EX-REDBLACKS HEAD COACH RETURNS WITH HIS LIONS
Campbell still a fan with fond memories of Ottawa, but he's focused on a win for B.C.
The memories — there are so many — a fresh start and an opportunity to be a head coach, a Grey Cup and friendships made that will last a lifetime. It all came back to Rick Campbell as he arrived in Ottawa.
But come Saturday night — with the Redblacks playing their first home game in nearly 22 months — Campbell will have his coach's hat on. For the head coach and defensive co-ordinator for the B.C. Lions, it'll all be about beating his former team, the Redblacks.
Hired by the Redblacks to be their head coach going into their first season in the CFL in 2014, Campbell was part of three Grey Cup appearances with a victory and Grey Cup parade in 2016. It came to an end in 2019.
“It'll be big for me coming back,” said Campbell during a Zoom call with reporters Wednesday afternoon. “Ottawa will always be part of me and who I am. I grew up a lot there and that was my first head coaching job so obviously it's a big, big part of my life. Getting ready for the game, you kind of go about your business. But it was a huge time in my life for many reasons. I'm a big, big fan of the city. It's definitely going to be weird.
I'm thankful for my time there, totally. There are tons of good people. I'll be a Redblacks fan for life and hope OSEG and that whole thing works. I'll be a fan, other than when we're playing them. I'm going to just try to focus on the task at hand. Once the ball is kicked off, you just do the football part of it.”
Asked about his favourite Ottawa memories, Campbell said: “Too many to count. I still have a lot of good friends there. I made it my home, I lived close to the stadium and the neighbourhood. My favourite thing was the whole vibe of coming to Ottawa brand new and seeing the whole thing get built and the fans and the community and all the players and coaches and everybody that contributed over the years — I sure feel lucky and proud to be a part of that.”
With a year remaining on his contract, Campbell stepped away from the Redblacks a couple of days after his team's final game of the 2019 season — a 42-32 loss to Montreal on Nov. 1. The Redblacks finished with a 3-15 record. And then B.C. came calling, offering him a new opportunity.
“I thought I'd have more time off, to be honest with you,” said Campbell. “This opportunity came up in B.C. unexpectedly.
It's been really good. We kind of think what we can do some things right, we'll be on the upswing. We're not as consistent as we want to be. So I would call us a work in progress. But I think we have some talent. We've committed to some younger guys that are new to the league so they keep growing as they experience every game. We just want to make sure we play fast and play hard.”
As the days and weeks went by after his hiring, the COVID-19 pandemic hit full force in 2020.
“It was strange,” said Campbell. “I remember we had just hired the coaching staff. You're really starting to ramp up and trying to figure things out, then all of a sudden the world gets put on hold. You didn't know if we're talking a week, two weeks, a month, then here we are and it's still going on. I just feel fortunate the CFL is going again.”
The Redblacks and Lions are both coming off losses last week. A win Saturday would establish momentum.
“You can see other than Saskatchewan (at 3-0), everybody's got one or two losses so everybody's kind of jumbled up,” said Campbell.
“These wins early in the season, you're going to look back at the end and say, `Man, I'm glad we got that one.' It's way more helpful and fun to be figuring things out as you win as opposed to when you lose.
“It's going be different coming back to the stadium, I haven't been to the stadium since I left. I'm definitely excited about it, but I have to check myself to make sure I've got myself together. Once the game gets going, then it'll just be about trying to win a football game.”
Ottawa will always be part of me and who I am. I grew up a lot there and that was my first head coaching job so obviously it's a big, big part of my life.