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OHL Ottawa 67's

Rick Campbell Nominated for Coach of the Year

November 12, 2015 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Ottawa 67's News Release


OTTAWA-GATINEAU - The accolades keep coming for the Ottawa REDBLACKS.

Rick Campbell, coach of the Ottawa REDBLACKS, has been named the East nominee for the AGF CFL Coach of the Year Award.

The AGF CFL Coach of the Year Award will be presented on Thursday, November 26 at the Shaw CFL Awards during Grey Cup week in Winnipeg. The West Division nominee is Chris Jones of the Edmonton Eskimos.

Campbell, a Washington state native, led the REDBLACKS, a second-year franchise in the CFL, to a 12-6 record and first place in the East Division, erasing memories of a 2-16 campaign from 2014 inaugural season of the franchise and, in the process, writing a quintessential worst-to-first sports story.

"It's an honour to be nominated for this award," said Campbell. "But this is truly a team award as everyone involved with the REDBLACKS organization and OSEG deserves recognition for contributions to the success we've had so far this season."

The 12 wins set an all-time standard for victories in a regular season by any Ottawa CFL team. A 44-28 victory on November 7 at TD Place clinched first place and provided the REDBLACKS with a bye into the Eastern Final, which will be played at TD Place in front of #RNation faithful on Sunday, November 22.

A win in the East Final, the first CFL playoff game in over 30 years, would give Ottawa its first berth in the Grey Cup since 1981 and provide the REDBLACKS a chance to deliver the first CFL title to a collection of delirious Ottawa football fans since 1976.

Campbell, in his second season as a head coach in the CFL, but his 16th in the league, made his CFL debut in 1999 with the Edmonton Eskimos as defensive secondary and special teams coordinator, before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2005.

In 2009, Campbell moved to Winnipeg and joined the Blue Bombers as a defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator before returning to Alberta to joining the Calgary Stampeders in 2010, where he first served as running backs coach.

In 2011, Campbell returned to Edmonton to serve as assistant head coach and special teams coordinator, but returned to Calgary in 2012 as defensive coordinator where he stayed for two seasons before accepting his current position in Ottawa.

He was announced as the first head coach of the REDBLACKS on December 6, 2013, just days ahead of the 2013 CFL Expansion Draft.

Prior to the CFL, Campbell worked as a graduate assistant with the University of Oregon Ducks.

Campbell and his wife, Jeri, live in the Glebe, an Ottawa neighbourhood next to TD Place and Lansdowne Park. They became Canadian citizens on July 1, 2011 during a ceremony in Calgary.

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