{"id":309440,"date":"2025-11-27T03:44:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T03:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/309440\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T03:44:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T03:44:13","slug":"another-big-day-for-oday-riders-gm-reflects-on-2025-championship-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/309440\/","title":{"rendered":"Another big day for O\u2019Day: Riders\u2019 GM reflects on 2025 championship season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Precisely 18 years after Jeremy O\u2019Day first celebrated a Grey Cup title as a Saskatchewan Roughrider, he met with reporters to summarize the fifth championship season in franchise history.<\/a><\/p>\n

O\u2019Day has been a part of three of those Cup-winning efforts \u2014\u00a0as a centre (2007), Assistant General Manager (2013) and, now, as the Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager.<\/p>\n

The Roughriders captured their most-recent title on Nov. 16, defeating the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n

Saskatchewan\u2019s 2024 season also concluded in the Manitoba capital, where the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won last year\u2019s Western Final and advanced to the Grey Cup for the fifth season in succession.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about it last year after we lost in Winnipeg that it was very important for us to get first place and to get a home playoff game,\u201d O\u2019Day said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see the difference that made. Having a home game for the Western Final was a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Especially when the Roughriders defeated the B.C. Lions 24-21 on Nov. 8 at Mosaic Stadium to advance to the 112th Grey Cup Game.<\/p>\n

With green and white confetti flying, Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris was named the 2025 Grey Cup\u2019s Most Valuable Player after completing 23 of 27 passes for 302 yards and directing three touchdown drives. His completion percentage (85.2) set a Grey Cup record.<\/p>\n

Most Valuable Canadian honours went to Samuel Emilus after his 10-catch, 108-yard performance. Emilus was chosen by O\u2019Day in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2022 CFL Draft. The Roughriders\u2019 GM signed Harris as a free agent the following year.<\/p>\n

Player retention is one of the critical factors as the Roughriders set their sights on being a repeat champion.<\/p>\n

Harris, who is on an expiring one-year contract, told reporters last week he would be \u201cshocked\u201d if he did not return to the field in 2026.<\/p>\n

However, the 39-year-old signal-caller also emphasized that he would take time to discuss the decision with his family before making any definitive announcements. He doesn\u2019t expect it to be a protracted process.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo breaking news today,\u201d O\u2019Day said with a chuckle on Tuesday. \u201cWe\u2019ve had discussions. Trevor got on the road a couple of days ago and we had a good discussion before he left.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, it\u2019s an early conversation. We\u2019d love to have Trevor back and I think he knows that. It\u2019s just a matter of us getting back on the phone and trying to work something out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Montreal-born Emilus, a two-time 1,000-yard receiver, signed a new contract in April of 2024 that extended through the 2025 season. He is among many Roughriders receivers who can test free agency in February if agreement on a new contract is not reached beforehand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a group that\u2019s loaded with really good players,\u201d O\u2019Day said. \u201cUltimately, it\u2019s going to come down to how many of them we\u2019re going to be able to get back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be difficult to bring every one of the receivers back, just because we have a salary cap. But I also say that two years ago, (some of) those guys weren\u2019t on our team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a responsibility as well to replace players. If one of those players goes to another team because they have a better financial opportunity, that\u2019s kind of out of our control. The cap is kind of what it is.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we look at the roster as a whole, we\u2019re going to try to put together the best roster available, not just the best couple of players.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have some challenges like we do every year. Yes, there\u2019s a lot of guys who are free agents, but it kind of happens that way every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Day has been a Roughrider every year since 1999, when he signed with the team as a free agent. He retired as a player in February of 2011 \u2014\u00a0despite coming off a season in which he was a divisional All-CFL selection for the sixth time \u2014 and soon moved into football operations. He has headed that department on a full-time basis since Jan. 18, 2019.<\/p>\n

With O\u2019Day in the GM\u2019s chair, Saskatchewan has twice finished first in the West Division (2019, 2025), appeared in four Western Finals (2019, 2021, 2024, 2025) and won one championship.<\/p>\n

As one who settled in Regina and raised his family here, he has an advanced understanding of what a Grey Cup win means for Rider Nation and the team\u2019s bottom line.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope it\u2019s good for business,\u201d O\u2019Day said, adding that the fan support in 2025 was \u201cawesome,\u201d as was last week\u2019s Grey Cup parade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith players, it just helps when you\u2019re coming off a championship. Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but I think there\u2019s already a lot of talk about being the first team to repeat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that every team that wins it says the same thing, but it has never been done here before, so there\u2019s a little bit of added motivation for our players. Being the first team to do it here would be special.\u201d<\/p>\n

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