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Head coach Corey Mace and general manager Jeremy O’Day have both signed two-year contract extensions with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, keeping the team’s leadership unchanged through to 2028.
“It’s awesome. For my family and I to be able to stay here in Regina and represent this team, it was such an easy decision,” Mace said. “We love it here, we love the community and Rider Nation has been really good to us.”
O’Day, who has been with the Riders as both a player and front office personnel, said it’s an honour to continue to represent the team.
“I’ve been here for quite some time — my family was raised here — and it was special to me to receive the extension,” O’Day said.
The announcement on Tuesday came on the heels of a big win by the Riders on Friday, as the team clinched the top spot in the CFL West Division with a 27-19 win over the Toronto Argonauts. The team now boasts a 12-4 record heading into the division final on Nov. 8.
“We’re trying to build something special here. With the hiring of Corey and the trajectory we are going, it’s what we are trying to achieve,” O’Day said. “We’re trying to achieve home playoff games and put ourselves in positions to win Grey Cups so certainly excited to continue to do that.”
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Craig Reynolds, the Roughriders’ president and CEO, said the last two years have been “incredibly special,” largely due to the winning culture created by Mace and O’Day.
“I think stability and continuity in pro sports is really, really important. I love going to work with both those guys. They have had tremendous success so far and just excited we were able to get this done,” Reynolds said.
These extensions come in just the second season of work between the two.
After two straight 6-12 seasons, O’Day elected not to renew the contract of then-head coach Craig Dickenson. After an extensive search, Mace was hired as the man to lead the team.
O’Day said it was early in the process that you could tell what kind of person Mace was.
“He is the exact same person from the first call. He’s not fake in any way. He’s authentic, genuine, a very hard worker, motivated and awesome to work with,” O’Day said. “He has just been great for the organization. Players love him and he loves the players and I certainly enjoy having him around. He’s a lot of fun.”
Mace also said that things have clicked between the two from the start.
“Our working relationship is excellent, our friendship is excellent, it’s awesome. I can’t speak for anyone anywhere else but in this position, it’s awesome,” Mace said.
O’Day began his career with the team as a player back in 1999, and joined the football operations staff in 2011. He has won Grey Cups both as a player (2007) and as assistant general manager (2013), and previously won the cup as a member of the Argonauts in ‘97. He’s served in the general manager role since January of 2019.
“It’s a long time to be with an organization and I got to experience it when things were tough,” O’Day said. “You find out a lot of things about yourself when you go through challenging times and about people. It just motivates you to do better and try to turn it around.
“You know how important winning Grey Cups is for this province and the people of Saskatchewan. It’s important for my family as well.”
Mace is currently in his second year as the Riders’ head coach and defensive co-ordinator. He currently holds a 21-12-1 record as head coach of the Roughriders, and last year brought the team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2021. A three-time Grey Cup winner, Mace moved to Saskatchewan after two successful seasons as the Argonauts’ defensive co-ordinator, and previously served as defensive line coach for the Calgary Stampeders.
Mace said the community has been unbelievable towards him and his family.
“Everybody has just been first class here and it feels like an extended family. That’s big for us,” Mace said.
The Riders will take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday. Kickoff for the game is set for 6 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 4 p.m.
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