Sayville’s Coan has edge in CFL team’s backup QB battle heading into season

The Grey Cup champ is frontrunner for No. 2 job behind veteran Trevor Harris, says Saskatchewan’s GM

Sayville native Jack Coan enters the 2026 CFL season as the frontrunner to claim the backup quarterback role with Saskatchewan, according to CFL outlet 3DownNation.

Speaking at the CFL combine this week, Roughriders general manager Jeremy O’Day said the organization has no plans to bring in an outside veteran at the position. The backup battle, he said, will play out entirely between the quarterbacks already under contract.

“Our plan is to go to camp with the guys that we have,” O’Day told 3DownNation. “We haven’t communicated with anyone outside the organization, as far as any veteran-type players.”

While the competition is described as wide open, O’Day made clear that Coan’s two years in the system give him a meaningful head start.

“Jack has been here longer than the other guys,” said O’Day, who with Coan on the roster coached the Roughriders to a Grey Cup championship in 2025. “It’s up to Jack to go out and perform.”

Coan, 27, will face challenges from Tommy Stevens, Jordan McCloud and Brayden Schager for the backup spot behind Harris, the Grey Cup MPV who enters his fourth season in Saskatchewan and is turning 40.

The urgency around succession has grown accordingly. O’Day noted the Roughriders have seen seasons change in an instant when a starter goes down.

Coan, a Sayville High School and Notre Dame product, signed with the Roughriders in March 2024. Over two seasons, he has completed 12-of-29 pass attempts for 138 yards with one touchdown across for 23 regular-season CFL games.

The six-foot-three, 218-pound passer signed a one-year contract extension with Saskatchewan in January.

Greater Long Island has followed Coan’s football journey since his days as a starter in college for Wisconsin.

In high school, he earned the Hansen Award and led Sayville High School to a Long Island championship.

After one standout season at Notre Dame, he went undrafted in 2022. He signed briefly with the Indianapolis Colts, then, after not making the Colts out of pre-season, played a spring season in the XFL with the San Antonio Brahmas.

He has had tryouts with the New York Jets, San Fransisco and several other NFL teams.

_{Top: Jack Coan carries the ball during the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ game against the British Columbia Lions at Mosaic Stadium on Oct. 25 (Photo taken by Arthur Ward) and Coan after the team won the Grey Cup last fall (Credit: Mike Coan)}