After the incredible 110th Grey Cup, which featured the Montreal Alouettes taking down the Winnipeg Blue Bombers by a score of 28-24, the CFL offseason is in full swing. There have already been many huge moves so far, and definitely more to come. First, what is happening in Saskatchewan?
COREY MACE HIRED AS HEAD COACH OF THE SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
Recently, the Riders were looking around the league for their new head coach. He had to be a winner, who wanted to be in Saskatchewan and most importantly, connected with the community. They got their man with Corey Mace. He checks all the boxes for the riders, who are reeling after two straight 6-12 season finishes. They believe that Corey Mace will be the man to take them to the Grey Cup and win it all. Trevor Harris, the quarterback for the Riders, is also very excited about the future in Sasky. In an interview with Michael Ball on the Sportscage, Trevor Harris stated that “there will be green and white confetti” next year at the Grey Cup. Fans already seem to be enjoying their new head coach, with lots of praise coming from Twitter, Youtube, and real life at the first-time head coach’s first press conference. Corey Mace has already won over the fanbase. Now all he needs to do is win.
SCOTT MILANOVICH TAKES OVER
In The Hammer, a shuffling of the deck has occurred with the coaching staff. Former head coach Orlando Steinauer now reduces his job title to only the president of football operations after coaching the Ticats to a 3rd place finish in the east in 2023. The cards have been rearranged now, with Ed Hervey taking over as the new General Manager. Along with these upper office roster moves comes the hiring of their new head coach, Scott Milanovich. Milanovich was the early favorite in the riders head coaching search, but he was eliminated from contention after a Chris Jones-esque non committal relationship with living in Saskatchewan. He has now taken over the HC position for the Ticats. In his inaugural press conference, he mentioned that he is there to win. Ticats fans need him to turn the ship around, as they haven’t won a Grey Cup this century.
CONDELL CAREENS TO THE RIDEAU CANAL
The Ottawa Redblacks announced recently that Tommy Condell will be their new Offensive coordinator, as well as keeping Bob Dyce in the head coach position. The Redblacks are coming off last-place finish in the east, something that has become commonplace in recent years. Condell aims to turn their offense around into one that can win games, like the overtime victory against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers early on in the 2023 season. Condell was also unceremoniously relieved of his duties last year following disappointing offensive production with the Ticats. He has a lot of work ahead of him, but Redblacks fans are hoping that he will be able to contribute to their team and turn the ship around to success in 2024.
MONEY IN MONTREAL
The Montreal Alouettes have started re-signing players left and right after their 28-24 victory over the Blue Bombers in the 2023 Grey Cup. They have signed three big names back to the roster to at least be back for the 2024 season.
The first re-signing was Cody Fajardo, who was ousted from Saskatchewan the year before. He had a bounce back year to take the Als all the way to the Grey Cup and win it.
The second re-signing was Shawn Lemon. Lemon started as a free agent at the beginning of the season after being released from the Calgary Stampeders. He was signed midway through the season and immediately made a huge impact on the Alouette defense. He finished with 26 defensive tackles, three tackles for losses and 9 sacks.
The third re-signing was Darnell Sankey. Also removed from the riders last offseason after they couldn’t reach an agreement on payment, Sankey pursued the XFL and won a championship. After his XFL stint, he was picked up by the Montreal Alouettes. He made his presence known at the linebacker spot with 31 tackles in only 6 games, one sack and one interception.
The fourth and final re-signing was Mustafa Johnson. He played on the D-Line with Lemon and was a vital part of their defensive game plan. He ended the year by playing every single game and finishing with seven sacks, one tackle for loss and 43 defensive tackles.
BC BRINGS THEM ALL BACK
The BC Lions will keep their entire coaching staff for the 2024 season. Rick Campbell will remain in his role as head coach, while Ryan Phillips gains the role of assistant head coach. He also will retain the title of defensive coordinator. John Bowman remains the defensive line coach, while Tanya Henderson and Travis Brown retain the titles of assistant DB’s coach and linebacker’s coach respectively. Jordan Maksymic remains the offensive coordinator after mild interest from the Riders. Kelly Bates stays as the offensive line coach, as well as Trysten Dyce and Jason Tucker staying as running backs and receivers coaches. The final two pieces are Mike Benevides and Derek Oswald staying as the special teams coordinator and special teams assistant.
That’s it for this week’s Off-Season report! Come back next Wednesday for another week in review.
By Bruce Chimirri-Olson
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