Miller, who noted that some of Austin’s concepts were also used when he was on the Ottawa Renegades’ coaching staff in 2003. “Certainly, it has matured and there’s several changes, but still the basis of it is that kind of offence that we had in 2004.’’

Now the Roughriders are attempting to repeat their success of 2007, when Austin played such an integral role in engineering the third championship in franchise history.

“Kent Austin instilled a mentality in our team that still lingers with us,’’ slotback Andy Fantuz said. “Ken Miller has done a great job all year of getting us here and being our leader and bringing us along but, with Kent Austin, there was a little swagger to him. The guys who were with us in ’07 still feel that.

“He just immediately earned the respect of the players. He was a great motivator and a great speaker. He played the game for the Riders. He knew exactly what it was like to play in the fishbowl, if you will. The ups and downs get blown out of proportion and all that, and he kind of kept us on an even keel. He taught us the way to handle that and how to play among that.’’

Clearly, the Roughriders are still reaping the rewards.

(Regina Leader-Post)