Canadian coaches, GMs set to make CFL history in 2025

CFL.ca Staff

TORONTO — There has never been a more Canadian – Canadian Football League.

Everywhere you look, you’ll see proud Canucks doing impressive things on and off the CFL field.

Obvious names like Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira and BC Lions wide receiver Justin McInnis lead the way on weekends by making spectacular plays seem like mundane tasks, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the overall imprint Canadians have on the league right now.

That’s because the league also proudly boasts four Canadian general managers and has four Canadian head coaches.

On the sidelines, Corey Mace, Bob Dyce, Mike O’Shea and Mark Kilam all head into the year as head coaches for the Riders, REDBLACKS, Bombers and Elks, respectively, and are making history. There has never been a season in CFL history with a quartet of Canadian head coaches.

Ted Goveia, Danny Maciocia, Kyle Walters and Shawn Burke are all sitting in general managers chairs heading into the year for the Ticats, Alouettes, Bombers, and REDBLACKS, respectively. This is the first time since 2008 that there has been four GMs with National passports in a season.

But wait, there’s more.

Two Canadian starting quarterbacks in Tre Ford and Nathan Rourke headline an explosive matchup between the Lions and the Edmonton Elks on Saturday at BC Place. This marks the first time that two Canadian quarterbacks have faced each other in a game since 1968 and the first time that two Canadian pivots have gone head-to-head in the opening week of a season in CFL history.

If that was all it would be an impressive feat in and of itself, but Ford and Rourke also have a legit claim to being two of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the league. Both pivots are very dangerous on the ground, averaging near nine yards per carry in 2024, but also can deck it out through the air with the best of them.

Did we mention they are also only 27-years-old, which means this could be the first of many matchups between the two National signal-callers?

Catch Mace, Dyce, Rourke, Ford and all of the talented individuals putting the Canadian in CFL starting Thursday, June 5 as the Saskatchewan Roughriders host the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Kickoff is slated for 9:00 p.m. ET.

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