hosting privileges for the Western Final (Nov. 8, 5:30 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cJeremy and I have a great working relationship and Jeremy and Corey have a great working relationship, so it came together quite easily and quite quickly,\u201d President-CEO Craig Reynolds said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey both wanted to be here. We wanted them both to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Talks commenced in late August, the initial step being to extend O\u2019Day\u2019s tenure in Saskatchewan so it would approach the 30-year mark.<\/p>\n
He debuted with the Roughriders as an offensive lineman in 1999. Beginning in 2000, he was a mainstay at centre for a decade before moving to the team\u2019s football-operations side.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Day was named to his current position on Jan. 18, 2019. In his first year as the GM, the Roughriders went 13-5 and finished first in the West Division.<\/p>\n
Mace was hired on Nov. 30, 2023. He, too, enjoyed success in Season 1 of a new job, being honoured as the division\u2019s Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n
\u201cStability and continuity in pro sports is really, really important,\u201d Reynolds said. \u201cI love going to work with both those guys. They\u2019ve had tremendous success so far and I\u2019m excited we were able to get this done.\u201d<\/p>\n
The excitement is shared by O\u2019Day, who is about to experience his 12th division final as a Roughrider.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very honoured and privileged to continue to represent the Roughriders,\u201d said O\u2019Day, 51, who was born in Lockport, N.Y. \u201cI\u2019ve been here for quite some time and my whole family has been raised here. It\u2019s pretty special for me to be able to receive the extension.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, in turn, to be able to secure an extension with Mace.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Corey, it\u2019s not just words,\u201d O\u2019Day said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just putting something up on a PowerPoint and saying, \u2018This is our motto.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the really good coaches, they know how players feel. They kind of go through the emotions with the players. He\u2019s able to do that, so he can feel what they feel.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows when to push and when to pull. He\u2019s got a good handle on the players and what they need. He can be that soft hand. He can be the heavy hand if he needs to be. He\u2019s just good at predicting when to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the outset, the O\u2019Day\/Mace duo was a perfect fit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey complement each other so well,\u201d Reynolds said. \u201cThey\u2019re both family guys and they see the world very similarly. You could see that from Day 1, even when I met Corey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching those two work together, they just have an outstanding working relationship. They work extremely well together. They have the same values and they live those values day in and day out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey understand the community and the importance of this franchise to the community. It\u2019s special when you get two folks who are like that, so you want them to be here for the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
The playing careers of O\u2019Day and Mace intersected during the 2010 CFL season. Mace was then a first-year CFL defensive lineman with the Calgary Stampeders after having made his professional football debut with the Buffalo Bills \u2014 O\u2019Day\u2019s favourite NFL team.<\/p>\n
After Mace spent his entire CFL playing career with the Stampeders, he remained with Calgary as its Defensive Line Coach. He subsequently spent two seasons (2022 and 2023) as the Toronto Argonauts\u2019 Defensive Co-ordinator before joining the Roughriders.<\/p>\n
\u201cSaskatchewan and the people of this province are very family oriented and very loyal to the things that they love,\u201d said Mace, 39, who hails from Vancouver. \u201cWe see it the same way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think from a football standpoint and how we\u2019re trying to build the team matches perfectly with the identity of the people of this province as well. There were a lot of things that aligned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully we\u2019re making everybody proud to this point and that we continue to do it week in and week out.\u201d<\/p>\n
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