Riders hire Ben Olson as d-line coach

REGINA — Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson has announced Ben Olson as the club’s defensive line coach.

Olson joins the Roughriders after spending the 2019 season as the defensive line coach at McNeese State University. Olson has seven years of coaching under his belt. He started out as an undergraduate assistant at his alma matter, Eastern Illinois, before moving to Rose-Hulman as the linebackers’ coach. Between 2013 and 2018, Olson coached at Bowling Green, Syracuse, Colgate and Yale.

McNeese State has two significant CFL connections. Former Riders’ QB Kerry Joseph and former REDBLACKS receiver/returner Dionte Spencer played at McNeese. Joseph coached at McNeese after he retired and is currently the running backs/passing game coordinator at Southeastern Louisiana University.