‘Our organization’s in good shape’: Dave Dickenson defends against Calgary Stampeders critics

Photo: Larry MacDougal/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Dave Dickenson addressed negative comments made by several former members of the Calgary Stampeders for the first time on Monday when he spoke via videoconference from the CFL’s offseason winter meetings in Charlotte, N.C.

“Our organization’s in good shape. We have already, as an organization, looked to address anywhere we can improve and we feel like we’ve got an idea and a plan to do that,” said Dickenson. “Honesty (from former players) is fine with me, but I’m comfortable with what we do and comfortable with our organization.”

“It’s not like we’re trying to jump on anyone for being honest with things. We do have a difference of opinion — at least I do with some of the comments — but for the most part, as an organization, we need to hear where we need to be better, and we’re trying to address it and we think we’re doing some good things.”

Mere minutes after helping the Toronto Argonauts win the Grey Cup in November, running back Ka’Deem Carey, who played in Calgary from 2018 to 2023, said Dickenson “gets rid of everybody but himself” and needs to “look at himself in the mirror.” He also called the Stampeders a “bad organization” that’s “on the bottom of the level.”

Though his comments were certainly the harshest, Carey wasn’t the only former Calgary player to criticize the team during Grey Cup festivities in Vancouver. Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund condemned the club’s position coaching, food, and strength and conditioning program. DaShaun Amos said the front office was too conservative with what they offered key players to forgo free agency. Royce Metchie questioned if the Stampeders still demand the level of excellence they once did from coaches and players.

One of the players who spoke out was defensive lineman Folarin Orimolade, who is referred to almost exclusively as ‘Flo’ in CFL circles. The 29-year-old spent four seasons with the Stampeders before signing with Toronto as a free agent in 2023. He spoke to 3DownNation reporter J.C. Abbott and said the Stampeders didn’t come close to offering the type of money other teams did when he chose to leave.

“It’s sad but every dynasty falls at some point. That’s the reality if you’re not continually improving and unfortunately, they haven’t been improving,” Orimolade said in November. “You lose a lot of talent over the years and you don’t find a way to improve it. Usually, they were able to replace it but I don’t think you can do that forever.”

In a bizarre twist of fate, Orimolade is now back in Calgary after being acquired via trade from the Argonauts in exchange for Canadian linebacker Cameron Judge. Dickenson indicated that he and Orimolade spoke about his comments and said there isn’t any lingering negativity between the two.

“I did talk to him about it and he kind of was like, ‘Yeah, coach, I said what I said, it was the truth.’ He didn’t trash our organization and say that we aren’t good people and that we’re not a winning club. He just said in the past, we hadn’t had to make that splash (in free agency),” said Dickenson.

“Flo is looking forward to coming back — I’d like him to talk, but I know it because I spoke with him. He wants to kind of be the guy and be the reason, maybe, we can get back to those winning ways. He’s got great leadership, he is a great person, he works extremely hard. He’s a guy I think that has to be a central voice in our room.”

The complaints voiced by former Stampeders were largely corroborated by the first-ever CFLPA report card, which was published in December. 495 players from across the CFL’s nine teams completed an online survey in October and a statistician processed the data into letter grades. Calgary didn’t earn anything better than a C-plus across eight categories and fared especially poorly in nutrition and diet (D-minus), management and administration (D-plus), and family treatment (D-plus).

Aside from the team’s poor on-field performance — the Stampeders have gone 11-24-1 over the past two seasons and missed the playoffs in 2024 for the first time in 20 years — signs of the club’s descent have been mounting for some time.

Star receiver Reggie Begelton criticized the team’s young players in September, calling them “participation-trophy kids” from the “entitled era.” There was also a postgame locker room altercation that month as defensive lineman Josiah Coatney and defensive back Tre Roberson Sr. allegedly had to be separated. In October, future Hall of Fame kicker Rene Paredes called Calgary an organization in decline, saying it’s “tough to see.”

Dickenson, the team’s head coach since 2016 and general manager since 2023, is aware of the dissent, though he dismissed it as frustration caused by a losing season.

“There wasn’t division (in our locker room). It’s just when you lose, there’s going to be conflict,” he said. “My opinion is there was obviously times when — certainly disagreements happen, but when it’s not working, in any asset that’s important in your life, emotions are going to be there. I don’t think there’s division — I don’t. I think that let’s all look in the mirror on it, though, and be better ourselves. I want passionate people, though — if you don’t care, then I don’t want you around.”

The 51-year-old might be right as Begelton and Paredes, the latter of whom has mulled retirement in the past, both signed contract extensions this offseason to remain with Calgary through 2026. Clearly, whatever negative emotions they were dealing with last season weren’t enough for them to leave the team.

The Stampeders are accustomed to turnover in their coaching ranks, though it’s generally been the result of staff members earning promotions to other teams. Corey Mace, Ryan Dinwiddie, Marc Mueller, Josh Bell, and Pete Costanza have all risen through the ranks since their days with the Stampeders, two of whom are now head coaches. That wasn’t the case this offseason as two longtime members of the staff were let go.

Calgary parted ways with veteran coordinators Mark Kilam and Brent Monson at the end of October, both of whom have since found new CFL jobs. Kilam was hired as the head coach of the Edmonton Elks, while Monson was recently named the defensive coordinator of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

“It’s never fun to, as a manager, look a guy in the eyes and say, ‘Hey, I’m not giving you an opportunity, we’re moving on.’ We do it all the time with players and it never gets any easier. I just hadn’t had to do that with coaches,” said Dickenson.

“I don’t know why it happened like it did — Mark’s been up for many, many head coaching jobs and he wasn’t chosen and then, when I feel like maybe we need to change and find a different voice and he’s on the market, then he gets his job — but I’m really proud of him, happy. He’s done all the work, he does a great job, but we’re going to go to battle against each other. I knew he’d have a job, but I’m very happy (it’s a head coaching job). He’s been pushing hard for this.”

Kilam, who also spoke to the media on Monday, was asked why he wasn’t retained in Calgary. The native of Lethbridge, Alta. didn’t take a shot at his former club, though it’s clear he’s excited to compete against his former colleagues.

“You have to ask the people that made the decision in Calgary, that’s out of my control,” said Kilam. “I can tell you I’m going to f***ing bring it in Edmonton. I can tell you that right now — you can print that.”

Dickenson said the message he received from upper management this offseason was that his team needed to change. He said the club has looked at how other franchises operate and will mimic or improve upon their best practices. He also wants the Stampeders to develop a “bigger footprint” in the U.S. to improve scouting and promised to not micromanage his new coaching staff, letting them develop relationships with their players.

“I’m excited to be that guy to try to get the plan initiated and follow through with what I think can turn this around. For me, it is a stressful job, but you just take control of what you can control and try to put everything you’ve got into it, and kind of let the chips fall where they may. We needed change in all areas of our organization. Change isn’t always necessarily going to improve you — it does create a little bit of buzz and excitement — but I think we’ve gotta find ways to be better and get more Ws on the board,” said Dickenson.

“I think we have good culture. But the problem is, when you don’t win — it’s a winning business — and whether you’re a good person or whether you still are doing the right things, if you’re not winning, you have to change. That’s really been the thing is that there’s other good coaches, there’s other good philosophies, there’s other ways to do it. Why don’t we take a look and bring some of those guys in and trust that they can enhance what’s already here? As a head coach and general manager, I have to look in the mirror and I have to approach things differently because it wasn’t working the last two years.”

 

John Hodge
John Hodge is a Canadian football reporter based in Winnipeg.