Head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell hopes to be back with the B.C. Lions in 2025 despite this season coming to a disappointing end.
“I’m working and I’m doing my thing, so I haven’t heard otherwise (regarding my status),” Campbell told the local media on Monday. “All I know is I’m totally excited to be here. I hope to be here as long as I can and go from there.”
The 53-year-old native of Spokane, Wash. has been a CFL head coach since he was hired by the Ottawa Redblacks in 2014, moving to B.C. in 2020. The Lions went 12-6 and made appearances in the West Final the last two years but came up short this season, going 9-9 before a first-round playoff exit against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
In a way, Campbell is pleased that expectations have risen during his tenure in Vancouver, though he appreciates locals are disappointed the team failed to reach this year’s home Grey Cup. He encouraged fans to take in in next week’s festivities when they get underway even though the Lions won’t be in the big game.
“I’m glad the script has flipped here because I know when I got here, if we were 9-9 and made the playoffs, they’d think that’s a great thing. I’m glad we’re in a mode now that just making the playoffs isn’t a good enough season for us, so I’m glad the bar has been raised. I know I’m all in. It’s been a long season but even today, I just feel energized about being here and going forward and I think there’s a lot of right pieces,” he said.
“It’s a bummer that we didn’t get it done. Everyone in this building is disappointed that we didn’t get that done, so that’s too bad, but we’ll have to get over it and keep moving forward. From the business side and everything that’s gone on that I’ve seen — all the work that’s been done to make the Grey Cup week and the full thing a special event — it looks like it’s going to be amazing, so I hope our fans go out and participate in it. I know it’s going to be a bummer that the Lions aren’t there but I know that a ton of work is being put into it to make it a great event.”
Local building materials magnate Amar Doman purchased the Lions in 2021 and has quickly garnered a reputation for being among the league’s best owners. He’s affable, enthusiastic, and extremely supportive of his team — morally and financially.
Though the end results weren’t what B.C. wanted them to be, Campbell doesn’t feel his players let down the club’s gregarious owner.
“I think the absolute world of Amar but these players are not letting anybody down — they’re busting their butts,” said the veteran coach. “I stay away from that: ‘letting people down.’ Of course, we think the world of Amar and we want to win every game for that guy because he gives us every opportunity to do it. I just stay away from that part of it.”
Assuming he remains with the Lions — he has one more year left on his contract — Campbell thinks the team is in a good position for 2025. Nathan Rourke and Vernon Adams Jr. are both under contract, which means one will have to go due to the constraints of the salary cap. Entering the off-season with a blue-chip trade asset isn’t a bad way to start, as much as parting ways with one of the quarterbacks might be difficult to do.
“There’s a lot of decisions to be made. I think there’s a lot of pieces here that are good, that there’s a good foundation here, but we’re going to have to be really smart on the deletions and additions that we make to make us better,” he said.
“I think we need to be strategic in free agency where if we can add one or two impact people that can make big plays. I think it’s going to make a big, big difference for us. I think the reason I get excited about being here, I think it starts with Amar and trickles all the way down, is that this is a great place to be. Amar’s all in and so when he’s all in, it makes all of us want to be all in.”
“I’m glad I still have that energy and fire to keep wanting to do that because sometimes that goes away, but that’s not the situation I’m in right now. I’m looking forward to adapting and growing and moving forward.”
