Saskatchewan Roughriders State of the Nation: Coach Mace and team still in that honeymoon phase

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New head coach Corey Mace and the Saskatchewan Roughriders are still in the “honeymoon” phase.

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Saskatchewan Roughriders State of the Nation: Coach Mace and team still in that honeymoon phase Back to video

That was clearly evident during the Riders’ State of the Nation at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex in Saskatoon on Saturday where Mace’s introduction received a standing ovation from Rider faithful in a standing-room-only packed hall.

Whether he was talking about how his beloved Crumbl cookies crumble in Saskatoon (“I could smash a dozen, no problem”), or how his wife and children are doing with the move to Saskatchewan, the affable Mace had Riders fans eating from the palm of his defensive-tackle-sized hand Saturday.

About to start his first season as a head coach in the Canadian Football League, Mace has been quick to display a Saskatchewan-sized sense of humour.

Mace — along with Riders general manager and vice-president of football operations Jeremy O’Day as well as CEO Craig Reynolds — mixed in some good-natured ribbing together with the more serious football talk while taking part on State of Rider Nation panel led by the team’s new play-by-play radio broadcaster Dave Thomas.

So far, so good, as O’Day not so gently reminded Mace:

“We hop in a car to drive here and we’re driving down the highway and there’s this huge billboard with his (coach Mace’s) face on it,” O’Day told Rider faithful at the State of the Nation.

“I told him he hasn’t lost a game yet — they’ll take that down so fast.”

The room erupted in laughter.

Indeed, Mace has already been introduced to the Rider’ pigskin passion in his new province.

The Riders’ Green and White Day — which included the State of the Nation panel, a practice and controlled scrimmage at SMF Field, an autograph session and fan activities — continues to be a popular event in Saskatoon despite sometimes questionable weather and, last year, wild fire smoke-filled skies.

There’s passion and there’s pride, all-around.

“We’re so passionate about this team, and we’re so proud of this team,” said Reynolds. “We’re going to do everything we possibly can to make you guys as proud of this team as you can be in 2024. I promise you that.”

During the question-and-answer period, Thomas and selected fans peppered the three panel guests with plenty of questions.

Here’s a sampling of the answers:

On what it’s like for Mace being in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan for his first training camp here:

“Obviously the support — you see it here today — we get it every day at practice,” acknowledged Mace. “Places I’ve been before, we’re not used to that stuff. Everything I anticipated it to be, it’s been that and then some. The fellas definitely understand it and they’re excited about it, as well.”

On what Mace was told about the unique experience of coaching in Saskatchewan during the hiring process:

“Corey’s been in the league a long time,” noted Reynolds. “Actually, I think I asked you, Corey, what makes this team and place special. It’s clear that it’s our fan-base and how much football matters here. I didn’t have to explain much to Corey. Being in the league, being around the CFL, playing here, coaching here. Corey knew what the Riders mean to the province, what football means here. So I didn’t really have to do too much explaining because that’s the one thing about Corey: he loves this league and he knew what he was getting into.”

On training camp thus far:

“A lot of training camp for me is just hoping guys stay healthy, but the amount of turnover we had as far as free agency, it’s exciting to see these (new) guys on the field,” said O’Day. “We added some all-star players and it’s just nice to see those guys and add those players to what we already had. What I’ve been most impressed with is just how the level of play around them has improved. We know they’re good players. We know they have a history of being good players in this league. But just seeing the other guys that are seeing that and raising the level of their play has been very evident and across the board. When you bring in players who are really good players, you want to be as good. There’s good momentum from training camp and right now is kind of really when the magic happens. Players who come from other teams, new draft picks, 40 rookies that are in camp. The growth that happens at training camp — the bonding, the brotherhood — is really critical for the season. That’s what we’re trying to do. One of the reasons why we come to Saskatoon is that we’re all under the same roof. They’re around each other, they’re talking football and, even for me, (with) the coaching staff, everyone can see that there’s a bit of a sense of urgency at practice.”

