Adam Rita (born September 21, 1947) is agridiron footballcoach &general manager, most notably in theCanadian Football League (CFL). He has served as the head coach of theToronto Argonauts,Ottawa Rough Riders, andBC Lions and as general manager of the Lions and Argonauts. Since leaving the CFL in 2012, Rita has been coaching American football in Europe. Coaching theBergamo Lions in theItalian Football League (IFL),Calanda Broncos in Switzerland,Prague Panthers in Czech,Berlin Adler Germany,Barcelona Dragons in Spain, in the newly formedEuropean League of Football (ELF) in 2021 and returned again to theBergamo Lions in 2022.
From 1965 to 1968, Rita attendedBoise State University playingcenter for theBoise State Broncos.[1]
From 1969 to 1976, Rita continued his tenure with the Boise State Broncos, serving as an assistant coach & recruiting director. After leaving Boise State, Rita's U.S. college coaching stints continued with theUNLV Rebels &Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
In 1983, Rita began his first professional coaching tenure as the offensive co-ordinator for theB.C. Lions under head coachDon Matthews.[2]
In 1989, Rita left the CFL to join the coaching staff of theUBC Thunderbirds ofCIAU football.
In 1990, Rita rejoined Matthews in Toronto as offensive coordinator for theToronto Argonauts. In 1991, after Matthews' departure, Rita became a first time CFL head coach for the Argonauts with whom he won his first and onlyGrey Cup championship as a head coachin that same year. In September 1992, after a 3–8 start to the season, Rita was fired as Argonauts head coach.
In 1993, Rita joined theEdmonton Eskimos as their offensive coordinator. The team went on to win the81st Grey Cup that year.
In 1994, Rita became the head coach of theOttawa Rough Riders. The team went on to finish their season with a 4-14.
In 1995, Rita resigned as the Rough Riders' head coach to become the offensive coordinator for one of the new U.S. expansion teams in the CFL, theMemphis Mad Dogs.[3]
In 1996, Rita reunited with Matthews, rejoining the Argonauts as their offensive coordinator in 1996. The team would go on to win the84th Grey Cup that year.
In 1997, Rita joined theB.C. Lions as both their new head coach andgeneral manager. In 1998, Rita relinquished his head coaching responsibilities halfway through the season, focusing exclusively on his general manager duties. In 2002, after six games into the season, Rita took over as their interim head coach.
In 2003, Rita returned to the Toronto Argonauts as their offensive coordinator serving under head coachPinball Clemons who he used to coach. In 2004, Rita was promoted to General Manager and Vice President of Football Operations of the Argonauts. Toronto won the92nd Grey Cup in his first year on the job, but managed only a 48–60 record after that. Rita's contract was not renewed following the 2010 season and he was replaced by head coachJim Barker.[4]
During his CFL tenure, Rita won 6 Grey Cups in 8 appearances in his capacities as head coach, offensive coordinator, and general manager.
In 2012, Rita retired from the CFL and turned to high school football coaching, becoming an assistant coach & offensive coordinator with theTrinity College School football team inPort Hope, Ontario.[5][6]
In 2016, Rita moved from Trinity College School to the "Football North" program atClarkson Secondary School inMississauga as their assistant coach and offensive coordinator.[6][7] In 2019, Rita was elevated to assistant head coach.
Rita discovered Europlayers which serves as a job website for European sports.[8] This led to his first European coaching job in 2012 as the head coach for thePrague Panthers in theCzech Republic, where the team finished as Czech league runner up losing in the Czech Bowl championship game. The Panthers also competed in theAustrian Football League top level.
In 2013–14, Rita served as the head coach of theCalanda Broncos in SwitzerlandNationalliga A (American football) winning theSwiss Bowl championship in 2013 and finishing runner up losing in the Swiss bowl in 2014. The team also competed in theEuropean Football League.
In 2017–19, Rita served as the head coach and offensive coordinator of theBergamo Lions of theItalian Football League IFL.[9]
In 2020, Rita was named as the new head coach for theBerlin Adler of theGerman Football League 2.[10] Unfortunately, the 2020 season was not played due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, Rita was named as the first ever head coach for the Spanish-based team Gladiators Football, later rebranded asBarcelona Dragons, of the newly formedEuropean League of Football.[11]
In 2022, Rita returned to theBergamo Lions in Italy as head coach. The 2022 Lions are competed in the second tier of the Italian League.The Lions qualified to return to the highest level league in Italy (IFL) for the 2023 season.
Rita grew up on Kaua'i, Hawai'i and as a young boy, he was a member of a canoe club and appeared paddling a canoe in the wedding scene of theElvis Presley movieBlue Hawaii.
Rita is married to his wife Judit who is fromHungary.[12][8] He also has two sons, Kevin and Harrison, and two grandchildren, Seth and Jennifer.[13] As of 2020, Rita and his wife reside inMississauga, Ontario.[12]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Result | |||
| BC | 1997 | 8 | 10 | 0 | .444 | 4th in West Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in East Semi-Final | |
| BC | 1998 | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in West Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in West Semi-Final | |
| BC | 1999 | 13 | 5 | 0 | .750 | 1st in West Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in West Final | |
| BC | 2000 | 8 | 10 | 0 | .444 | 3rd in West Division | 3 | 0 | Won Grey Cup | |
| BC | 2001 | 8 | 10 | 0 | .444 | 3rd in West Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in West Semi-Final | |
| BC | 2002 | 10 | 8 | 0 | .750 | 3rd in West Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in West Semi-Final | |
| TOR | 2003 | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in West Division | 1 | 1 | Lost in East Final | |
| TOR | 2004 | 10 | 7 | 1 | .588 | 2nd in East Division | 3 | 0 | Won Grey Cup | |
| TOR | 2005 | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 1st in East Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in East Final | |
| TOR | 2006 | 10 | 8 | 0 | .556 | 2nd in East Division | 1 | 1 | Lost in East Final | |
| TOR | 2007 | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 1st in East Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in East Final | |
| TOR | 2008 | 4 | 14 | 0 | .222 | 3rd in East Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| TOR | 2009 | 3 | 15 | 0 | .167 | 4th in East Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| TOR | 2010 | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in East Division | 1 | 1 | Lost in East Final | |
| Total | 122 | 128 | 1 | .488 | 3 Division Championships | 9 | 10 | 2 Grey Cups | ||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Result | |||
| TOR | 1991 | 13 | 5 | 0 | .722 | 1st in East Division | 2 | 0 | Won Grey Cup | |
| TOR | 1992 | 3 | 8 | 0 | .273 | 4th in East Division | – | – | Fired Midseason | |
| OTT | 1994 | 4 | 14 | 0 | .222 | 4th in East Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in East Semi-Final | |
| BC | 1997 | 8 | 10 | 0 | .444 | 4th in West Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in Division Semifinals | |
| BC | 1998 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 4th in West Division | – | – | Resigned Midseason | |
| BC | 2002 | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 3rd in West Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in Division Semifinals | |
| Total | 40 | 46 | 0 | .465 | 1 Division Championships | 2 | 3 | 1 Grey Cup | ||
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Grey Cup winning Head Coach 79th Grey Cup, 1991 | Succeeded by |
