The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ latest head coaching hire has the stamp of approval of one of the organization’s most popular recent players.
Before he was christened as the Riders’ bench boss, Corey Mace was a stalwart defensive tackle with the Calgary Stampeders, where he ate up double teams for one of the league’s greatest-ever pass rushers in Charleston Hughes. According to the future Hall of Famer, it was always apparent what his teammate’s future profession would be.
“I already knew 100 percent, ‘Like, man, you’re gonna be coaching,'” Hughes recalled during an appearance on 980 CJME’s The Green Zone this week. “I think he was one of those guys that kind of already knew he was going into that light and the thing is, he embraced it. He did everything the right way, he approached it with the utmost professionalism and it paid off.”
“I think he’s very detailed, very personable, very intense. He’s a D-lineman so you already know what kind of guy you going to get, bro. He’s going to be very intense, he’s going to push guys to the edge but he’s going to push them to get better. You gotta know when to let off, when to let on, but he’s gonna be that kind of guy that’s gonna bring the best out of people. And that’s the kind of guy you want as a coach.”
A native of Port Moody, B.C., Mace played collegiately at the University of Wyoming before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Buffalo Bills, where he stuck for three seasons. When he finally returned north to play for the Stampeders in 2010, Hughes was struck by how different he was in his approach to the game.
“Every time I’ve hit the field with him, even when we first became teammates, he came with a certain level of play from the NFL and he came with a certain attitude that was kind of different from most Canadian players that I ever played with,” the 39-year-old shared. “The thing is, it transferred over to his coaching style too.”
In six seasons with Calgary, Mace amassed 44 defensive tackles, four sacks, and two fumble recoveries, including one returned for a touchdown. After a fractured foot cost him the entire 2015 season, he retired from playing and jumped to the sideline, taking over as the Stampeders’ defensive line coach for Hughes’ final two seasons with the club.
That can be a challenging transition for young coaches, but Mace immediately commanded the respect of his charges thanks to his pedigree as a player.
“That’s really important because you had to be laced up with the shoes on, you had to put on the gear, you had to put on the helmet before. When people see you as a coach like that and know you know what the struggle looks like, you know what playing on a rolled ankle feels like, it’s one of those things where you have more respect for that person and you can demand more out of people because of that,” Hughes explained.
“That’s why he’s been so successful is because of the way he relates to players. The way you can get the best out of somebody, no matter what background you’re from, that’s a hard thing to do. That’s a hard talent to have.”
Hughes left Calgary in 2018 to play for Saskatchewan but continued to hold his former coach and teammate in high esteem. The two remained in regular contact until the legendary sack artist finished his career with the Riders in 2022, the same season that Mace took over as defensive coordinator with the Toronto Argonauts.
“I loved playing underneath him, I loved playing with him as a teammate, and I still talked to him even when he wasn’t my coach anymore,” Hughes said. “I still reached back out to him and called him and said, ‘Hey man, what do you think I could have done differently?’ Or he’d shoot me a text and ask me ‘How’s it feel to be playing three-technique and you’re a DE?’ I can appreciate that he still watches, still coaches and still has that mentality to help people get better.”
While with Toronto, Mace was the architect of one of the league’s best defences, winning a Grey Cup in his first season before helping the organization to a regular-season record 16 wins in 2023. The Argos led the league in seven different defensive categories last season including sacks (68), turnovers (54), interceptions (27), forced fumble (22) and fumbles recovered (15). The double blue also had the fewest big plays allowed (30) and fewest rushing yards allowed (1,505).
While players like Wynton McManis, Adarius Pickett, Robertson Daniel, Qwan’tez Stiggers, Shawn Oakman, Jamal Peters, Mike Rose, and Micah Johnson have all become all-stars under Mace’s watch, Hughes remains his most famous charge. He produced 27 of his 132 career sacks in the 32 games he played under his former locker-room companion, triggering a run of four straight CFL all-star selections.
Having watched the Riders collapse over the past two seasons under Craig Dickenson, Hughes sees the team’s energetic new hire as the perfect man to create a winning culture.
“I think that was one of those things that they really missed, just that team culture and the enthusiasm for the game. Watching that team last year, it was sickening for me because I didn’t see guys playing hard and I didn’t see guys making that extra effort,” Hughes said.
“You need to bring somebody in that’s gonna push some people to do that and if Corey Mace is that guy, which I know he is, that’s what it takes to win.”