On adding more Saskatchewan-groomed players to the roster:

“Just in general, the kids from Saskatchewan have a great work ethic,” said O’Day. “They were born and raised in Saskatchewan so it was kind of the way they were brought up. if they’re from anther province, they came and got involved, whether it’s the Thunder or Hilltops, the Huskies, the Rams. That’s kind of relevant in our locker room. Any time you have a player from Saskatchewan, or who has played in Saskatchewan, their work ethic is very strong. We always want a sense of pride. Obviously, it’s very important for us that they’re good football players as well. We’re not going to draft them just because they’re local, but if you have a combination of a very good player and they know the history and the pride, that’s what you want to have in your locker room. You want to have that sense of pride. The ‘S’ has to mean something to the the players. We’ve had great history in that. A lot of the teams we’ve had a lot of success with have had good players from Saskatchewan, so they just get it and understand it and hopefully that flows down to the guys who aren’t from here.”

On what the new coach is trying to build in Saskatchewan within that Riders locker room:

“Exactly what J.O. (Jeremy O’Day) just spoke to, the natural makeup of the people of this province,” offered Mace. “The goal is, when you watch the team, you identify with, just based on the work ethic. We’re going to be tough, regardless of what the weather looks like. We’re going to be flying around and we’re going to do things as a family … And we’re going to have a good time because people of Saskatchewan have a good time! But those are all the things we’re trying to instil right now as our guys have a strong grasp of that.”

On community engagement throughout the province:

“I’m just super proud of what our guys do and what our organization does,” said Reynolds. “Just looking at last year, it’s crazy. We had, I think, 280 days (out of 365 days in the year) where our players were somewhere in he community within Saskatchewan. It’s like 80 per cent or something like that. … It’s just amazing work. A lot of it’s done through our foundation now and we have an amazing mental health program throughout the schools and we’re talking to kids about mental health and the feedback from teachers and students is just incredible … That’s a huge program for us, as well as our reading program in schools with the younger kids.”

On the energy, enthusiasm and the willingness to even call a blitz at training camp:

“The defence we’ve been a part of the last couple of years, we’re pretty aggressive,” said Mace. “It’s give-and-take with that. We’re not going to sit back and die a slow death, so to speak. If we’re going to die, we’re forcing the issue. What we’ve found is we’ve been pretty successful. There’s a time and place for calling it. It’s who you’re studying, who you’re going against and, really, you’ve got to play the players on the other side of the field but you’ve got to play the play-callers, as well, and keep them off guard. At the end of the day, whether we’re calling pressure or not, we keep preaching and really pride ourselves on just ‘see ball, get ball.’ We call it S-T-B: Spread The Ball. That’s tackling by population on defence. That’s 12 hats (helmets) on one ball so everybody’s got to get a piece.’

On the status of the CFL:

“I think the league is in outstanding shape, as good of shape as it’s been since I’ve been involved,” offered Reynolds. “I think it starts with solid ownership across the league and we certainly have some  … In B.C., I think they’re going to host a great Grey Cup this year in Vancouver and Montreal (winning the Grey Cup last year) is solid there. The league is in really, really great shape and I think it starts with the quality of owners we have across the league.”

On the 2024 CFL Draft picks:

“They’ve been great. Coming out of the draft, the idea is obviously you want to improve your team but you want to come out of the draft with guys on your roster … We took some risks this year. We feel the reward is well worth it. (First-round pick) Nick (Wiebe), we think, is going to be a very good linebacker for us. He’s working hard and he’s right on schedule … with his knee in rehab. Our third and fourth round picks, al the way down, and some of our seventh and eight round picks, they’re right in the mix and they’re competing. I could see those guys really making a push to be on the roster. So that’s a good thing when you can start getting some of your later-round picks making your roster. We’re excited about them. We’re going to have guys who are going to be on our roster right away and some guys that you might have to wait a little while.

“They’re playing really well,” added Mace. “A lot of times, the back-end guys are hoping for depth pieces and maybe they can make it on special teams. These guys are making strides to potentially be good players on offence or defence, not just special teams, and they’ve worked their tails on special teams. I’m really excited about this draft class … I’m very pleased.”

On engaging fans and enhancing the fan experience at Mosaic Stadium:

“We’ve got just an outstanding group, very creative group, a very young group,” noted Reynolds. “I used to be one of the young guys; now I’m the old guy. They’re a really young group and, a result of that, a really creative group and they really elevate on game day. This year, you’re going to see a lot of activations that are really fan-focused. It’s going to lead to a lot of cool fan activity things. We’re going to have a lot more football involved at halftime where we’ll have more amateur football demonstrations … Whether it’s watermelon eating contests, or face-painting for the kids, we really want to get as many kids in the stadium as we possibly can. The team does an outstanding job of arranging activities to get kids excited to come to games.”

