Saskatchewan Roughriders' linebacker Jayden Dalke believes it's a matter of time before defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Joshua Bell earns a shot as a head coach in the CFL.
"Definitely. I think he's going to have an opportunity to work his way into that position, similar to the blueprint that [Corey] Mace took," Dalke said on the SportsCage. "Being a renowned defensive coordinator and then once the opportunity arises or a seat or a position is there, I could see him being into that type of role. He's a good leader of men."
Before becoming a coach, Bell played in the NFL from 2008 to 2010, joining the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent. He played for the Denver Broncos from 2008 to 2009. After his time in the Mile High City, Bell played for the Green Bay Packers from 2009 to 2010. The five-foot-11, 177-pound defensive back added a Super Bowl to his resume when the Packers won in 2010, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25.
When Bell came to the CFL, he was with the B.C. Lions from 2012 to 2013 and finished his playing career in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders where he stayed from 2014 to 2017. As a player in the CFL, Bell won the Grey Cup with the Stamps in 2014, defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 20-16.
After his playing career, Bell went into coaching. He served as the Stampeders defensive backs coach from 2018 to 2020. Then Bell joined the Toronto Argonauts as their defensive backs coach from 2021 to 2023. Alongside former Calgary teammate Corey Mace, who was the defensive coordinator for the Argos, they won a Grey Cup in 2022. Bell followed Mace from Toronto to Regina in 2024.
Going back to Dalke, the Leduc, Alberta native, his path to professional football took longer with a little detour after high school.
"I was a little bit undersized. My brother and I both didn't hit our growth spurt until basically the year after we graduated, so we were very undersized. I took a year off to work full-time up in Fort McMurray, building modular construction for oil and gas companies. When you're living in camps for two weeks on, you work 12 hours, you come home, unlimited food, and then the gym," Dalke recalled. "I grew four inches and put on 30 pounds in a year. I found a way to walk onto the [Edmonton] Wildcats and that was through my drama teacher in high school. He had a connection, so he got me in touch with the head coach."
Dalke played for the Wildcats, a Canadian Junior Football League team from 2015 to 2018, then went to the University of Alberta Golden Bears from 2019 to 2021.
"My upbringing, we weren't always going to have the best stuff and everything. My parents started their family very young, I'm the oldest and I always felt I had to lead by example," Dalke said. "Anytime that somebody took a chance on me, I felt I owed it to them. That's why even after year two, I was offered scholarships to universities. I was trying to turn the program around at the Wildcats because they were the ones who gave me the opportunity. Generally, I was going to stay there."
After his time with the Golden Bears was finished, he earned the opportunity to attend the CFL Combine in 2022.
"That's when it all hit. As we start competing, I started my university career as an older senior student, so all of a sudden you go down on punt and no way they have a freshman 18-year-old trying to block me right now. This isn't really fair, I'm so much stronger than you, I can literally run and shove you over and then go make a tackle," Dalke said. "As you progress through the years, you get that invitation, you show up, you start meeting with all these coaches and you get a good feeling that they view my potential, they can see it — I had a feeling I'm gonna get drafted."
The Riders selected Dalke in the sixth round, 54th overall during the 2022 CFL Draft as he's in his fourth year with the team. This season, the 29-year-old Dalke played all 18 regular season games for the Green and White and totalled three defensive tackles plus 13 special teams tackles.
Saskatchewan finished first in the West Division and earned a bye week along with the right to host the West Final as the team awaits the winner from the West Semi-Final between the Stampeders and B.C. Lions on Saturday.
"If you show up, look for No. 38 jerseys," Dalke said about the West Final. "That'll be my family, they're a hell of a time. They'll have a bunch of horns and yeah, you'll enjoy yourself."
