Ryan Dinwiddie happy coaching in CFL but covets NFL’s ‘life-changing money’

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It doesn’t appear as though Ryan Dinwiddie is bolting for the NFL — not in the immediate future, anyway.

“I’ve got probably 20 years to get done when I want to get done. I love coaching in the CFL,” Dinwiddie told the media from the league’s recent offseason meetings in Charlotte, N.C. “Eventually, you want to get to the NFL. I mean, that’s life-changing money. Those head coaches are making five or six million a year. I’ll never be able to make that in the CFL, so you know that’s going to change my family’s dynamics for sure.”

The 44-year-old has been the head coach of the Toronto Argonauts for the past four seasons, posting a 46-22 record, finishing atop the East Division three times, and winning two Grey Cups. His most recent championship occurred despite the Boatmen being without M.O.P. quarterback Chad Kelly for the first half of the season due to a suspension and again in the Grey Cup due to a fractured leg.

An article published last month suggested Dinwiddie could be lured away by the NFL this offseason, citing his CFL success. The former quarterback acknowledged he read the article — multiple people sent him the link — but made it clear it’s all smoke, no fire right now.

That’s not to say Dinwiddie has never been offered an NFL coaching job. Dirk Koetter, his head coach from Boise State University, tried to hire him as an offensive quality control coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018.

Dinwiddie, then the quarterbacks coach with the Stampeders, turned Koetter down, saying he was happy in Calgary and knew the coaching staff in Tampa Bay was at serious risk of being fired. Dinwiddie’s prediction came true less than a year later, as Koetter and his assistants were let go following a 5-11 season.

The native of Elk Grove, Calif. has previously been connected to his alma mater, which was in need of a new head coach as recently as 2023. Spencer Danielson, who became the program’s interim head coach that year before getting the full-time job in 2024, has enjoyed immediate success, helping the Broncos earn a berth in the College Football Playoff in his first full year at the helm.

However, in the unlikely event the job opens up anytime soon, it doesn’t sound like Dinwiddie would leave Toronto for Boise State — or anywhere in the collegiate ranks.

“The way college football is going, the dynamic of it, I don’t want anything to do with that,” said Dinwiddie. “You spend a lot more time away from your family, actually, in college football than you do in professional, so that’s a lot that goes into it.”

Dinwiddie had a brief NFL stint as a player with the Chicago Bears in 2004 but didn’t register any regular-season statistics. He has been in the CFL since 2006, save for one year as he transitioned from playing to coaching, and fears the NFL has forgotten about him. He’s well aware of CFL head coaches who have previously made the jump to the NFL, though he’s not sure how realistic that path is for him.

“You can’t stay up here too long, then they’ll forget about you. I know plenty of coaches, I get texts from guys. I think it’d have to be the right guy to get hired down there for it to work out for me, but I think once you get up to Canada, they kind of see you as a CFL coach only, and it’s tough to get back down there,” said Dinwiddie.

“You look at the guys that came from the CFL, you have Bud Grant, Marv Levy, and Marc Trestman. Marc had NFL experience, so that makes a lot of sense for someone to call him. I don’t have any NFL experience, unfortunately, in coaching. Someone, you would hope, would call you in for an interview and let you showcase who you are and let them make a decision if you’re the right fit.”

It’s been 12 years since Trestman was hired as the head coach of the Chicago Bears following a five-year run with the Alouettes, so one could argue enough time has passed for an NFL team to make a similar move. Trestman’s performance in the NFL was hardly a ringing endorsement for the CFL, however, as he went 13-19 over two seasons in Chicago before a mediocre two-year run as the offensive coordinator with the Ravens.

Two other CFL head coaches have left for NFL jobs in recent memory, though they were for lower-level positions. Scott Milanovich departed the Toronto Argonauts to become the quarterbacks coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017, a role he held for three years. He was hired as the head coach of the Edmonton Elks ahead of the 2020 season, which was later canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, before bolting for the NFL again in 2021 to coach quarterbacks with the Indianapolis Colts.

Chris Jones left the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2019 to become a defensive assistant with the Cleveland Browns. He lasted one year in the role as Freddie Kitchens, who had a long-standing working relationship with Jones, was fired as the team’s head coach. Jones moved to a front-office job with the Browns in 2020 before a brief stint in the high school ranks and a subsequent return to the CFL. Kitchens and Jones recently reunited under Bill Belichick at the University of North Carolina.

Like most industries, professional football is all about who you know. Dinwiddie recognizes the importance of professional connections and lamented how easy it is for some people to garner NFL opportunities through nepotism.

“You look at half the coaches in the league — their dads were coaches, and these guys got jobs at, like, 23, then they’re head coaches at 30, and they struggle,” he said. “I don’t know — it’s tough to get in. It’s a good-old-boy league.”

One NFL connection Dinwiddie has is Kliff Kingsbury, who was a teammate of his with Winnipeg in 2007. Kingsbury coached Patrick Mahomes during his six-year stint at Tech University before being hired as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, going 28-37-1 over four seasons.

The 45-year-old now serves as the offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders and will soon be in the running for multiple NFL head coaching vacancies. Kingsbury coached rookie sensation Jayden Daniels to a 12-5 record during the regular season and recently helped his team upset the Detroit Lions to reach the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991.

Dinwiddie indicated that he and Kingsbury, whose father, Tim, was the head coach at New Braunfels High School, have remained in contact since their playing days, though that communication has reached a lull.

“I used to go down to Texas Tech all the time, and we talked and texted when he was at Arizona. They kind of had their staff and had guys that the general manager wanted to hire, so I get (why I was never offered a job there),” said Dinwiddie. “I text him here and there — I haven’t heard from him on my last three texts, so he’s big-timing me. Hopefully, he got a new number, but I haven’t talked to him in a while.”

It’s possible that Dinwiddie’s next step comes in the CFL as he’s spoken publicly about his desire to become a general manager. He indicated that he’s had to “step in” for general manager Mike ‘Pinball’ Clemons and assistant general manager John Murphy when they “weren’t around” — whatever that means — and is comfortable doing so.

“Being a general manager, when you get full control of what you would want to do as far as free agency and everything that doesn’t involve just coaching the football club, I think that’d be fun. I spend a lot of time doing some of that stuff in the offseason to get ready for the opportunity if it ever comes,” said Dinwiddie.

Whether it’s as a head coach, general manager, or both, it seems Dinwiddie remains destined for great things north of the border. Unless, of course, he’s afforded an opportunity to make the move down south.

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