Corey Chamblin signs a contract extension, keeping him with the Riders through 2017

Corey Chamblin's had a pretty great few months. After leading the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a hometown Grey Cup win in November, he was named the CFL's Coach of the Year in February. Now, the Riders have given him a long-term contract extension. The deal, officially announced Thursday afternoon, runs through 2017 and should ensure that Chamblin's leading the green-and-white for a while. There could be tough times ahead given the team's offseason losses and the pressure on the defending champions, though, so it will be interesting to see if Chamblin can help keep the Roughriders near the top of the league or if they'll fall back to the pack.

The coaching job Chamblin did in 2013 was certainly impressive. He worked to integrate sometimes-troublesome CFL veterans like Dwight Anderson and make them valuable additions to the Saskatchewan lineup while also continuing to develop the team's youth and keeping long-time Riders like Darian Durant involved and effective. Another element of his work that shone was his willingness to be unconventional and work with his coordinators to go with outside-the-box strategies that maximized the team's talent, such as featuring the ground game (led by star running back Kory Sheets) much more heavily than any other CFL team had done in decades, starting Canadian Mike McCullough at middle linebacker and moving Canadian Craig Butler around between the linebacking corps and the secondary. Overall, he displayed plenty of leadership and innovation, and that turned out to be crucial.

Chamblin was perhaps under more pressure than any other CFL coach last season given the passion in Riderville ahead of the 2013 Grey Cup and the team's less-than-stellar 8-10 record in 2012, but he got them off to a great start, overcame a mid-year slump and moulded the team into peak form heading into the playoffs. His unrattled approach and grace under pressure was thoroughly evident during Grey Cup Week too, especially with the endless comparisons everyone drew between him and Hamilton coach/general manager Kent Austin, the former Saskatchewan legend whose picture still hangs at Mosaic Stadium and who the Riders tried to land in 2012 before hiring Chamblin. Austin got the majority of the attention, but Chamblin got the last laugh on game day, and the dominant performance he brought out of his team under the Grey Cup's bright lights bodes well for his future in Regina.

However, the sailing may not get any smoother for Chamblin in 2014. Being champions isn't easy, and there's a reason no one has won consecutive Grey Cups since the Montreal Alouettes in 2009 and 2010 (and before that, the Toronto Argonauts in 1996 and 1997). First off, players tend to become more attractive both in free agency and to other leagues following a championship, and that's been a big part of the offseason that's seen the Roughriders lose Sheets and Weston Dressler to the NFL, Butler to Hamilton, running back/returner Jock Sanders to Calgary, defensive linemen Keith Shologan and Zach Evans to Ottawa, and plenty of others. Beyond that, the defending champions always have a target on their back in league play, with everyone wanting to knock them off. Chamblin's done a terrific job with the Riders so far, and he succeeded under very difficult circumstances last year, but things don't seem likely to get any easier this coming season.