The Saskatchewan Roughriders aren\u2019t just preparing for another season with Trevor Harris under centre; they\u2019re quietly laying the groundwork for what comes next. And increasingly, that plan appears to involve trusting Jack Coan.<\/p>\n
Speaking ahead of the CFL combine, vice president of football operations and general manager Jeremy O’Day made it clear the organization is comfortable with the quarterbacks already in the building. There\u2019s no rush to look outside for a veteran option. Instead, the Roughriders are turning inward.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur plan is to go to camp with the guys that we have,\u201d O\u2019Day said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t communicated with anyone outside the organization as far as any veteran-type players.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Harris entering his fourth season in Saskatchewan and turning 40, the conversation around the future of the position isn\u2019t hypothetical anymore. O\u2019Day acknowledged as much, noting the team has to start preparing for life after its veteran starter, even if the timeline remains fluid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we’ve got to start preparing for life after Trevor. That will be determined as time goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
But while the Roughriders aren\u2019t naming a clear-cut No. 2 heading into training camp, the investment and opportunity surrounding Coan stand out.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old has been in the system since 2024 and was re-signed in January. He\u2019s seen limited action, but meaningful flashes, including a touchdown pass in his CFL debut and a role in short-yardage packages during a Grey Cup-winning season\u00a0that has\u00a0given the organization confidence.<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
More importantly, O\u2019Day didn\u2019t shy away from what that investment represents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe invested two years in Jack. When we looked at it, knowing that Jake (Maier) was going to move on, we had the conversation, ‘Do we feel like we\u2019ve got the guy in the building already?’ And the answer to that was yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s as close to an endorsement as you\u2019ll get in March.<\/p>\n
Still, the competition will be real. Coan will be pushed by Tommy Stevens, who has carved out a reputation as one of the league\u2019s most effective short-yardage quarterbacks, along with newcomer Jordan McCloud and young prospect Brayden Schager.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Day emphasized\u00a0the battle for the backup job is \u201cwide open,”\u00a0but context matters. Coan has the advantage of familiarity not just with the playbook, but with the organization\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n
\u201cJack\u00a0has been here longer than the other guys. It\u2019s up to Jack to go out and perform.\u201d<\/p>\n
That puts him squarely in the spotlight heading into training camp.<\/p>\n
The Roughriders know how quickly a season can change at quarterback. O\u2019Day referenced past years where a starter went down just three plays into a season. With Harris no longer in his early 30s, the urgency to have a capable successor isn\u2019t theoretical.<\/p>\n
While Saskatchewan isn\u2019t declaring Coan the heir apparent, their actions suggest belief. They didn\u2019t bring in a veteran safety net. They re-signed him. They\u2019ve developed him. And now, they\u2019re giving him the first real opportunity to take the job.<\/p>\n
For a team balancing a Grey Cup window with the realities of an aging starter, that\u2019s a significant vote of confidence.<\/p>\n
Training camp will determine how it all shakes out. But for now, the Roughriders are making one thing clear: if the next quarterback is already in the building, they believe Jack Coan might be that guy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Saskatchewan Roughriders aren\u2019t just preparing for another season with Trevor Harris under centre; they\u2019re quietly laying the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[3878,49,48,521,522,520,3290,4398,27684,27683,1893,4401,27682,4400,4399,82],"class_list":["post-561647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-agriculture","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-contests","tag-country-music","tag-gx94","tag-manitoba-news","tag-radio","tag-rider-radio","tag-saskatchewan-news","tag-saskatchewan-roughriders","tag-saskatchewan-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}