Former Saskatchewan Roughriders Director of Player Personnel Craig Smith passed away on Sunday at the age of 69 after battling a long illness.
Smith, a native of Winnipeg, became involved in football coaching peewee teams in Vancouver while working at the University of British Columbia along with his wife, Cathy.
While employed as a computer operator at UBC, Smith began working with the Thunderbirds, eventually joining their coaching staff.
In 1999, Smith was invited as a guest coach to the B.C. Lions training camp. A year later, he would join the team as their offensive quality control coach.
Following the Lions' Grey Cup victory in 2000 over the Montreal Alouettes, Smith was promoted to the Lions front office, where he would serve as the player personnel coordinator.
Smith remained in that position until 2005, when Hamilton hired him as their director of player personnel, where he would spend the next three seasons before rejoining the Lions in 2008.
Following the 2009 season, Smith was hired by the Saskatchewan Roughriders as their Director of Player Personnel. He would spend the next six seasons with the Riders, where he would play a prominent role in building Saskatchewan’s 2013 Grey Cup championship team.
Smith would return to his hometown of Winnipeg after the 2015 season, where he would spend the remainder of his career.
Smith leaves to mourn his wife Cathy, and best friend, Lexi.
