It’s all the same for James Vaughters. Only the job titles – and the city – have changed.
And for the veteran defensive end, that made signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a free agent this offseason a virtual no-brainer.
Here, among other familiar faces from his past, Vaughters reunites with head coach Corey Mace and defensive line coach Micah Johnson – just in different capacities than the last time they worked together.
The trio also spent Vaughters’ first three CFL seasons together with the Calgary Stampeders (including the three weeks he spent on the Stamps’ practice roster in 2016) – Mace then as defensive line coach and Johnson as arguably the league’s premier defensive tackle.
“Maybe I’m a bit nostalgic, I guess,” Vaughters told media Sunday after practice on the first day of the Riders’ main training camp. “But I always knew that Coach Mace as a D-line coach was one of the best coaches that I’ve had. Micah as a teammate was one of the best teammates I’ve had.”
Vaughters made his CFL debut with Calgary in 2017 after attempts to crack the NFL rosters of the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers over the previous two seasons, and quickly found a footing – thanks, he says, in large part to the mentorship of Johnson.
“Micah Johnson probably had the biggest effect on probably even my confidence and even my approach to the game as a 24, 25-year-old rusher that’s coming to the CFL after more cuts than I could count on one hand,” Vaughters said.
He registered 26 defensive tackles, including six sacks, as a rookie and remained consistent as a sophomore with 24 tackles and five sacks, before departing for the NFL once more.
There, he appeared in 27 games over three seasons with the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons. After a two-week stint under contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022, Vaughters returned to the CFL with Calgary.
By that time, Mace and Johnson had both moved on to new locales but no matter for Vaughters, who had five sacks and a forced fumble in six games with the Stamps in 2023.
He followed that with 32 tackles, five sacks and two forced fumbles over a full season in 2024, then signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and posted 36 tackles, six sacks and a fumble recovery for a touchdown last season.
For as happy as Vaughters is to once again be going to battle with some of his earliest mentors, the feeling seems to be mutual.
“He’s extremely smart,” Mace told reporters after practice Sunday. “His football IQ at the position specifically as it plays to this league is at a high level. He’s a high-motor guy, and aggressive hands man.
“Those are intangibles you can win with.”
Talking with Vaughters, you’d get the impression they’re the same types of intangibles he too values more than any statistical success.
“I think a lot of times people would gauge dominance based on who’s getting the most sacks in the league, but even playing against a quarterback like (Riders starter) Trevor (Harris) where the ball’s coming out (of his hand) at 1.5 seconds (after the snap), I always cared more about, if it’s not likely you’re going to get a sack in 1.5 seconds, which it rarely is, you want to at least be able to press the pocket, be able to affect the quarterback and I think that’s something I’ve always taken pride in.
“Sacks are nice but I think football is a game of efficiency and football’s a game of strategy and I think those things are more important than me doing, excuse my language, some sweet-ass rush and the ball’s already gone.”
Call them lessons learned after 101 regular season games of pro football and a Grey Cup championship, won in 2018 with the Stampeders.
Lessons, perhaps, he’ll be able to impart on some of his new colleagues as the season goes on – in his own understated way.
“I always just wanted to be able to say something if I see something but also just encourage guys to just try to see small things in guys games that I think could make them better. And I think if you see something I think it’s selfish to not say it,” said Vaughters.
“I wouldn’t consider myself a speech giver or anything like that but if something’s on your heart and you have the experience to affect your teammates in that way then I think it’s, I don’t want to call it a duty, but it’s a bit of a responsibility.”
