The Saskatchewan Roughriders had interviewed six other candidates for their vacant offensive coordinator role following the conclusion of the 2022 CFL season. Jason Maas had been the Roughriders OC from December 2019 until his firing on November 1st. The Riders struggled on offense all year under Maas and were losers of 9 of their final 11 games of the season.
Jeffrey inherits an offense that was among the worst in the CFL last season. The Riders were third worst in the CFL behind only the Ottawa REDBLACKS and the Edmonton Elks in points per game. The Riders averaged a dismal 21.5 points per game this past season. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, BC Lions and Calgary Stampeders all averaged 29+ points per game, so the Riders were well off the mark from the league’s top teams. The Riders were actually dead-last in the entire league averaging only 311.4 yards per game during the regular season.
“Jeffrey is believed to be one of the two finalists for the position. Pete Costanza, the receivers and pass game co-ordinator with the 2022 Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts, was the other candidate. Rod Pedersen reported on the weekend that Costanza withdrew his name from consideration for the opening.”
via Regina Leader-Post
Jeffrey was the Roughriders’ running backs coach during the 2022 season and is one of the few holdovers from head coach Craig Dickenson’s offensive staff. Prior to coming to Saskatchewan he was the quarterbacks coach with the Edmonton Elks in 2020. He will likely be most remembered though for his experience as a college head coach. He was the head coach of the Mount Allison Mounties from 2008 – 2015. While he was the head coach of Mount Allison he took a college team that had largely been in shambles for years and made them one of the most successful college football teams in Atlantic Canada.
“He is a three-time AUS Coach of the Year (2010, 2013, 2014) and was the named the CIS (now U Sports) Coach of the Year in 2014, when the Mounties went undefeated. With Jeffrey at the helm the program won back-to-back AUS Championships (2013-14) and appeared in the championship final in 2015.”
via Riderville.com
Several other more high-profile candidates turned down the offensive coordinator job including Khari Jones, Marc Mueller and Jarious Jackson. Jeffrey will have his work cut out for him as the team does not have any veteran quarterbacks under contract for next season and is presently overhauling the team’s offensive line.
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