![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\nHe admitted he thought he would be back on the playing field for 2026. Johnson had just finished a season where he recorded six sacks and was still considered one of the best run-stoppers in the CFL.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was difficult. When we left the Grey Cup and walked off that field, I wasn\u2019t thinking that was my last game, at all. The first thing I was thinking about was running it back and what I needed to address in the offseason as a player to be better to keep playing at a high level,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
But then head coach Corey Mace told him there was an opportunity to become the defensive line coach, which meant Johnson suddenly had a decision to make.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the older you get, you always think about that transition and what your transition will be like when you\u2019re done playing, and not every player has an opportunity to have a smooth transition,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cMace asked me, \u2018What more can you accomplish? What more are you trying to accomplish with the CFL?\u2019 From that aspect, it was easy for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mace remembered what it was like the first time he watched a game as a coach instead of playing in one.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe a little bit different because Micah was good. My body was more than ready to be like, \u2018Thank god I\u2019m not out there,\u2019\u201d Mace shared. \u201cSome of the big games, you get so jazzed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mace, who was teammates with Johnson in Calgary, said he has had conversations with Johnson for years about what he would do once he was done playing.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes in this industry as a coach, it\u2019s about timing. It was an opportunity for him,\u201d Mace said. \u201cTo me, he\u2019s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He has an opportunity to give back to the game that has given him so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
And now that he\u2019s a coach, Johnson is realizing exactly how many hours get put in by the staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there was anything bad I ever said (about coaches), I take it back,\u201d he stated. \u201cThat\u2019s an adjustment. Coming from player to coach, that alarm clock is going off at 5:30 every morning, and we\u2019re up here at 6-6:30 at the latest every morning and players leave and you\u2019re here gameplanning or doing whatever you have to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it has been a big adjustment for my family \u2013 that\u2019s where my guilt comes from. I\u2019ve been playing football for so long so they are used to dad being home at 2:30-3 in the afternoon. I think that kind of aspect and the strain it puts on the family has been an adjustment, because the kids are asking where are you at all day?\u201d<\/p>\n
Notes: The Riders announced the signings of two national players \u2014 long-snapper Mike Benson and defensive back Jonathan Edouard. Benson spent the previous five seasons (2021-25) with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers \u2026 Safety Nelson Lokombo (ankle), long-snapper Aaron Crawford (knee), linebacker Jayden Dalke (hand) and defensive end James Vaughters (ankle) all did not participate in Wednesday\u2019s practice. Offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick (knee) was a full participant after being listed as a non-participant on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The Riders will take on the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday. Kickoff for the game is set for 5 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n
by Britton Gray – CJME News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He admitted he thought he would be back on the playing field for 2026. Johnson had just finished…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":744106,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-744105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744105","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=744105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/744106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}