Roughriders name Jason Maas offensive co-ordinator

Jason Maas said Friday that being part of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ coaching staff is “a bucket-list thing.”

“I think if you’re a CFL guy, you want an opportunity to coach here one day,” Maas said at Mosaic Stadium after the team announced he had signed through 2021 to be the Roughriders’ offensive co-ordinator.

The move means Maas will be replacing Stephen McAdoo, who joined the team in 2016.

Head coach Craig Dickenson said he had made the decision to make a change at the co-ordinator position even if Maas wasn’t available.

“I just felt like it was time for a change,” Dickenson said. “I appreciated everything (McAdoo) did. I thought he did a great job. I’ve known him for a long time. I just felt like a new voice and maybe a new direction was going to be good for our team.”

Maas was fired as head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos on Nov. 27 after four seasons on the job. He compiled a 39-33-0 regular-season record and was 3-3 in the playoffs. In the 2019 CFL post-season, Edmonton lost 36-16 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Division final.

Dickenson said he wanted to move fast to try and bring Maas to Saskatchewan.

“I knew he would be highly sought after and I knew if we didn’t act quick, he might go to somebody else and we really wanted him,” Dickenson said.

Maas, 44, said he was sitting at home and expected to not have a job in 2020 after he was let go by Edmonton.

“I started fielding calls with various people around the league and started to get interest,” Maas said. “It wasn’t until a couple days after that that Craig reached out — which was surprising to me. As the talks progressed with Craig, I started to lean heavily towards here.”

Maas said he and his family weighed the different options he had and decided the Roughriders would be the best choice for them.

“We were all in,” said Maas, who said the players and coaches in Saskatchewan were a big part of his decision-making process. “I couldn’t be more pleased and happy to be a part of this.”

Maas will take over an offence that amassed 6,715 yards, second-best in the CFL, along with 44 touchdowns (18 passing, 26 rushing) during the 2019 regular season.

Mass said he’s looking forward to working with quarterback Cody Fajardo, who was named the West Division’s most outstanding player last season after throwing for 4,302 yards and 18 touchdowns while adding 611 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.

“He’s talented — he can run the ball, he can throw the ball — and he’s tough as hell,” Maas said. “Watching him play, he has that moxie and that savviness to him that you appreciate so I’m looking forward to working with him.”

Dickenson said he and Maas are working to determine who will be the other offensive coaches on the staff.

“(Maas) is going to have a large say in who he has around him because I want him to be comfortable, but ultimately we’ll put together the best staff that we feel fits the room and fits the culture that we’re trying to create here,” Dickenson said.

Maas spent 11 seasons as a quarterback in the CFL, playing 198 regular-season games and making 62 starts.

Shivers stays in the fold

The Roughriders also announced Friday they had extended the contract of defensive co-ordinator Jason Shivers through the 2021 season.

Shivers, 37, took over as the Roughriders’ defensive co-ordinator last season after Chris Jones bolted to the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.

Under Shivers’ tutelage, the Roughriders’ defence allowed the fewest touchdowns (30) and the fewest yards of net offence (5,299) in the CFL. Saskatchewan also had the most sacks (56) in the league in the regular season.

Shivers spent three seasons as the Roughriders’ defensive backs coach before being promoted last season. He also had stints as a coach with the Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts.

Before starting his coaching career, Shivers played 56 career regular-season games as a defensive back with the Tiger-Cats and Argos.