CFL.ca
CFL.ca Staff
WINNIPEG — Rick Campbell’s second season as a CFL head coach was the opposite of a sophomore slump.
Campbell was named the AGF Coach of the Year on Thursday night in Winnipeg, edging out runner-up Chris Jones — the same coach he’ll face in the Grey Cup on Sunday when the REDBLACKS and Eskimos square off.
“It’s totally a team award, it’s not about me,” Campbell said after accepting the award for the first time in his career. “It’s everybody within our organization and I’m proud to be a part of the REDBLACKS organization.
“The biggest award,” he added, “is the one nobody votes on at the end of the week on Sunday and we’ll be doing our best to see if we can get that done.”
In Ottawa’s second season under Campbell, the REDBLACKS turned from a two-win team in 2014 to an Ottawa franchise-best 12-win team. After finishing first in the East Division, the team hosted its first playoff game in 32 years and their first East Final game since 1978.
This season, Ottawa was fueled by the best net offence in the CFL powered by Henry Burris; and the REDBLACKS also attacked the quarterback extremely well, leading the league with 62 sacks. In short, Ottawa has emerged as a legitimate league powerhouse that is not here by accident.
Campbell recalled a 23-month journey that’s gone faster than almost anyone could have imagined.
“I know when I got hired basically 23 months ago, we had no coaches, we had no equipment – we had five players,” said Campbell. “[General Manager Marcel Desjardins] was there with a few of our scouts and that was it.
“It’s a pretty big deal to us, it took 23 months to grow that fast and it’s a great deal.”
Campbell’s achievement makes the Campbells the first father-son duo to win the Annis Stuskus Trophy. Rick’s father Hugh was selected Coach of the Year in 1979 as coach of the Edmonton Eskimos.
Asked what his father would say, Rick Campbell is sure it would be about getting the job done on Sunday.
“If you know him from over the years, he’s sweating Sunday at 5:00 and I know if he was there he would say the same thing to me: ‘Keep your eyes on the big prize’ which is Sunday at 5:00.
“I know he’ll be proud and he’s proud to be a part of the CFL and he has been for a long time. I could hear him in the back of my mind saying ‘Sunday at 5’.”
Campbell received 54 first-place votes.
More to come…
