Mike Morreale reviewing future of Ryan Dinwiddie with Ottawa Redblacks

Photo: Ottawa Redblacks

Mike Morreale is still in his first week as the new president of the Ottawa Redblacks, yet he’s already facing a critical decision regarding the club’s future.

Ottawa made a big splash last offseason with the hiring of head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie. The veteran bench boss was coming off a five-year run with the Toronto Argonauts during which the team finished first in the East Division three times and won two Grey Cups. Dinwiddie was also once named the league’s Coach of the Year.

Dinwiddie is under contract with the team through 2028, though his future could be in doubt given that the Redblacks are currently 1-16, having only recently won their first game of the year. When asked about the coach’s future, Morreale indicated that everything is being assessed for next year.

“I think there’s always a review,” Morreale told 3DownNation on Wednesday. “Whatever discussions I have with Ryan will be completely open, honest, and transparent. Ryan is a pro — he was a pro player, he’s a pro coach, he’s a Grey Cup-winner. (The losses are) not all on Ryan’s shoulders — he inherited years of whatever you want to call it, so it would be unfair for me to make any decisions without actually getting to appreciate his side.”

“It’s a performance-based industry — he knows that, I don’t have to tell him that — but I will have those conversations. These are human beings, these are people with families that have made decisions for their life, and they’ve got a whole life ahead of them. I don’t want to negotiate anything in public. I just want to be blatantly honest with what he already knows, which is anything can happen in the CFL. Once you sign up to be a coach, who knows where you go, where you don’t go, and that could be good, bad, or otherwise.”

Morreale indicated that he’d like to have Ottawa’s football operations settled by the end of November, acknowledging that there are strict rules regarding when executives and coaches from other teams can be contacted for possible interviews. With the team’s season set to close with a meaningless game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday, it shouldn’t take long for the review to be in full swing.

“I’m sure everybody’s on pins and needles, and that’s not my intent,” he said. “It’s just the reality of a situation in a season that didn’t go as planned.”

It’s not uncommon for teams to go from worst to first in the CFL, something Morreale has experienced first-hand.

The longtime receiver played for the Argonauts in 1995, a team that went 4-14. In 1996, the club went 15-3 and won the Grey Cup, due in large part to the arrival of Canadian Football Hall of Fame quarterback Doug Flutie.

In 1997, Morreale played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who went a miserable 2-16. The Tabbies then qualified for the next two Grey Cups and beat the Calgary Stampeders in 1999, which remains the team’s most recent CFL championship.

The Redblacks have experienced this same phenomenon in their relatively short history, going from 2-16 in 2014 to a Grey Cup appearance in 2015.

“This team knows what it’s like to win. There’s players that have played here, certainly in the early days of the Redblacks, that built a really good team, really good culture, and the results speak for themselves,” said Morreale.

“Somewhere along the way, things went a little sideways and they compounded over time, and sometimes that happens based on numerous reasons. They’re really not important. What’s important is how do we change that, and how do we change the dynamic of what’s important to this organization, both off the field and on the field.”

After a long career in the CFL as a player and union representative, Morreale co-founded the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) in 2017.

By the time he departed his role as commissioner in 2025, Morreale had helped the league grow from six to ten teams, and signed media rights deals in Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and the United States.

The 55-year-old indicated that he formed a relationship with Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) president Mark Goudie when the league expanded to Ottawa in 2021. Morreale saw the news when Adrian Sciarra stepped down as the president of the Redblacks in August, and felt he fit what Goudie was looking for.

“It was shortly after some public comments (Goudie) had made,” said Morreale. “Just the way he had referenced what (the Redblacks) were looking for, I sent him a text saying, ‘Hey, that sounds a lot like me.'”

From there, the two men spoke at least once per week. Morreale indicated Goudie’s questions became more pointed over time, though it didn’t take long for him to decide that he would accept the job if Goudie offered it.

“This is a big-time job and a big-time opportunity,” said Morreale. “I knew pretty early that, ‘Hey, if you’ll have me, I’m in.’ The passion runs deep for me on the football side, and I know I’ve been away from it for a minute, but it’ll never get out of me.”

The Hamilton, Ont. native indicated that he plans to move to Ottawa in the coming weeks. In the press release announcing Morreale’s hiring on Tuesday, Goudie said he’s been tasked with “reconnect(ing) this team with Ottawa,” a challenge he has welcomed with open arms.

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“(It comes down to) being present, listening, understanding. Sitting back and looking at the journey these fans have been on from early Grey Cup contenders and winners to where they’re at now — boy, that’s a pretty steep curve and a pretty steep cliff,” said Morreale.

“There’s a lot of emotions tied to that, so I think you have to recognize that from my position, and understand that it’s not going to be an easy fix in terms of rekindling that support. There’s a lot of great support that never wavered, and then there’s some that did — and rightfully so, I think, under the circumstances. I’m gonna be present in the community, I’m gonna be here, I’m gonna listen, and I’m gonna be available.”

It’s long-since been accepted that the CFL’s two community-owned teams — the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers — are the only ones that don’t lose money. However, the tide could be turning, particularly with an upcoming boost to the league’s media rights deal with TSN and DAZN.

In the spring, Edmonton Elks president Chris Morris told 3DownNation that the team could be “very profitable” within the next three to five years, suggesting that attendance had to fall between 22,000 to 25,000 to be in the black. With the team’s regular-season now complete, the club ended up with average crowds of 22,421 in 2026.

Around that same time, Montreal Alouettes senior vice-president of football operations and general manager Danny Maciocia indicated the team was “extremely close” to breaking even. This came as somewhat of a surprise, given that the club plays out of the smallest venue in the CFL. Montreal averaged attendance of 21,238 in 2026, a 0.5 percent increase year-over-year. The team will also host next month’s East Final.

Between poor play and limited capacity coming soon to TD Place Stadium, Ottawa is essentially guaranteed to lose money for the foreseeable future. However, according to Morreale, profitability isn’t necessarily part of his mandate.

“I don’t think that was a major factor,” said Morreale. “There’s a long runway here. This is it, there is no exit here. This is a lifelong journey that (OSEG executives) Roger (Greenberg) and John (Ruddy) are on — and all the executive team — to be successful. They want to return the glory days of not only just the Redblacks, but the Ottawa football organization as a whole.

“I have oversight of the business and it’s very important to me that the business is strong and healthy because it allows you to do things to help the organization move forward and the fan base, but it’s not where someone’s looking over my shoulder saying, ‘You need to win next year, you need to be profitable or else this thing isn’t gonna survive.’ Actually, the opposite is what’s happening.”

Attendance has plummeted in Ottawa in recent years.

The team’s average crowds of 15,167 in 2026 were the lowest in franchise history since at least 1970, with the exception of 2021 when some COVID-19 restrictions were in place. For context, the Rough Riders averaged crowds of 16,847 in their final year of operations in 1996, while the ill-fated Renegades never averaged attendance below 18,489.

When asked what he’d say to disillusioned fans, Morreale offered the following pitch.

“I would say thanks, first of all. We’re nothing without the fan base. I would also say have a little patience, but I’m not expecting a lot of patience,” he said.

“I think the first moves I’m looking to make should identify the direction that I would like to take this organization on the field, and by virtue of that off the field. Like anything, it’s gonna take a minute, and it’s gonna take multiple looks at multiple opportunities to ensure that you get it right because this is my first chance to get it right.”

“I’m here and I’m open. I’m willing to listen and learn, and I probably won’t make everyone happy, but I’ll also own it, and I think that’s a big, important part.”