Craig Dickenson won’t return as Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach

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Craig Dickenson will not be back as head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the 2024 season, per sources.

The 52-year-old was on an expiring contract and was not offered a new deal to return next year.

Dickenson recently accepted the blame for his team missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year after finishing the regular season with a record of 6-12. The Riders lost seven consecutive games to end the campaign, culminating in their elimination from postseason contention.

Dickenson took over as the bench boss of the Riders after Chris Jones left for a position in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns following the 2018 season.

The native of Great Falls, Mon. helped lead Saskatchewan to a first-place finish in the West Division in 2019 following a 13-5 campaign, though the green and white fell to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Final. The Riders finished second in the West in 2021 with a 9-5 record and beat the Calgary Stampeders in the West Semi-Final before another loss to Winnipeg the following week.

Things took a turn for the worse in 2022 when the Riders finished the year at 6-12 following a promising 4-1 start, losing their final seven consecutive games. The script was almost identical in 2023 as the team started 3-1 before finishing 6-12 with a seven-game losing streak.

Dickenson finished his tenure with the Riders with a 34-34 regular season record and a 1-2 record in the playoffs.

Click here for Saskatchewan’s list of pending free agents.

Prior to rising to head coach, Dickenson was a respected special teams coordinator in the CFL, winning two Grey Cups in that role. He held that position with the Stampeders, Roughriders, Blue Bombers and Edmonton Football Team.