{"id":516255,"date":"2026-03-05T16:04:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T16:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/516255\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T16:04:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T16:04:25","slug":"hogan-kadeem-carey-looks-to-kick-start-running-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/516255\/","title":{"rendered":"Hogan: Ka\u2019Deem Carey Looks to Kick Start Running Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a homecoming that seemed destined to happen. Former Toronto Argonaut running back Ka\u2019Deem Carey<\/a> signed as the team\u2019s running back\u2019s coach after one injury-shortened season in Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n

After conducting several interviews, new head coach Mike Miller<\/a> felt that running backs coach Dom Picard<\/a> would be a better fit coaching the offensive line, a natural move for the longtime CFL center.<\/p>\n

It meant that Miller suddenly needed running backs coach. He talked to a couple of people about the role, but there was one name that made the most sense to him.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI always had Ka\u2019Deem in the back of my mind,\u201d Miller told Argonauts.ca. \u201cHe made a great impression on me the year he was here. He was very professional, was a leader in the room, he was a great communicator. He just displayed a great awareness and grasp of not only the position, but our offence. I thought he was a really great leader in the meeting room and on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carey\u2019s combination of skill and toughness was missed last year by the Argos. He fled to Saskatchewan as a free agent, hoping to win another Grey Cup ring in his final year as a player. But his season \u2013 and playing career \u2013 ended in his third game of the season in Vancouver when he suffered a catastrophic knee injury.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it was bad,\u201d Carey told Argonauts.ca. \u201cIt the MCL, ACL, meniscus. The crazy thing about it was I had a dream that it might be the last game. I woke up and researched all my career stats from college, the NFL, the CFL, and in my head I said if today was my last game, kind of jinxing myself, then I would be okay calling it a career.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I go out there and play BC in the stadium I won a championship in, and it goes full circle,\u201d continued the Tucson, Arizona native. \u201cI hurt my knee and I kind of smiled when it happened and actually started to laugh on my way to the locker room because they asked for a cart (to get him off the field) and once I saw it, I immediately tried to get up. I wasn\u2019t going to go out on a cart knowing that was going to be my last play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sadly, it was. After becoming the career rushing leader at the University of Arizona in just three seasons, a record he still holds by over 600 yards, after his three seasons with the Chicago Bears, and after his six years in the CFL, Carey would be hanging up his cleats for good.<\/p>\n

But he was not done with football.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI really started thinking about coaching in maybe my second year in Calgary,\u201d Carey recalled. \u201cI really opened my mind about coaching, due to me being a leader in the running backs room and the way I had control of the younger backs and the way I wanted to teach them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rookie coach will be giving his players full access to volumes of the football encyclopedia located between his ears.<\/p>\n

Miller has gone over the cutups from last year, analyzing the video both on his own and together with his staff. They don\u2019t want to miss anything that may have led to the problems of the \u201925 season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spent a great deal of time evaluating all parts of the offence for problems, weaknesses, things we need to improve,\u201d said Miller, \u201cBut also things we did well and how to improve those.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says that they\u2019ve identified the problem areas in the running game but didn\u2019t want to elaborate publicly.<\/p>\n

The head coach doesn\u2019t want his offence to be one dimensional, like it was last year. He needs to be able to do what the situation dictates, be it throwing more or running more, though he\u2019d like it to be a lot closer to 50\/50 pass\/run.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

That means the running backs will be counted on more. Spencer Brown returns as part of what is currently a six-man RB corps. He\u2019s joined by CFL veteran Peyton Logan<\/a>, Jyran Mitchell<\/a>, who was with the Argos early last season, Elijah Young<\/a>, who was a late cut by the Buffalo Bills last year, 240-pound power back Qualan Jones<\/a>, and all-purpose back Samuel Hicks.<\/a><\/p>\n

Miller likes the group\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI went through that process with (player personnel director) Jim Barker<\/a> on the guys we were able to sign. I\u2019m excited, I think each one of them brings their own element to the game. It\u2019s going to be a great competition (in training camp). Jim and his staff have done a great job bringing in some really quality players and I believe we have some real playmakers and some really solid options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carey has also studied video on the Argos six-pack of backs. Like Miller, he\u2019s pumped up about the group he\u2019ll be working with.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited,\u201d said the rookie coach. \u201cI\u2019ve got a young bunch, and I know they\u2019re going to come in hungry. I really like what I see; they\u2019re all diverse. And I\u2019m happy we have Spencer (Brown) and him being a veteran this year and leading the younger backs in the group.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Argos had been successful at running the ball in the post-Covid era. In 2021 John White and DJ Foster were solid, if unspectacular. In 2022 it was the combination of A.J. Ouellette and Andrew Harris that led them to a Grey Cup. The next season the team posted a 16-2 record with Oullette getting most of the work, with Harris and Dan Adeboboye in relief. In 2024 Carey was the bell cow, leading Deonta McMahon and Adeboboye to another Grey Cup win.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Then came last year.<\/p>\n

In 2025 the Argos posted historically low results, literally the worst rushing season in the history of the Canadian Football League. As a team the Argos rushed for just 51.6 yards per game last season, almost three dozen fewer yards per game than the next lowest team\u2019s output.<\/p>\n

Brown led the Boatmen with just 314 rushing yards, while somewhat remarkably, quarterback Nick Arbuckle \u2013 who will never be confused with speedy Rickey Foggie of early \u201890s fame \u2013 finished second on the team, despite only amassing 161 yards on the ground.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s set the bar incredibly low to jump over this year, but just barely clearing that mark won\u2019t be acceptable to either Miller or Carey. They both realize how important the running game is to an offence, something that was sorely missing a year ago.<\/p>\n

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