 Campbell with theOttawa Redblacks in 2025 | |
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Position | Special teams coordinator |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1970-12-20)December 20, 1970 (age 55) Spokane, Washington, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Harry Ainlay(Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) |
| College | Washington State University |
| Career history | |
| |
| Awards and highlights | |
Rick Campbell (born December 20, 1970) is anAmerican-Canadian professionalfootball coach. He was most recently thespecial teams coordinator for theOttawa Redblacks of theCanadian Football League (CFL). He was theCalgary Stampeders'defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2013 and was also an assistant coach with theEdmonton Eskimos andWinnipeg Blue Bombers. He then served as the head coach for the Redblacks for six seasons and for theBC Lions for four seasons.[1] He is a three-timeGrey Cup champion, once as the special teams coordinator with the Eskimos in2003, again with the Eskimos as the defensive coordinator in2005, and once as the head coach of the Redblacks in2016.[2] He attendedWashington State University.[3]
Campbell was born in Spokane, when his father,Hugh was the head coach of the football team atWhitworth College.[4] As a result of his father's coaching career, Campbell grew up in Spokane, Edmonton, Los Angeles and Houston, before returning to Edmonton. Campbell was a high school football star atHarry Ainlay High School.[5] Following his high school graduation, Campbell attendedWashington State University, majoring in education before serving as the secondary and special teams coach for theUniversity of Oregon Ducks as a graduate assistant from 1996 to 1998.[6]
Campbell was highly sought after as a coaching prospect, following his stint at theUniversity of Oregon. WhenKay Stephenson, the head coach of theEdmonton Eskimos at the time, asked his father Hugh for permission to hire him, he was denied. Upon being asked byDon Matthews to appoint him to the coaching staff, fearing a backlash in the media, the elder Campbell reluctantly agreed.[7] Campbell served as the team's special teams and defensive coach under bothDon Matthews andTom Higgins, earning a Grey Cup ring in2003. Campbell served in those capacities until 2004, when he was promoted to defensive coordinator, under new head coachDanny Maciocia. Campbell earned his second Grey Cup ring in2005, and stayed on in that position until 2008.
Shortly afterRichie Hall's hiring, Campbell left the Eskimos, and was appointed the defensive backs and special teams coordinator under new theWinnipeg Blue Bombers head coachMike Kelly.[8] The Bombers campaign was a disaster as the team finished the season at 7-11,[9] and Kelly was fired in the off-season due to personal conduct issues. Campbell would resign from his post shortly after Kelly's dismissal.
Following his departure from Winnipeg, Campbell returned to Alberta, but this time with the provincial rivalCalgary Stampeders.[10] Campbell served as the running backs coach, underJohn Hufnagel. Campbell resigned at the end of the season.
Campbell then returned to theEdmonton Eskimos to serve as the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator under new head coachKavis Reed.[11] Once again, his stint in Edmonton lasted only one year.
Campbell then returned to theCalgary Stampeders to replaceChris Jones, who left the Stamps that off-season to accept a defensive coordinator role with theToronto Argonauts.[12] Under Campbell's tutelage, the Stamps recorded 63 sacks, en route to the league's best record for two consecutive seasons. The Stamps defense under Campbell were known for their aggressive style of play, leading the league in turnovers on downs and second in fewest points allowed. Campbell's work with the Stampeders led him to being considered as a prime candidate for various coaching vacancies around the league.
Campbell got his first opportunity to become a head coach, as he was named the first head coach in the history of theOttawa Redblacks franchise.[13] Campbell returned to his hometown for the first time as a CFL head coach on July 11, 2014 when the Redblacks played the Eskimos.[14] The Eskimos would go on to defeat the Redblacks 27–11 in that game.[15] Campbell won his first game as a CFL head coach on July 17, 2014 when the Redblacks defeated theToronto Argonauts, 18–17.[16] Despite the initial momentum, Campbell's team finished their inaugural season at 2-16, which was the worst record in the CFL.
Campbell's second season saw a vast improvement as the Redblacks went from 2–16 in their inaugural season to a 12–6 record, which included clinching the franchise's first ever playoff berth. The Redblacks would also clinch a first round bye and home field advantage in the CFL East Division Finals. Under Campbell's tutelage, the Redblacks became the first Ottawa-based CFL team to have a winning record since1979, along with being the first Ottawa-based CFL team to finish first in theEast Division since1978 and the first Ottawa-based team ever to finish with 12 regular season wins.Campbell won theAnnis Stukus Trophy as the CFL's Coach of the Year on November 26, 2015. This special occasion also marked the first time in CFL history that both a father and son each won the award.[17] Campbell guided the Redblacks to the103rd Grey Cup game, in which the team fell 26–20 to theEdmonton Eskimos.
