REGINA -- The Riders should have been preparing for their season opener this week against Montreal. Instead, Head Coach Craig Dickenson is in the middle of a 14-day quarantine after re-entering Canada from the United States.

“I’m the head coach for the Roughriders, I think it’s important that I’m here,” said Dickenson from his home in Regina.

Dickenson has a work permit that allows him to travel into Canada during the pandemic.

“I think more coaches would come up but a lot of them are on yearly work permits and right now if their work permit is expired, the government’s not re-issuing because [coaches] aren’t deemed essential.”

Dickenson says he’s been preparing for the season, amidst the uncertainty.

“I’m very hopeful that there’s going to be a season and I’m preparing as if there will be.”

Earlier this week it was reported that front office staff and management have taken pay cuts as a result of the dried up revenue streams. Dickenson says he’s taken a “significant” pay cut which he guesses is between 10 to 15 per cent so the organization didn’t have to let any coaches go.

“I had some difficult conversations with them about a month ago when the first round of pay cuts came through and they understand.”

Dickenson says what worries him is 2021 and losing entry level coaches. The Head Coach says his first job was as an assistant receivers coach with the Calgary Stampeders, making $30,000 a year.

Without those opportunities, the CFL could lose the ability to find the next great coach.

The players on the other hand, aren’t being compensated at all. Dickenson says the coaches are having weekly meetings by position with the Riders. To him, it seems like the players are committed to the season if it can begin in September.

“Nobody has reached out to me and expressed that they need to go in a different direction. We certainly hope that that doesn’t happen in the near future either.”

Dickenson said that he was tested for COVID-19 while he was in Montana staying with his parents.

His test results were negative, but Dickenson’s outlook on the season remains positive.

“I’m doing everything I can to help this team be good for this year. And if there is no season, which boy I hope that’s not the case, but if there is none, we’ll start working full steam ahead to make sure 2021’s as good as we can make it.