The Saskatchewan Roughriders have had another person of interest withdraw from consideration for the team’s vacant offensive coordinator position.
Current Toronto Argonauts’ passing game coordinator and receivers coach Pete Costanza has taken himself out of the running, per sources. He has won five Grey Cup rings since 2008 with his latest coming when the double blue upset the two-time defending champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 109th Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium in November.
He joined former colleague and current Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie in January 2022. Dinwiddie spent four seasons working alongside Costanza as quarterbacks coach in Calgary, reaching the Grey Cup three times and winning in 2018.
Costanza is best known for his time with the Stampeders, where he spent 11 seasons as receivers coach from 2009 to 2019, helping develop pass catchers such as Reggie Begelton, Marken Michel, Kamar Jorden, DaVaris Daniels, and Eric Rogers to name just a handful.
In 2021, Costanza was Winnipeg’s running backs coach. Andrew Harris, Brady Oliveira, and Johnny Augustine shared feature back duties as the blue and gold rushed for 1,337 yards and 14 touchdowns in 14 games. Three different Canadian backs crossed the century mark in a game that year as the Bombers went on to win their second straight Grey Cup, this time with Costanza on staff.
The Riders fired Jason Maas as the team’s offensive coordinator following a disappointing 6-12 season. The green and white finished eighth in the league with 19.8 offensive points per game and ninth with 302.6 net offensive yards per game. Saskatchewan allowed a league-worst 77 sacks with Cody Fajardo planning to test free agency after being replaced late in the year by Mason Fine.
Marc Mueller and Khari Jones interviewed for the Roughriders’ vacant offensive coordinator position, though neither remains a candidate for the job. Mueller elected to stay with the Stamps, while Jones was named offensive coordinator and assistant head coach with the Ottawa Redblacks. Jarious Jackson and Markus Howell, a pair of assistants with the Edmonton Elks, also declined requests to interview for the role.
That leaves Kelly Jeffrey as the lone known candidate for the offensive play-caller role in Regina.
