Riders sign football operations head O’Day, head coach Mace to two-year extensions

REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed football operations head Jeremy O’Day and head coach Corey Mace to two-year contract extensions, the CFL club announced Tuesday.

The contracts, announced after the Roughriders (12-4) clinched first overall in the CFL standings heading into the playoffs, run through the 2028 season.

“These last two seasons have been incredibly special for Rider nation and our football club, and so much of that has to do with the winning culture created by Corey and Jeremy,” Roughriders president and chief executive officer Craig Reynolds said in a statement announcing the extensions.

“I know we are just at the beginning of what they have created – and I look forward to what they are able to accomplish not only as we head into a Western Final at home this season, but for many years to come.”

O’Day, the Riders’ vice-president of football operations and general manager, is in his 27th season with the club and seventh in his current roles. Quarterback Trevor Harris, 1,000-yard receivers KeeSean Johnson and Dohnte Meyers and 1,000-yard rusher A.J. Ouellette are among his free-agent signings enjoying strong 2025 seasons.

O’Day began his career as a Roughrider as an offensive lineman in 1999 and joined their football operations staff in 2011. He has won two Grey Cups in Saskatchewan, one as player in 2007 and one as an assistant GM in 2013. He also won a Grey Cup as a player with the Toronto Argonauts in 1997.

The 51-year-old O’Day gave Mace his first head coaching opportunity after Craig Dickenson was fired at the end of the 2023 season.

Mace, who also serves as the Riders’ defensive co-ordinator, led the Roughriders to a 9-8-1 season in 2024. The Riders went on to beat B.C. 28-19 in the West Division semifinal before losing 38-22 to Winnipeg in the division final.

The 39-year-old from Port Moody, B.C., is a former defensive tackle who played in 40 games with the Calgary Stampeders after three years with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.

He won a Grey Cup as a player with the Stampeders in 2014 and joined the CFL’s coaching ranks after his retirement in 2015.

He won another Grey Cup as a defensive line coach with the Stampeders in 2018, and a third in 2022 as defensive co-ordinator of the Argonauts.

The Roughriders host Winnipeg on Friday in the second-last week of the regular season. They host the West Division final on Nov. 8.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2025.