Roughriders CEO Craig Reynolds wants new GM by mid-December
Decision on head coach will likely follow hiring of general manager
Saskatchewan Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds was facing a lot of questions about some important jobs on Thursday morning.
The Riders did not qualify for the playoffs this season after recording a CFL-worst 3-15 record. It's also the team's worst record since 1999.
Head coach Corey Chamblin and general manager Brendan Taman were fired on Aug. 31.
Bob Dyce and Jeremy O'Day took over the respective roles on an interim basis but now, the club is looking for permanent replacements.
Reynolds told reporters he hopes to have a new GM in place by mid-December.
"This is the leader of your football team," Reynolds said. "This is the person who sets the vision for your football team, who drives the culture of the football team and ultimately builds your football team."
Any decision on hiring a new head coach will likely wait until then, although Reynolds said he hasn't ruled out hiring one person to do both jobs.
"I think we got to the point where we want to evaluate all our options, we want to comfortable at the end of the day we've hired the right person for the Saskatchewan Roughriders," Reynolds said. "We have both positions open which can be appealing to certain candidates. But obviously that takes a very special person to be able to do both roles."
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The team has yet to announce whether Dyce or O'Day will remain with the team moving forward.
"In this province you get lots of opinions," Reynolds said. "But at the end of the day I need to be comfortable with this decision and I'll walk our board through it so that they're comfortable with the decision I've made, but at the end of the day I own this decision."
It hasn't taken Reynolds long to be thrown into the fire. He's only the second president and CEO in Riders history, officially replacing past president Jim Hopson on March 1.
Raised in Foam Lake, Sask., Reynolds first joined the Riders as the Chief Financial Officer in 2009.