Saskatchewan Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds sat down with Global Sports’ Jacob Carr to chat about how the team is looking to turn the page on two consecutive losing seasons. Reynolds goes into the decisions to make sweeping changes at head coach and offensive coordinator, bringing in Corey Mace and Marc Mueller.
Carr : So you know, hate to hearken on the past but have to rewind the clock a bit just the second year in a row obviously a disappointing end to the season for you guys, another year of no playoffs, seven-game losing skid to end the year, so what in your eyes went wrong and why did the team fall short again?
Reynolds: Yeah it was a disappointing year and I think that’s what weighs most heavily on me and you know Jeremy, you know it’s the second year in a row we disappointed our fans so you can always look back and learn from those experiences but you know we’ve turned the page and are looking forward.
Carr: Absolutely and you mention trying to look at the past but I never asked Jeremy’s or your thoughts on this… just you know in Cody Fajardo and Jason Maas winning it all in their first year in a different market. Just kind of your thoughts on that, any regrets about letting them go?
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Reynolds: Yeah you know, certainly happy for both of them, they were both great Roughriders and got to know both of them over the years and they represented the club very very well, both outstanding people and I think in this business, you develop relationships with folks throughout the year, so I was certainly happy for them and excited for them and wish them nothing but the best.
Carr: What’s kind of the plan, the plan to turn things around after, like we said, two straight losing seasons and get back to the winning ways we saw in 2019 and 2021 after the Covid year?
Reynolds: Yeah that’s the plan and I think it starts first and foremost with the addition of Corey Mace, new head coach and he’ll bring on a new coaching staff and he’ll work to build that winning culture and the one thing we can say confidently with Corey is he’s won everywhere he’s been and I know that was important for Jeremy when he was going through the process was to find somebody who’s a proven winner who can get us back to those winning ways.
Carr: And then yeah just as I mentioned can you go into a little bit more detail about Marc Mueller, we were talking about him before off-camera, just my connection to him and stuff like that but what did you guys kind of see in him, obviously a local kid growing up here?
Reynolds: obviously there’s that local connection with his grandfather and growing up here in Regina and Saskatchewan. He really understands what this team means to the province, what this team means to the fans, he embraces that and he’s a great, outstanding young coach, he’s highly thought of in this league and we look forward to seeing what he does with our offence.
Carr: And you’ve probably been asked this before but what is the overarching message to Rider Nation, some of which may have a lost a little bit of faith in this team. Winning talks in this league so what would you say to those fans going into next season?
Reynolds: We’re fully committed to winning here and I think that was key in terms of the offseason and the decision that Jeremy made around Corey is finding a head coach that will build a culture and build a culture of accountability and build a culture of winning. And that’s something that absolutely I know our fans are looking for. They’re looking for a team that matches the passion that they bring and I think that under Corey’s leadership we’re gonna see that.
Carr: Awesome, well I appreciate your time so much, thanks for sitting down with me Craig.
Reynolds: Yeah absolutely, appreciate it so much.
