Josh Bell was recently promoted to the role of defensive coordinator with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, a title formerly held by head coach Corey Mace. The 40-year old bench boss recently opened up about the decision to reward his longtime colleague.
“Many teams would want Joshua Bell to be their defensive coordinator and it’s something that wasn’t a secret for myself or Josh. It’s something that we talked about and certainly have been prepping Josh and pushing Josh to prep for taking that next step, and working hand-in-hand with him over the last couple years in doing so, it was just his time,” said Mace from the CFL’s offseason winter meetings in Calgary.
“He’s definitely earned the right to be able to see what that looks like and a lot of stuff that our defence looks like going back a bunch of years is from the brains of Joshua Bell, myself, and everybody else included. How we operate I don’t think is going to change — the recipe is probably the same, but the ingredients might look a little bit different, have a little different flavour to it, so I’m excited to see that, too.”
Mace and Bell have spent over a decade together and won at least one Grey Cup in each stop along the way. They won a championship together as players with the Calgary Stampeders in 2014, as coaches in Calgary in 2018, coaches with the Toronto Argonauts in 2022, and coaches with the Roughriders in 2025.
Saskatchewan’s defence was a big part of why the team was able to knock off the Montreal Alouettes at Princess Auto Stadium in November. Davis Alexander was intercepted three times, while Tevaughn Campbell stripped Shea Patterson on a potential game-tying touchdown plunge in the late stages of the fourth quarter.
On the season, the Roughriders ranked third in offensive points allowed, second in net yards allowed, first in rushing yards allowed, third in sacks, third in takeaways, and fifth in yards allowed per play.
“(Bell’s) done an incredible job through his entire coaching career. I’ve always thought of him as one of the top coaches at his position group. How we operate, and how we’ve operated for quite a few years together, it’s a collaborative effort. I don’t think that’s going to change at all,” said Mace. “We’re fortunate as ever to have him stay in the building and be able to do that with us. Truthfully, I know it was important for him as well, so extremely excited for his opportunity.”
Given Saskatchewan’s success and the quality of the team’s assistants like Bell and offensive coordinator Marc Mueller, it would be understandable if other teams looked to Riderville for a future head coach. Though he doesn’t look forward to losing anyone, Mace wouldn’t be surprised to see some of his colleagues become head coaches in the future.
“Hopefully they’re with the Riders as long as (GM Jeremy O’Day) and I are with the Riders, that’d be a perfect world, but certainly both of those guys are tremendous, tremendous football coaches, great leaders of men,” said Mace.
“I’m pretty dang certain that they’ll be having their own teams at some point of time, but it’s gotta be the right situation for them, so the fact that they want to stay and be a part of what we’re doing and continue to do, super grateful. I love those guys like I do all everybody else in the organization, but tremendous coaches with bright futures, no doubt.”
With the native of Port Moody, B.C. no longer serving as his own defensive coordinator, Mace is looking forward to having a little more time on his plate. He’s planning to invest more energy with the offence while also having more freedom to pursue studying situational football.
“I think it depends on how you’re going to allocate the time. The number one thing I’m most excited about is spending more time in the offensive meeting rooms and being able to share some more time with not only those coaches in meeting room environments, but certainly the players. I never had the opportunity to cross-train in my coaching career and being on the other side of the ball, so I’m excited about some of that,” he said.
“My heart’s not going to stray too far from where from it’s been, and it’ll allow me a lot more time as well just to look at different situations. I think situational football, watching more and more games outside the allotted that I usually do, certainly I think can help. From a team perspective, allow me to have some more time to look at some more things that I’d like that I don’t have the time to do, but certainly now I’ll have that time. I’m excited for some new things, but ultimately, we know our recipe.”
