Regina Rams legend Frank McCrystal knows it's a matter of time before his former player, Saskatchewan Roughriders' offence coordinator Marc Mueller becomes a head coach in the CFL.
"He was destined to be a coach. There is absolutely no question that he could be a head coach right now in the CFL," McCrystal said on the 620 CKRM Rider Broadcast Network. "I'm not speaking for Marc, but he has a plan and he knows what he wants to do. Certainly, family and those types of things are very important to him. He'll make the decision when he has the opportunity and it'll be the right decision."
McCrystal coached Mueller from 2007 through 2012 when he was a starting quarterback for the Rams. Through those years spent together, McCrystal learned about Mueller's aspirations for coaching. Overall, the Regina native played 39 games for the Rams completing 62 percent of his passes for 6,522 yards with 34 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
"He wanted to learn more all the time," McCrystal recalled. "He spent so much time with Bernie Schmidt, our offensive coordinator, going over video, film and watching things."
After his time with the University of Regina as a player, Mueller spent some time with the Edmonton Elks as an undrafted free agent in 2011. When he was done playing, he transitioned to be the Rams quarterback coach in 2013. Then he made the jump to the CFL as the Calgary Stampeders defensive assistant in 2014. Mueller's next job responsibilities in the Stamps organization was running backs coach from 2015 to 2019 and again in 2021. Eventually, Mueller coached Calgary's quarterbacks from 2020 through 2023 and left in the off-season to go to the Riders as the team's offensive coordinator from 2024 to the present. Mueller has won two Grey Cups, both with the Stampeders, the first in 2014 and the second in 2018.
One recent achievement for McCrystal was being part of the 2025 induction class for the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
"It was fun meeting the other guys that were in it, Scott Flagel, Jeremaine Copeland, and Bryan Chiu," McCrystal said. "They made sure to include each of our families. My wife, Wendy, was able to go, my son and daughter were there, some of my friends were able to go. Another guy that I coached with forever, Bernie Schmidt, was able to go. It was a really well-organized, well-planned, fun weekend."
The Riders return home to play the Toronto Argonauts on Friday. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk, and Wes Cates bring to you the pre-game show at 4 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 7 p.m. Listen and watch our extensive coverage on the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