On game-day decisions and half-time adjustments:

“If we get scored on, we have to go score again,” said Mace. “In-game adjustments, my staff and I will hit that stuff … As far as adjustments, there’s more that goes into that then you guys think. It’s a full-staff thing. We’ve got a plan and a process … We’re getting to get scored on. We’re going to be put in tough situations and that’s adversity and that’s football. You’ve got two options: bounce back or bounce backwards.”

On controlling the music at practices:

“The first person I asked was Larry Dean, ‘how does this roll?’ “ explained Mace. “He said usually a player gives it to our intern John, and he runs the music up there. It’s been solid. We’ve been giving some requests. If there’s too much hip hop and stuff going on, AJ (Ouellette) is ‘where’s my country music?’ Its good. I made just one request. My daughter loves the Veggie Dance so I put it on there. It was fun to see the boys. They were joking around. It was good.”

On constructing the roster and tweaking it at this point:

“The heavy lifting is generally done in the off-season with players off the negotiation list,” explained O’Day. “You’re obviously going through free agency as well as the draft, but now you can kind of shift to areas that you think you have concerns in and bringing in a little more depth. You’re watching cuts from other teams and also watching guys who were on the negotiation list … Maybe the timing’s right for guys who might have gone to NFL mini camps … and may want opportunities. It’s kind of a balancing act … We’re always looking to get better so, from a personnel standpoint, it never really stops. It kind of goes on all the time — the announcement of players and agents reaching out. We communicate with the coaches to see if, hey, has anybody fallen behind on our roster? …

“Our training camps are so short that if you have an injury, it really makes it difficult to come back. So sometimes if you have an injury, you have to roll a player in and give them an opportunity to try and compete. Our schedule is jammed together in pre-season so it’s a little bit unique in how we approach who’s playing in the pre-season games and when they’re playing, just because of how close they (the two games) are. The short answer is, it never stops but it’s not as (busy) as it was in free agency.”

On offensive coordinator Marc Mueller:

“We’re good friends,” said Mace. “We’re roommates at the dorms here, so every night after practice, no matter which side of the ball won, we hash it out in the room. There’s been some rough conversations sometimes with me. Quarterbacks are looking efficient … He does an outstanding job. I think there’s a balance. He understands that the guys that we’ve signed, as J.O. spoke to, have raised the level of intensity and physicality on the offensive side of the ball but also, from a protective standpoint, a lot of people stepping their game up from that as well. Whether we’re blitzing, or Anthony Lanier’s pass rush, quarterbacks are having some time back there in making the right reads so that’s really good and encouraging to see the quarterback take the next step in understanding progressions and going through the reads, because we try and give them some tough looks.

“Just seeing how efficient they’ve been is encouraging to see. It’s encouraging to see from the head coaching position. From the defensive coordinator, it sometimes (not) but it’s been great to see.”

On the quarterbacking situation and depth:

“What I can tell you is, from what I’ve seen from some of the guys who were in the league last year with this team and had playing time, and even guys like Pip (Antonio Pipkin) — I had a chance to be around Pipkin as well (in Toronto) — so I can speak to those guys on what I know and, having them perform this year is probably the better version of what I’ve seen them do as individual playing at that position. Some of that has to do with the system; some of that has to do with the coaching they’re getting in understanding the system and what defences are giving them and what the reads and progressions are. Just J.O. alluded to, everything’s roses right now; we’ll see what it’s like when the bullets are flying but we’re ready for that. I want to know, just like you want to know. We’ll make sure that we pick the ones that we feel give us the best opportunity, not only the back-up quarterback but even the third quarterback. We’ll do our due diligence to pick those who give us the best chance to win with every scenario we have … I’m feeling pretty confident as to where we’re at in that room.”

O’Day on coach Mace and whether he’s been surprised by anything thus far:

“Nothing’s been a real surprise,” said O’Day. “You hire a new head coach and you like the guy. Hopefully he goes out there and he’s everything you thought he was … He’s better than I thought. So he’s the same guy, on the field, off the field … You can just see that it’s not made up. It’s not fixed. It’s not pretend. He’s developing those relationships (with players and coaches) and it’s kind of contagious, right? So not surprised, but more happily surprised, maybe, because he’s never been a head coach.”

dzary@postmedia.com

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