The Canadian Football League (CFL) announced on Wednesday that Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Corey Mace was named the 2025 CFL Head Coach of the Year.
Corey Mace is in his second season as the Roughriders’ Head Coach. The 40-year-old from Port Moody, B.C, concluded his second season as Saskatchewan’s head coach, where he led the team to a 12-6 record, winning the West Division, and went on to win the 112th Grey Cup over the Montreal Alouettes.
Saskatchewan’s offense averaged 24.8 points per game, 382.6 average net offense per game, 103.8 rushing yards per game, 289.2 passing yards per game, 45 touchdowns, and allowed 26 sacks.
He also coached the Calgary Stampeders’ Defensive line from 2016-21, helping them win the Grey Cup in 2018. He also won a Grey Cup with Calgary as a player in 2014. Mace joined Saskatchewan in 2024 after spending two seasons as a Defensive Coordinator for the Toronto Argonauts, where he won a Grey Cup in 2022.
In 2024, the Roughriders finished second in the West Division with a 9-8-1 record, appearing in the Western Final against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He was named the 2024 West Division Coach of the Year.
As a player, Mace was drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the second round (11th pick) of the 2007 CFL Draft. However, he chose to sign with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. Mace played two seasons in Buffalo with two tackles (1 solo, 1 assist) in five NFL games. In the CFL, Winnipeg traded his rights to Hamilton in 2009. A year later, Hamilton traded him to Toronto.
The Argonauts traded Mace to the Calgary Stampeders on August 22, 2010. Mace signed a contract seven days later. He went on to play four seasons in Calgary with 44 tackles, four sacks, two fumble recoveries, one touchdown, and one kick return for 13 yards in 40 games, of which 34 were starts. He is a member of the 2014 Calgary Grey Cup championship team.
Collegiately, Mace played two seasons at Palomar College (2003-04). In 2004, he made 12 sacks and went on to be named All-Mission Conference Honors for the Comets.
Then, he transferred to Wyoming (2005-06) with 65 tackles (22 solos, 43 assists), 8 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups, and one forced fumble in 23 games for the Cowboys. He was named Second Team All-MWC in 2006.
