Kelly Jeffrey, the Riders' new offensive coordinator, addressed media for the first time since the organization announced him as the new hire on Monday.
“I’m so excited to be a part of Ridernation. It is the flagship organization of the CFL. Growing up in the US, my parents are from Texas and you get the love of Texas football. You follow the big universities down there and to me that’s what this organization is and there’s no place I’d rather be,” said Jeffrey.
Jeffrey joined the Riders in 2022 as the team’s running backs coach. Before that, he was the special teams coordinator for the Toronto Argonauts in 2016 and was on staff with the Edmonton Elks in 2020.
In his time as the running back, he worked with one of the best in the league, Jamal Morrow, who recently re-signed with the Riders through the 2023 season. Morrow was asked last week about the potential of Jeffrey moving over to Offensive Coordinator.
“He was a staple for me this past season. I love his coaching style. He was a guy that believed in us. In the room, we love him. If he takes the position, I think it would be a huge success to this team,” said Morrow before he learned the news.
“That meant the world to me (what Morrow said) and it matters. Relationships matter in this business. You got to earn these guys’ trust. I’ve always kind of believed in the mantra, ‘You can push a player as far as they can trust you’, said Jeffrey on the relationships he has already built with some of the Riders’ offence.
But it was an offence that was the brunt of most of the criticism in the 2022 season. The Riders finished with a 6-12 record, and out of the playoff picture. As well, it was a season where the team set the record for most sacks allowed (77) which lead to questions around not only the offensive line but who will be the starting quarterback next year.
“Cody (Fajardo) is a great player and we’ve got a history together. Coincidentally, when I was in Toronto in 2016, he was my personal protector for a while on the punt team. So he was someone a long time ago I kind of identified as a strong athlete. All of these quarterbacks that we’re evaluating (right now) can be successful and Cody is one of them,” said Jeffrey on whether he wants Fajardo to return to the team next season.
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Jeffrey knows the expectations are high for next season and Rider fans will not hold back if the offence continues to fall short.
“I’m really excited about the challenge. My first head coaching job, they had one winning season in 34 years. My second coaching job, I took over a team that was three wins and 45 losses over the last 48 games. So I don’t look for established organizations,” said Jeffrey. “I don’t want to follow up a legend and have things easy. I see opportunity and to improve greatly.”
Jeffrey is a three time AUS Coach of the Year and was named the CIS (now U Sports) Coach of the Year in 2014.
He was previously the head coach and offensive coordinator at Mayville State University (MSU) from 2002 to 2005, and coached quarterbacks at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of San Diego.
The puzzle now is how the Riders plan to improve on offence. One way Jeffrey plans to try is by using the team’s run game more effectively.
“I think you have to attack on a broad front. If you cannot run the ball, you’re going to have a hard time closing games. We’re going to do our best not to run into a loaded box and clean those things up for our run game, so we can get more explosives,” he said.
