SportsCage analyst Glen Suitor believes\u00a0the B.C. Lions\u00a0will give the Saskatchewan Roughriders the most trouble in the 2026 CFL season as the Green and White try to defend the\u00a0Grey Cup.<\/p>\n
“You look at their coaching staff,\u00a0it’ll be year two for Buck Pierce as the head coach and play-caller.\u00a0Nathan Rourke,\u00a0he’s going to be much more comfortable,” Suitor said on The SportsCage. “I think that staff will settle in.”<\/p>\n
The Lions finished second in the\u00a0West Division last year\u00a0with an 11-7 record, won the West Semi-Final over the Calgary Stampeders but lost\u00a0in\u00a0the West Final to the Riders 24-21.\u00a0Suitor likes\u00a0the additions B.C. has made in the offseason, especially on defence.<\/p>\n
“They went into free agency and really added some defenders.\u00a0Dionte\u00a0Ruffin, Casey Sayles, and maybe\u00a0the most important, Darnell Sankey\u00a0in the middle,\u00a0he will bring in that leadership on defence,” Suitor said.<\/p>\n
“Personnel-wise that they have T.J. Lee and the veterans back,\u00a0the B.C. Lions, I think, will improve on defence. Offensively, this is still a fantastic team with the MOP at quarterback.”<\/p>\n
Shifting to the\u00a0Stampeders, Suitor wanted to highlight their defensive coordinator, Bob Slowik.<\/p>\n
“I thought he did some really cool things last year with that defensive line. He rushed with four, but he had such a real cool sort of scheme where he would get [Folarin] Orimolade off the edge and force the quarterback to step up in the pocket. Then he’d have spies underneath like Clarence Hicks that would\u00a0slide and make the tackle,” Suitor explained.<\/p>\n
“It was a setup that you haven’t really seen, it wasn’t conventional.\u00a0Slowik has quite the resume, we’re talking about the NFL with the Broncos and DC down there. He was a coach for a long time in college.\u00a0I’m really excited to see what he brings.”<\/p>\n
Calgary finished the 2025 season with an\u00a011-7 record and\u00a0lost to the Lions in the\u00a0West\u00a0Semi-Final 33-30. Stamps’\u00a0head coach\u00a0Dave Dickenson\u00a0has held that role since 2016 and been the team’s general manager since 2023. He used to be\u00a0offensive coordinator, but\u00a0promoted Pat DelMonaco to the role in 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n Turning to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Suitor was\u00a0most interested in head coach Mike O’Shea\u00a0hiring offensive coordinator Tommy Condell.<\/p>\n “Winnipeg is the team in the West that has made\u00a0a change,\u00a0they brought in Tommy Condell. Mike O’Shea did not wait to make this move. It wasn’t because Jason Hogan did an awful job last year,\u00a0I think it’s\u00a0maybe inexperience in the play-calling department,” Suitor said.<\/p>\n “So O’Shea saw what happened last year, saw the team slip a bit, and said, ‘Let’s bring in some more experience to play call for Zach Collaros.’ Now, Zach and Tommy Condell have worked together before, so that chemistry will be automatic.”<\/p>\n Condell was Collaros’\u00a0offensive coordinator for two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2014 and 2015.<\/p>\n The Bombers crossed over to the East during the 2025 CFL playoffs with a\u00a010-8 record. Winnipeg\u00a0faced the Montreal Alouettes and lost 42-33 in the East\u00a0Semi-Final.<\/p>\n Next up is the Edmonton Elks, led\u00a0by Mark Kilam, who will be in his second season as head coach. Similar to Winnipeg, Suitor is interested in how the Elks’ offensive coordinator will do.<\/p>\n “Jordan Maksymic was back in Edmonton last year. He’s going to be working with Cody Fajardo, and that’s a quarterback style that works with Jordan Maksymic. Tre Ford and Jordan Maksymic didn’t work,” Suitor pointed out.<\/p>\n “I’m not blaming one or the other, but that offence didn’t suit Tre, and Tre didn’t make the adjustments. So you can divide the blame any way you want, but Cody Fajardo is the type of quarterback that Jordan Maksymic is used to.\u00a0I could see that’s going to be a good combination.”<\/p>\n Tre Ford started last season as\u00a0the No. 1 QB\u00a0with Edmonton before Fajardo took over, which caused\u00a0Ford\u00a0to go to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats<\/a>. Last year,\u00a0Edmonton finished last in the West Division with an 7-11 record and did not make the playoffs.<\/p>\n Rounding it off with Saskatchewan, Suitor appreciates\u00a0Corey Mace delegating defensive tasks to Jousha Bell<\/a>, who will be that unit’s\u00a0coordinator for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n “Corey Mace is going to do the big picture more and let Josh Bell take care of the defence and have that responsibility. Corey has been calling defensive plays early in his tenure in Saskatchewan, and\u00a0is stepping away from that, which I think that’s a good call in a lot of ways,” Suitor detailed.<\/p>\n “He can still have tons of input,\u00a0even in games, but, thinking as a coach, our game happens so quickly that the big picture and game management for a head coach is crucial.”<\/p>\n