Roughriders embrace proven formula by hiring Josh Donnelly
Yesterday at 10:57 AM
The University of Regina Rams' coaching and quarterbacking ranks continue to be a pipeline to Canadian professional football.
The trail was blazed by former Rams quarterback and assistant coach Marc Mueller, who spent nearly a decade on the Calgary Stampeders' staff before being appointed the Roughriders' offensive co-ordinator leading up to the 2024 CFL season.
Mueller recently welcomed Josh Donnelly, who joined Saskatchewan's coaching staff as an offensive assistant on Dec. 19. Donnelly, also a Rams quarterback of note, was the Canada West team's offensive co-ordinator last season.
"I don't want to set the bar high, but it's kind of a similar transition to Marc Mueller," Head Coach Corey Mace notes.
Mueller, who was the Rams' quarterbacks coach in 2013, began his tenure in Calgary as a defensive assistant before moving to the offensive side.
Donnelly got a taste of the CFL last spring when he was a guest coach at Coors Light Riders Training Camp. His work ethic and other attributes quickly impressed Mace and Mueller, among others.
"I'm really pleased to keep him at home and with us," Mace says of Donnelly, "so it's exciting for him and exciting for us."
Donnelly, who turns 25 in May, is the youngest assistant coach in Roughriders history. But he joins the organization full-time as someone who has long had ties to the Green and White.
His father, Neil Donnelly, was the executive director of the 101st Grey Cup Festival — a phenomenally successful event that was held in Regina in 2013.
The week culminated with Saskatchewan defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 at historic Mosaic Stadium.
"I remember going to the Grey Cup with the family when the Riders won it," Josh Donnelly recalls. "We've been going to games since I was a kid. We've had season tickets for a long time. That transitions to going to games with your friends and your buddies.
"The last couple of years, since I was associated with the Rams, it was going to the games to sell 50/50 tickets. My parents have been selling 50/50 tickets for the last six years. My cousins and grandparents and everyone have been going to Rider games for years and years and years.
"It's definitely an important part of our family and our community. It's a pretty cool thing to be a part of it."
The year after watching the Roughriders celebrate a home-field Grey Cup victory, Donnelly quarterbacked the LeBoldus Golden Suns to a Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association 4A football title — the first of three in a row of which he was a part.
Donnelly redshirted with the Rams in 2018 before ascending to the role of starting quarterback. In 11 games at the U of R, he threw for 2,946 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Although his playing career ended prematurely in 2022 due to an accumulation of concussions, he turned a setback into an opportunity by quickly embracing a coaching role.
"That whole process taught me a lot of lessons along the way," Donnelly recalls.
"Sometimes things happen for a reason and, even if you can't see it at the moment, you just have to stay the course and trust that something good is going to come out of it and find the good out of it.
"Had I continued playing and had I not been injured, I definitely wouldn't be in the position I'm in today. I take that lesson into the rest of my life and other aspects moving forward."
While seamlessly transitioning into a coaching capacity, Donnelly worked with the Rams' offence in 2022 — a year in which he was technically on the roster.
He formally joined the staff in 2023, when he was named the pass game co-ordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Donnelly was promoted to offensive co-ordinator in June of last year. It was a prosperous season for the Rams, who caught fire in the playoffs, captured the conference title, and played host to the Mitchell Bowl — a national semi-final.
A few weeks later, Donnelly received a phone call from Mace and an invitation to join the Roughriders' coaching staff.
"He kind of put the offer out there," Donnelly says. "Obviously, with an opportunity like that, you can't really pass it up.
"It was a pretty quick process. The next thing you know, I'm getting set up in the office and meeting some people and stuff like that.
"It was an honour that they thought of me and there's just an excitement to get going."
