Kent Maugeri is celebrating a 10-year tenure.
A Saskatchewan Roughriders employee since Jan. 1, 2016, the reigning Grey Cup champions’ Special Teams Co-ordinator is one of just four coaches in franchise history to reach double digits in longevity.
“I’m proud to be here that long, especially in coaching,” he said on Tuesday in his office at Mosaic Stadium. “It’s tough to stay in one place for that many years.”
Among Roughriders coaches, Maugeri is second all-time in uninterrupted service. He is also one of just four coaches to spend 10-plus years with the team. (See chart below.)
The secret to longevity in an often-precarious profession?
“Be yourself,” Maugeri said. “Be authentic. Be consistent with the players, with the people you work with. Never get too high. Never get too low. I like that in my players, too. I hate it when a guy is an emotional rollercoaster.
“Every time I drive to the stadium and show up for work, I’m so thankful. Look at this place where we work. It’s crazy.
“I’ve had nine years in this building. At the old one, I was still happy to be there, but this one’s a little bit different. There’s not the same smells or leaks or animals.”
Historic Mosaic Stadium — a.k.a. Taylor Field — was a different animal entirely.
“We were tucked away in an old closet,” Maugeri recalled of 2016. “It was me and Merritt Bowden. We shared the office.
“I remember he stepped on a mousetrap — one of those sticky ones — and he was dragging it all over, with his cowboy boots on. It was hilarious.
“I don’t remember which coach it was, but he had a leak in his office. They even took the ceiling tiles off and said, ‘To hell with it. We’re leaving soon.’ There were pots stacked up, collecting the water. I just remember thinking, ‘This is awesome.’
“It has come a long way. No more leaky ceiling tiles.”
No leaky kick coverage, either.
The Roughriders and Montreal Alouettes — opponents in the 2025 Grey Cup Game — were the only members of the nine-team CFL not to allow a special teams return touchdown last season.
Saskatchewan’s 25-17 victory over Montreal capped Maugeri’s fourth season as the Special Teams Co-ordinator.
He joined the team as an offence-oriented Quality Control Coach in 2016 before spending three years as the Running Backs Coach. He moved to special teams in January 2020, working under Head Coach/Special Teams Co-ordinator Craig Dickenson, before the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out one full season.
Maugeri assisted Dickenson on special teams when play resumed in 2021 and was named the unit’s Co-ordinator on Jan. 27, 2022.
Dickenson is one of three Head Coaches with whom Maugeri has worked in Saskatchewan. The others are Chris Jones (2016-18) and Corey Mace (Nov. 30, 2023 to present).
Maugeri also enjoyed a lengthy association with his previous employer. After being a graduate assistant at Lindenwood University (based in St. Charles, Mo.) in 2008, he spent seven seasons as a full-time member of the Lions’ coaching staff. He was also the team’s Recruiting Co-ordinator.
“When I was at Lindenwood, I was the pro liaison, so Chris (Jones) would do a couple of his free-agent camps at our campus,” Maugeri recalled. “We had mutual friends and I helped run the camp for him. Then he offered me a guest-coaching job in Calgary in 2011. I did that and I fell in love with the league.
“I always liked the CFL. I loved Doug Flutie. You could watch the Grey Cup Game on TV (in the United States). I loved anything football, so when I got up there, I was like, ‘I can’t believe how fast it is and how good the talent is.’
“When Chris got hired here, he offered me the job. I didn’t know what I was signing up for. He was like, ‘I don’t know if it’s an offensive or defensive position, but I want you.’ I was like, ‘All right! Let’s do it!’
“It was the best decision I’ve made.”
Maugeri also appreciates his family’s decision to become year-round residents of Regina. Last winter was the first the Maugeris had spent together in Saskatchewan. Previously, the time had been divided between Regina and Daytona Beach.
The weather is infinitely nicer in Florida at this time of year, but …
“I love it — as you can see by my windburn,” Maugeri, who is originally from Mahopac, N.Y., said with a chuckle.
Of late, Maugeri, his wife Cathy and their children Blaine (12), Kylie (11) and Kaden (8) have braved brutally cold temperatures while immersing themselves in activities that are the quintessence of Saskatchewan.
“Our oldest is playing hockey, so we tour Saskatchewan all over the place,” Maugeri said. “We just got back from a tournament in Estevan. We’ve been to several different small towns.
“I hated moving twice a year … finding a place … the kids going to two different schools. As they get older, the curriculum gets a little bit different. Plus, they’ve got their friends and they’ve got their sports, so it has been cool. We just try to get down (to the U.S.) to visit when we can.”
Free time is precious for any football coach, but the scheduling is particularly intricate for a proud and devoted father of three.
“My favourite thing to do in the world is watch my kids compete at whatever it is — whether it’s my daughter playing soccer and doing gymnastics or whether it’s the boys playing football, soccer, baseball, hockey or anything,” Maugeri said.
“A lot of people don’t have that in our profession, especially when you’re coaching college ball.
“It was a constant grind. Not only are you trying to win a game that week in the season, but you’re also recruiting and you’re on the road a lot.
“Here, it is a grind and it is challenging, but I get to go home and I get to see my family before they go to bed. On walk-through day, I get to go home at a reasonable time.
“It’s truly a family atmosphere here. The kids are running around on the Day 4 walk-through days. There’s as many kids out there sometimes as there are coaches and it’s awesome.
“If I was coaching college, it would be a sprint to get off the field, get dressed, and go and watch two or three high school games that day. You get back and maybe you see the kids. Maybe you don’t. You’re on the road for so long.
“This is a grind, too, but it’s awesome. It gives me a great quality of life. A lot of that is because of Corey and his philosophy. Corey and J.O. (Jeremy O’Day, Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager) and those guys are family guys.
“And my wife … talk about a trooper. The coaches’ wives, I don’t know how they do it. We move all over the place, typically, and there’s no help, really. I’m gone so much during the season.
“Cathy has been the backbone. She has been awesome, to be able to put up with the winter. She handles it better than I do.”
The winter is more tolerable, mind you, when you’re a winner.
The entire Maugeri family was able to celebrate the Roughriders’ Grey Cup victory on the field at Winnipeg’s Princess Auto Stadium on Nov. 16.
“I’ll remember it forever,” he said. “I’ve got a great picture of all of us with the confetti going. We’re arm in arm. For them to experience it with me was really cool.”
There was only one snag.
“We missed a hockey tournament that weekend in Virden, Manitoba,” Maugeri said. “Sorry, guys.”
MOST YEARS ON ROUGHRIDERS’ COACHING STAFF
18 — Richie Hall (AC 1994-2007, 2011-14)
16 — Alex Smith (AC: 1997-2012)
10 — Craig Dickenson (AC: 2011-12, 2016-18; HC: 2019-23)
10 — Kent Maugeri (AC: 2016-present)
8 — Ron Estay (AC: 2001-08)
8 — Jason Shivers (AC: 2016-23)
7 — Dean Griffing (HC: 1936-41, 1943)
7 — Eagle Keys (AC: 1964; HC: 1965-70)
7 — Danny Barrett (HC: 2000-06)
7 — Greg Marshall (AC 1994-99; HC: 2011)
HC — denotes Head Coach
AC — denotes Assistant Coach