Saskatchewan Roughriders’ general manager Jeremy O’Day, well known for his safe and steady-as-she-goes style, has taken a big swing in hiring his new head coach.
On Wednesday night, 3DownNation’s Justin Dunk reported the club agreed to terms on a contract with Toronto Argonauts’ defensive coordinator Corey Mace. While the move wasn’t shocking, Mace wasn’t at the top of most people’s lists when Craig Dickenson wasn’t retained as the team’s bench boss following the end of the 2023 regular season.
The prevailing thought at the time was that O’Day was going to target Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ offensive coordinator Scott Milanovich, and why not? The veteran coach would have brought a mountain of experience to the job and an existing relationship with franchise quarterback Trevor Harris. He’s been successful pretty much everywhere he’s gone and won multiple Grey Cups.
What’s not to like? Had O’Day ultimately hired Milanovich, nobody would have batted an eye and the move would have been generally praised.
The move would probably also have bought O’Day some time to rebuild the roster considering Milanovich’s pedigree. With all the pressure O’Day’s been under in Saskatchewan for the past two seasons, I don’t think anyone would have blamed him for giving himself some breathing room.
Perhaps if it had worked out, Milanovich would have led the Riders to the promised land. We’ll never know. We may also never know why O’Day didn’t ultimately hire Milanovich but that doesn’t mean he didn’t make a good hire.
Leading up to the final decision, the final two names reportedly under consideration were Mace and Blue Bombers’ offensive coordinator Buck Pierce.
Hot take: there was no wrong choice here.
This wasn’t like last offseason when everyone and their dog turned down or removed their name from consideration for Saskatchewan’s vacant offensive coordinator job.
As rough as things have been in Riderville for the last two years, there are only so many professional head coaching jobs out there. The CFL has nine. Good coaches were bound to be interested. As such, O’Day was left with a win-win choice.
Whether Mace or Pierce was hired, the move was going to come with some risk. As proven as Milanovich is as a head coach, Mace and Pierce are equally unproven. As good as they are as coordinators, there’s never a guarantee that success will translate into being a good head coach as the jobs require different skill sets.
With that said, I’m glad things didn’t work out with Milanovich. He was the safe hire, which comes with a certain ceiling. We know what he’s about, but so does everyone else. With Mace, the sky is currently the limit. Yeah, there’s a risk, but it’s a risk worth taking. New ideas and ways of doing things are always welcome.
Many who follow the CFL closely often lament about recycled coaching hires. So, when a general manager doesn’t draw from the same old scrap heap, we shouldn’t fault them for it. We should praise them.
Will things work out for Mace and the Riders? Who knows. But that’s what makes it more interesting.
