The Saskatchewan Roughriders have offered and Kelly Jeffrey has accepted to be the team’s offensive coordinator position, per sources.
It’s a one-year contract for the 2023 season. He will also be the quarterbacks coach.
Jeffrey was one of two final candidates for the position. The other, Toronto Argonauts passing game coordinator and receivers coach Peter Costanza, withdrew himself from consideration over the weekend.
Numerous other potential candidates removed themselves from the running over the last couple of weeks, including Calgary Stampeders’ quarterbacks coach Marc Mueller, Edmonton Elks run game coordinator and receivers coach Markus Howell, and former Montreal Alouettes head coach Khari Jones, who opted to take the vacant offensive coordinator role in Ottawa instead.
Jeffrey has no professional play-calling experience but he has performed the duties at the collegiate level. He was the head coach and offensive coordinator at Mayville State University from 2002-2005 as well as at Mount Allison University in 2006 and 2007.
His offences at Mayville State were unusually productive for the struggling program but he was still fired after four seasons, posting a dismal 6-34 record at the helm.
In 2008, Jeffrey was elevated to head coach at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, a position he would hold for eight seasons. He posted a 26-38 record but the Mounties peaked towards the end of his tenure. The team won consecutive Loney Bowl titles as the Atlantic University Sport conference champions in 2013 and 2014, coming up just short in 2015. After an undefeated 2014 regular season, he was honoured with the Frank Tindall Trophy as the USports coach of the year — an award for which he was nominated three times.
Toronto Argonauts head coach Scott Milanovich gave Jeffrey his first CFL shot in 2016, pegging him as special teams coordinator. The Boatmen did not score a return touchdown and finished near the bottom of the league in terms of net average when kicking, finishing the season 5-13.
Jeffrey was not retained when Milanovich left for the NFL but stayed in his former boss’ Rolodex, as he would have been part of his staff with the Elks during the cancelled 2020 season. Jaime Elizondo went a different direction in 2021 but the well-travelled coach landed on his feet with the Riders a year later.
Recently re-signed running back Jamal Morrow gave Jeffrey’s candidacy his endorsement when he spoke to Regina media last week.
