Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Corey Mace is going through some challenging times. He's taking responsibility, albeit with his tongue firmly in cheek.
Mace is just 2-for-10 when it comes to successful challenges this season, giving him a 20 percent success rate. That's the lowest mark among CFL head coaches.
Through 17 weeks, CFL coaches collectively are 25-for-67 on challenges. Hamilton's Scott Milanovich has the league's best success rate at 57.1 percent.
Mace's career numbers aren't much better than what he's managed this season. He went 4-for-9 in 2024 and 5-for-11 in 2025, leaving him with an 11-for-30 clip over his three seasons as a head coach.
But instead of pointing the finger at the CFL Replay Centre, Mace is pointing it at himself. When asked about the process the Roughriders use to determine whether to challenge a play, Mace offered a cheeky response before accepting responsibility.
“Clearly, terrible process. I got to cut out the coffees and the pre-workouts maybe before games or something,” Mace said. “No, that's on me. I got to be better in those moments.”
The decision isn't simply about whether Mace believes a call can be overturned. There is also the risk of losing a timeout, something that can become particularly valuable later in a game.
“I wish we had an extra timeout later in the game,” Mace said. “I got to do a better job of outweighing the plus-minus, the risk-reward so to speak, in certain situations.”
Mace also made it clear that his players aren't influencing the decision. The challenge flag is his call and his alone.
One of Mace's two successful challenges this season came in the Labour Day Classic against Winnipeg. Late in the fourth quarter, Blue Bombers receiver Ontaria Wilson prevented Riders’ safety Nelson Lokombo from an interception in the end zone. The officials initially ruled that Wilson had not committed offensive pass interference.
Mace challenged the ruling. The CFL Replay Centre overturned the original call and determined Wilson had committed offensive pass interference, moving Winnipeg back to first-and-20. It was Mace's second successful challenge of the season.
The challenge system has become an increasingly important part of CFL coaching. The league introduced instant replay and coaches' challenges in 2006, then moved to a centralized Command Centre in Toronto in 2009.
The league has subsequently refined the process, including emphasizing the “clear and obvious” standard. Replay officials aren't intended to re-officiate a play. There needs to be clear evidence that the original ruling was incorrect.
That decision to throw the flag is a calculated risk. For Mace, those calculations haven't produced the results he'd like this season. But he's not passing the blame.
He's taking responsibility for the Roughriders' challenging times one challenge flag at a time. And perhaps the most revealing part of Mace's answer was his final assessment.
“That's all me, man. Ain't nobody else.”
