TORONTO – They are both, simply put, likable men. Two guys who put their heads down and do the job, most often choosing to defer the credit when times are rolling and take the slings and arrows when they’re not.
That’s a big reason why Dave Dickenson of the Calgary Stampeders and Rick Campbell of the Ottawa REDBLACKS have their teams here in the Big Smoke for Sunday’s 104th Grey Cup. It’s not complicated, after all. And the two are the very embodiment of the old Harry Truman saying, ‘It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.’
That’s Dickenson and Campbell to a tee.
They love their gigs, love winning even more. And they were intelligent enough to soak up everything possible while serving under or working with two of the most successful men in the history of the Canadian Football League in Wally Buono and John Hufnagel.
Dickenson, the rookie head coach who led the Stamps to a 15-2-1 record, and Campbell, who has his club back in the Grey Cup for the second straight year, spoke for 40 minutes Wednesday at the annual Grey Cup Head Coaches Media Conference.
And what was striking during their chat was how much the two are alike – Dickenson the former star quarterback from Montana; Campbell the son of one of the CFL’s all-time greats in Hugh Campbell.
“We are similar,” said Dickenson.
“We like smaller towns and good people. We like to surround ourselves with that type of environment.”
Dave Dickenson
Dickenson, despite what the numbers might suggest, walked into a gig that wasn’t going to be easy. When Hufnagel stepped aside, he handed the keys to a team that had taken some hits in the offseason and was certainly not pegged to run through the league like a tank through a field of daisies. But Dickenson learned to manage and lead in his own way and they head into Sunday’s final as the prohibitive favourites.
Campbell’s story is just as enthralling. A former Bomber assistant under Mike Kelly in 2009, Campbell was hired as the REDBLACKS first head coach by GM Marcel Desjardins, and together they have put the shine back on football in the capital. Interestingly, it was while he was serving as an assistant with the Stamps that Desjardins offered him the Ottawa head coaching job.
And one of Campbell’s first decisions before accepting the job was to walk down the hall to visit with Hufnagel.
“I still remember walking into Huf’s office and asking him, ‘Do I want to do this?’” said Campbell. “’Do I really want to go and be a head coach?’ I trusted his advice. It’s been good. I’ve been around football long enough to understand what it entails and managing people and dealing with that.
“It’s been a great experience. The one thing I learned is you want to go into a situation where you have a chance to win and to grow and so far, so good.”
Rick Campbell
The two men worked together with the Stamps when Dickenson was the offensive coordinator and Campbell the D boss. They often threw around ideas about defending and attacking and alluded to those chats on Wednesday.
“I would say, ‘what if I do this? What would happen?’” said Dickenson. “He would say, ‘well, it would be a conversation as a defensive guy.’
“That sort of banter back and forth allowed me to be a better coach. If you could come up with some things that would cause conversations . . . that’s how I think offensively you can sometimes have an advantage.”
Asked if they learned anything about each other during those days, Dickenson revealed:
“I’m not in love with his music choices,” Dickenson said.
“We usually talked about music or celebrity crushes,” said Campbell, before turning to look at Dickenson. “I hope I didn’t get you into trouble,” he said.
“I think you already did,” replied Dickenson.
“I lived a lot in the grunge years of Soundgarden and Pearl Jan,” said Campbell. “That was kind of my age. I’m really diversified in my music selection.”
Pressed as to his musical preferences, Dickenson said he defers to defensive coordinator DeVone Claybrooks as to what might be played in the Stamps locker room.
“No one wants to listen to what I listen to,” he said. “Trust me.”
THE QUESTION
It comes up every year during the Grey Cup Coaches Media Conference and is affectionately referred to as the ‘Jim Shakey Hunt Memorial Question’ – referring to the late, great Toronto Sun columnist who first put the query to the coaches years ago after being bored with their Xs and Os answers.
Picking up the torch for Hunt over the past few years since his passing has been Edmonton’s Terry Jones, who asked ‘What is your philosophy on your players having sex during Grey Cup week?’
Campbell: “I just don’t want to get in trouble with my mom again… talking about sex with the national media. She was ‘Hey, what are you doing there, buddy?’ I don’t know… if you don’t succeed, try again. I guess that’s our motto this year.”
Dickenson: “Keep it consistent. If you’ve been doing it all year, keep doing it. This week is no different. So… watch out, Toronto.”
John Hufnagel Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback. Photograph: Scott Grant
CONNECT THE BLUE AND GOLD DOTS…
The CFL is a smaller league with a tightly knit (for the most part) coaching fraternity. Here’s a look at the Calgary and Ottawa staffers with connections to the Blue Bombers:
Calgary
- John Hufnagel, President, and GM
Played QB for the Bombers from 1984-86 – 10th on the franchise’s all-time passing yardage at 6,804.
- Ryan Dinwiddie, QB coach
Played QB for the Bombers from 2006-08; started the 2007 Grey Cup when Kevin Glenn was injured.
- Pat DelMonaco, Offensive line coach
Was the Bombers O-line coach from 2010-13.
- Corey Mace – Defensive line coach
Drafted by the Bombers in second round, 11th overall, in 2007; signed with Buffalo Bills. Rights traded to Hamilton in 2008 for LB Zeke Moreno.
Ottawa
- Rick Campbell, Head coach
Served as the defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator under Mike Kelly in 2009.
- Mark Nelson, Defensive coordinator
Was Kelly’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
- Bob Dyce, Special teams coordinator
Winnipeg native, receivers coach with the Bombers from 2003-09 while serving as front man for Canadian draft.
- Ike Charlton, Defensive backs coach
Played linebacker for the Bombers from 2006-10
- Miles Gorrell, Scout
Helped anchor the Bombers offensive line at tackle from 1992-95
