Riders’ request to interview Mark Kilam for spot on Corey Mace’s coaching staff denied by Stampeders

The Saskatchewan Roughriders request to interview Mark Kilam to potentially join Corey Mace’s coaching staff was denied by the Calgary Stampeders, per sources.

Kilam has been with the Stamps since 2005 when he joined the organization as a strength and conditioning coach and defensive assistant. He was promoted to special teams coordinator in 2010 and remained in the role ever since while earning the assistant head coach title in 2019.

The 44-year-old native of Lethbridge, Alta. is well-respected across the CFL and viewed as a future head coach candidate. However, he has stayed in Calgary despite outside interest and could be part of the franchise’s long-term succession plan.

A chance to join Mace in Saskatchewan may have been enticing as the pair spent 12 seasons together with the Stampeders. The Riders’ 38-year-old head coach played six seasons as a defensive lineman with Calgary from 2010 until 2015 then joined Kilam on the coaching staff. The two men won Grey Cups together in 2014 and 2018. Mace left to become defensive coordinator in Toronto for the Argonauts in 2022.

Kilam was one of the candidates interviewed for the Riders’ vacant head coaching position prior to Mace’s hiring but the Stampeders would not grant permission for additional conversations regarding a possible lateral move. Saskatchewan did hire one member of the Stamps coaching staff in offensive coordinator Marc Mueller, though that hiring constituted a promotion for Calgary’s former quarterbacks coach.

Combining two dynamic young coaches like Mace and Kilam would have made the Roughriders an attractive destination for free agents. While the union was ultimately blocked, the request proves that Mace is willing to do whatever it takes to win in Regina.

The Riders open the team’s 2024 campaign on Saturday, June 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET when Saskatchewan visits the Edmonton Elks.

[metabet_core_side_odds_tile query=”fbb/saskatchewan_roughriders” size=”100%x100″ site_id=”3downnation”]