Donnavan Carter’s professional football debut coincided with a milestone day on which diversity in the CFL was accentuated.
On July 6, 2000, the Saskatchewan Roughriders became the first professional football club to play a regular-season game with a Black general manager and a Black head coach — Roy Shivers and Danny Barrett, respectively.
That same evening at Taylor Field, Carter helped the Toronto Argonauts post a season-opening, 36-28 victory over the Roughriders.
Nearly a quarter-century later, Carter returned to Saskatchewan earlier this month as a member of the coaching staff during Coors Light Training Camp.
He received the opportunity as part of the CFL’s Diversity in Football program, which is in its fourth year.
The program, presented by Securian Canada, calls for each of the nine CFL teams’ football-operations departments to welcome one participant from a diverse cultural background.
The four-week program allows each participant to gain practical experience while working within a professional sports environment.
“It’s immensely important in terms of creating opportunities in the future,” Carter said.
“Not only am I getting a chance to get to know the players and the different coaches on the staff, but they’re getting a chance to know me and see how I move.
“That trust is big. You spend a lot of time together. You want guys who you feel comfortable around and then you can go to work and get the job done.”
Carter has been coaching U Sports football in Ontario since 2011. Now the associate head coach and special teams co-ordinator at the University of Guelph, he has been part of the Gryphons’ staff since 2019.
He arrived in the Ontario University Athletics ranks with an already-impressive football resume.
After being selected fourth overall in the 2000 CFL draft, the Northern Illinois Huskies alumnus was a linebacker with the Argonauts (2000 and 2001), Ottawa Renegades (2002, 2003 and 2005), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2004 and 2005) and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2006).
Along the way, he crossed paths with three of the four Grey Cup-winning starting quarterbacks in Roughriders history — Kerry Joseph (a former Renegades player), Kent Austin (an assistant coach in Ottawa) and Ron Lancaster (who was the Tiger-Cats’ senior director of football operations when Carter was with Hamilton).
And there’s this: Saskatchewan’s fourth Grey-Cup-winning starting QB, Darian Durant, was on the Renegades’ negotiation list when Carter was with Ottawa.
“Too bad they couldn’t share one of those Grey Cups with me,” the congenial Carter said with a laugh.
“That’s definitely one of the things as a player I regret — not being able to play in and earn a Grey Cup. But one of my bucket-list things and one of my goals is to coach for one.”
Carter has already checked off one box by spending invaluable time with a Corey Mace-led Saskatchewan coaching staff.
The Diversity in Football Program was highly recommended to Carter by Gryphons head coach Mark Surya, who spent training camp with the Blue Bombers in 2024.
Before being introduced to U Sports football, Carter was a guest coach at the Tiger-Cats’ training camp in 2010. He was subsequently a guest coach on a Chamblin-led staff with the Argonauts in 2019.
“I’ve always stayed around training camps, because I’ve always wanted to be current with what’s going on in a game,” he said.
“But it has been a long time since I’ve committed fully, so I did the application for the diversity program and Corey (Mace) gave me a call. I kind of had a few options, but Corey was first.”
Mace is the fourth Black head coach in Roughriders history, following Barrett (2000 to 2006), Corey Chamblin (2012 to 2015) and current Ottawa REDBLACKS field boss Bob Dyce (2015).
Barrett was part of a milestone moment on Sept. 15, 2000, when he and Michael (Pinball) Clemons became the first opposing Black head coaches in CFL history.
Clemons, who had been named the Argonauts’ interim head coach three weeks earlier, made his final appearance as a player during that mid-September matchup with Saskatchewan.
“I was a teammate of Pinball’s that year and he became the head coach,” Carter recalled. “It’s always good to see those barriers being broken and seeing guys have success in those positions.
“I think it’s important for anybody who looks like me to have the expertise so when these kinds of opportunities come about, we have the ability to step into a role and do well.
“It’s huge for me to always continue honing my craft and never be satisfied. I’ve had some success in U Sports, but I’ve also always had a desire to compete at the highest level.
“This is one of the things I always wanted to kind of keep open for something down the road.”