Campbell's third season saw the team regress to an 8-9-1 record, but earned a dubious distinction of being the first division champion to win with a sub .500 record. Campbell guided the Redblacks franchise to their first Grey Cup championship, defeating the Calgary Stampeders 39–33 in overtime in the104th Grey Cup. The victory was the first by an Ottawa franchise since theOttawa Rough Riders won in 1976.
Campbell's fourth season saw the team finish with an identical 8-9-1 record from the season before, which was good enough for second place in the East Division, behind theToronto Argonauts. The Redblacks struggled with injuries and inconsistent play throughout the course of the season. Campbell's team lost to theSaskatchewan Roughriders, who crossed over to play the Redblacks in the East Division Semi-final.
Campbell's Redblacks returned to form in his fifth season, winning their third divisional title in four years. The Redblacks defeated the Tiger-Cats in the East Final, before getting defeated by the Calgary Stampeders who were making their third consecutive Grey Cup appearance in the106th Grey Cup game.[18]
Campbell's final season with the Redblacks was an unmitigated disaster. After a 2–0 start, the team lost four in a row and their final 11 games to finish the season with a 3–15 record. Following the season, Campbell and the Redblacks mutually agreed to part ways. Campbell left the Redblacks with a 44-62-2 record over six seasons with one Grey Cup championship in three appearances.[19]
On December 2, 2019, Campbell was announced as the head coach for the BC Lions.[20] After the2020 CFL season was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,general managerEd Hervey, who had hired Campbell, resigned from his position and Campbell was named co-general manager of the Lions with Neil McEvoy.[21] Campbell took over a team that finished 5–13 in2019 and led them to a 5–9 record in a shortened2021 season. After namingNathan Rourke as his starting quarterback in2022, the young pivot had an incredible start to the season, being named theCFL's Most Outstanding Canadian and the Lions finished 12–6 with a home playoff game.[22] WithVernon Adams as the team's starting quarterback, Campbell led the team to another 12–6 finish in2023, but were defeated in the West Final by theWinnipeg Blue Bombers for the second straight year.[22] In2024, the Lions began the season 5–1, but stumbled to end the season and finished 9–9 and a third place finish and quick playoff exit in a year where the Lions were hosting the111th Grey Cup.[22] Consequently, Campbell was relieved of coaching duties on November 20, 2024.[22]
On January 9, 2025, it was announced that Campbell had been hired by theOttawa Redblacks as the team'sspecial teams coordinator.[23] He served in that capacity for one season, but was not retained for 2026 following the hire ofRyan Dinwiddie as head coach.[24]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Result | |||
| OTT | 2014 | 2 | 16 | 0 | .111 | 4th in East Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| OTT | 2015 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .666 | 1st in East Division | 1 | 1 | Lost103rd Grey Cup (EDM) | |
| OTT | 2016 | 8 | 9 | 1 | .472 | 1st in East Division | 2 | 0 | Won104th Grey Cup (CGY) | |
| OTT | 2017 | 8 | 9 | 1 | .472 | 2nd in East Division | 0 | 1 | Lost East Semi-Final (SSK) | |
| OTT | 2018 | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 1st in East Division | 1 | 1 | Lost106th Grey Cup (CGY) | |
| OTT | 2019 | 3 | 15 | 0 | .167 | 4th in East Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| BC | 2020 | Season Cancelled | ||||||||
| BC | 2021 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 4th in West Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| BC | 2022 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .666 | 2nd in West Division | 1 | 1 | Lost West Final (WPG) | |
| BC | 2023 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .666 | 2nd in West Division | 1 | 1 | Lost West Final (WPG) | |
| BC | 2024 | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in West Division | 0 | 1 | Lost West Semi-Final (SSK) | |
| Total | 82 | 92 | 2 | .472 | 3 Division Championships | 6 | 6 | 1 Grey Cup | ||
Campbell moved to Ottawa, shortly after his appointment as the Redblacks head coach.[25] After spending the majority of his life in Canada, Campbell became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 2011.
Media related toRick Campbell at Wikimedia Commons