Dickenson out, O'Day extended, after Riders' disappointing season

The Saskatchewan Roughriders will be looking for a new head coach in the off-season after another disappointing end to their CFL campaign — finishing second to last in the West division.

The Roughriders announced Monday that Craig Dickenson's contract will not be renewed. The news came two days after the Riders dropped their seventh straight game and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.

"I want to thank Coach Dickenson for all of his hard work, dedication. He really worked his butt off the last number of years he gave to the Roughriders," Jeremy O'Day, the Roughriders' general manager and vice-president of football operations, said in a media briefing on Monday. 

"Ultimately, I thought the best decision to move our team forward was to make the decision to not bring coach Dickenson back."

The Roughriders' search for a new head coach will start immediately and continue for the next number of weeks, but O'Day didn't give a definite timeline. The new coach will then hire new staff, O'Day said.

O'Day will be staying on after he received a three-year contract extension.

President and CEO Craig Reynolds said O'Day is the right person to lead the front office.

"Jeremy has an excellent track record of identifying and bringing in quality talent to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, with many players having gone on to have successful seasons including two 1,000-yard receivers in 2023," Reynolds said in a news release.

"I am confident in his ability to find the next great head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and to put together a team Rider Nation can be proud of."

Next year will be O'Day's 26th year with the organization. He joined the team as an offensive lineman back in 1999, then joined the team's football