The Saskatchewan Roughriders have named Jeremy O’Day as the team’s general manager and vice president of football operations.
O’Day was previously the assistant VP of football operations and administration. He spent 12 of his 14 playing seasons with the Riders before joining the front office as football operations coordinator in 2011.
“I have complete confidence he will continue to guide our team in the right direction. He is a quality person and more than ready to assume this position,” Riders president and CEO Craig Reynolds said in a statement.
Reynolds also officially introduced O’Day at a press conference on Friday. He said he’s confident in O’Day’s ability to lead the team into the future.
“He understands our culture, our locker room, our strength,” Reynolds said.
O’Day briefly served as interim general manager for the last nine games of the 2015 season. He was considered for the position before Chris Jones officially took over the role in December of 2015.
O’Day said it’s been his goal since he joined the front office to work as the team’s GM.
"Today’s the day that I get my opportunity,” he said.
O’Day added he was able to gain valuable experience working with Jones, who announced on Tuesday that he was leaving for an opportunity with the Cleveland Browns.
At the press conference, Reynolds thanked Jones for his time with the team and congratulated him on the opportunity to work in the NFL. Reynolds said he wouldn’t want to hold someone back from a career opportunity like this.
O'Day the process has already started to find a new Riders head coach. He said there has been a lot of interest in the position.
"We'll get the right head coach for the Roughriders to lead us into the future," he said.
The team will consider both internal and external candidates.
