The Saskatchewan Roughriders have promoted Joshua Bell to defensive coordinator, but don’t expect the 41-year-old to suddenly change who he is.
Bell views the title differently than most.
“Public accountability. That’s about it,” Bell said with a grin when asked what becoming defensive coordinator means to him.
The California native officially took over the role on Jan. 9, 2026, after spending the past two seasons helping shape one of the CFL’s top defensive units. And while the promotion comes with more responsibility, Bell insists the philosophy behind Saskatchewan’s defence remains rooted in collaboration.
“I’ve been defensive coordinator the past two seasons in my mind,” Bell explained. “Now I just get to have a Madden controller.”
That “controller” comes with oversight of a veteran-loaded defence that helped Saskatchewan capture the Grey Cup in 2025. Bell’s fingerprints were already all over the secondary before the promotion. In 2024, defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. exploded into a CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player season under Bell’s guidance, leading the league with eight interceptions and eight defensive takeaways.
Three Roughriders defensive backs earned All-CFL honours that season, while Saskatchewan finished with a league-best plus-26 turnover ratio.
The success carried into 2025. Saskatchewan’s defence delivered three interceptions in the Grey Cup game, while veterans like Marcus Sayles and Tevaughn Campbell continued to thrive in Bell’s system.
Still, Bell is quick to deflect individual praise.
“What we do, we do a brain trust,” Bell said. “Coach Travis Brown is gonna call some plays. Coach Micah Johnson is gonna call some plays. Coach Jay Lynn is gonna call some plays. We are all trying to remember everything that we thought about during the week.”
That approach is one of the reasons head coach Corey Mace believed Bell was the right choice to lead the unit. Players consistently speak about the trust and communication inside Saskatchewan’s locker room, something Bell believes matters far more than scheme.
“A lot of us who’ve won Grey Cups in this league, we understand that it’s not really the Xs and Os ever, it’s the Jims and the Joes,” Bell said. “It’s a relationship. We’re all linked together, regardless of our titles.”
Bell’s own playing career gives him instant credibility. Before entering coaching, he won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers in 2011 and a Grey Cup with Calgary in 2014. He later transitioned into coaching stops with Calgary and Toronto, winning championships with both organizations before arriving in Saskatchewan in 2024.
Now he inherits a defence loaded with talent and expectations.
“You must set a goal higher,” Bell said when asked what it would take for Saskatchewan’s defence to dominate in 2026. “You can’t be afraid of setting a goal for greatness and attempting to dominate every single opponent.”
Bell lights up when talking about the group he now oversees. He raved about returning veterans such as Sayles, Milligan, Mike Rose and Jameer Thurman, while praising the front office for adding new pieces that fit the culture already in place.
“These guys are amazing,” Bell said. “The old vets that are back and returning guys, they’ve come in better. They’ve worked their butts off in the off-season.”
For Bell, the promotion is less about authority and more about responsibility. The title may have changed, but his mission has not: Build relationships, demand accountability and help the Roughriders chase another championship.
