Corey Mace, who was recognized as the 2025 recipient on Wednesday night in Edmonton<\/a>, joins an elite list that also includes Kent Austin (2007), Corey Chamblin (2013) and Chris Jones (2018).<\/p>\nAcceptance speeches aside, is there a common denominator?<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, a big part of it is winning on the football field, but that\u2019s probably the end product of the work that they put in,\u201d said O\u2019Day, the Roughriders\u2019 Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think all of them had a really good sense and a really good feel for the players that they\u2019re coaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not completely convinced you can coach every player the same way. Every person is different. People are motivated differently. Some people can be coached harder than the others.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a sense of the whole group in the locker room, I think they were all pretty solid at recognizing how the players were feeling and understanding what they need \u2014 whether you need to push them or sometimes pull them back.<\/p>\n
\u201cCorey is really exceptional with dealing with players and talking with players. He has a commonality with them, being that he was also one of the players and understands the locker room.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt comes down to being prepared. The players have got to trust you. They\u2019ve got to believe what you\u2019re saying. Ultimately, they want someone who\u2019s going to stand up in front of them and deal with them and be honest and care about them, too. That\u2019s something Corey does really well.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Day announced the hiring of Mace on Nov. 30, 2023.<\/p>\n
In Year 1, Mace helped the Roughriders earn a home playoff game and a berth in the Western Final. He was the division\u2019s nominee for the Coach of the Year award, won by the Montreal Alouettes\u2019 Jason Maas.<\/p>\n
Mace and Maas were also the finalists in 2025, when their teams collided in the 112th Grey Cup Game \u2014\u00a0won 25-17 by Saskatchewan on Nov. 16 in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
It was the fourth Grey Cup championship for Mace, who had previously won it all as a player (with the Calgary Stampeders in 2014), defensive line coach (Calgary, 2018) and defensive co-ordinator (Toronto Argonauts, 2022).<\/p>\n
O\u2019Day began his CFL career as a player with Toronto in 1997, when the Argonauts\u2019 Don Matthews was decorated as Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n
In 1999, O\u2019Day signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent began a 12-season run as a member of the team\u2019s offensive line.<\/p>\n
During that time, the Austin-coached Roughriders won the Grey Cup in 2007.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Day next earned a championship ring as the Roughriders\u2019 Assistant GM in 2013. He was the Vice-President of Football Operations and Administration when Jones guided the 2018 edition to a 12-6 record and was duly rewarded with Coach of the Year laurels.<\/p>\n
Overall, Mace is the eighth Roughrider to receive the prestigious prize. Steve Owen (1962), Eagle Keys (1968), Joe Faragalli (1981) and John Gregory (1989) preceded Austin, Chamblin, Jones and Mace.<\/p>\n
\u201cCorey reminds me all the time that he loves it here,\u201d said O\u2019Day who, like Mace, is under contract through the 2028 season after signing an extension in October.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kind of laugh. He just gets it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The key word being it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people say that somebody has it, you don\u2019t really know what it is,\u201d Offensive Co-ordinator Marc Mueller said. \u201cIf you did, everyone would have it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something about him. People gravitate toward him. He\u2019s an easy guy to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mueller followed Mace to Regina shortly after the head-coaching announcement was made in late November of 2023. They had worked together as assistant coaches in Calgary from 2014 to 2021, sharing in two championships there.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were together in Calgary and seeing him when he was in Toronto and now being here together, I think of a guy who is a leader because he can relate to everybody,\u201d Mueller said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been in their shoes. He\u2019s a Canadian. He has played in the NFL. He has been at American schools. So basically, with everyone who is in that locker room, he has something to relate to them, which is pretty cool.<\/p>\n
\u201cA long time ago, somebody told me that you can tell who the leaders are, because people gravitate toward them at any event. At any event, people will gravitate toward Corey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether that\u2019s at a football game, before a football game, at a community event, at a restaurant \u2026 wherever it is, people want to be around Corey.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s because, first off, he\u2019s a good person. Secondly, he always has something to add to the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regardless of the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a rare breed in terms of being a players\u2019 coach who commands respect by his presence and by the way he does things,\u201d said quarterback Trevor Harris, the reigning Grey Cup MVP.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe makes it fun. We have a blast. But when it\u2019s time to work, it\u2019s time to work. When it\u2019s time to be buddy-buddy with him, you know that. He toes that line so well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s innate. It\u2019s who he is. It\u2019s not something that he tries to do. It\u2019s authentic. That\u2019s what I love the most about Corey Mace. He\u2019s authentic.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s who he is. He\u2019s not going to try to shy away from who he is. He\u2019s not going to try and hide the type of person that he is.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, with the type of person he is, he\u2019s a great man. He\u2019s a great father. He\u2019s a great football coach and he\u2019s a great head coach. It\u2019s easy to play for that guy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tangible when he\u2019s in the building. It\u2019s something you can\u2019t really experience unless you\u2019re here. I think when people come here, they\u2019re like, \u2018Man, Mace is the man.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cHe really is. He\u2019s the man.\u201d<\/p>\n
WEDNESDAY\u2019S WINNERS<\/p>\n
Also on Wednesday night, the Roughriders were announced as the inaugural winner of the CFL\u2019s Ted Goveia Football Operations Award.<\/p>\n
The award recognizes excellence in scouting, player identification, roster\u00a0building\u00a0and leadership.<\/p>\n
Led by O\u2019Day, the Roughriders\u2019 Football Operations Department also includes Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Personnel Kyle Carson, Assistant General Manager Paul Jones, Director of Football Operations Jordan Greenly and Assistant Director of Player Personnel Larry Dean.<\/p>\n
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