CALGARY \u2014 Ryan Dinwiddie enters his tenure as head coach and general manager of the Ottawa REDBLACKS with a clear-eyed view of what drives success in the CFL and what still needs to be built.<\/p>\n
Speaking about his quarterback, the organization\u2019s short-term expectations, and the value of holding the first overall pick in the 2026 CFL Draft, the two-time Grey Cup champion struck a balance between ambition and realism.<\/p>\n
While Ottawa is still in the early stages of a longer-term plan, the message was consistent: the REDBLACKS are not interested in patience for patience\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n
Here are three key takeaways from Dinwiddie\u2019s conversation with CFL.ca during the Winter Meetings in Calgary.<\/p>\n
RELATED EVERYTHING STARTS WITH THE QUARTERBACK, AND OTTAWA BELIEVES IN DRU BROWN<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n For Dinwiddie, the importance of the quarterback position is non-negotiable, especially in a nine-team league where true difference-makers are difficult to find.<\/p>\n The REDBLACKS believe Dru Brown has the tools to be a winning starter, even if durability remains part of the conversation.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it always starts with the quarterback. In a nine-team league, it\u2019s tough to find nine quality guys that can elevate your franchise,\u201d said Dinwiddie. \u201cWe feel like Dru can win football games. Now it\u2019s up to us to get the most out of him and keep him healthy. We feel like he\u2019s got enough arm talent for us to win, but at the same time, we\u2019re always looking to improve that position. We\u2019re really comfortable with Dru, but injuries are a concern. When he does stay upright and we\u2019re protecting him, he plays really good football, so I look forward to spending more time with him.\u201d<\/p>\n The confidence is there, but so is the acknowledgement that quarterback depth and protection remain critical areas as Ottawa continues shaping its roster.<\/p>\n REBUILDING DOES NOT MEAN LOWERING EXPECTATIONS IN YEAR ONE<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Dinwiddie has been down this road before, referencing his first season in Toronto in 2021, where success arrived faster than expected.<\/p>\n While he recognizes Ottawa\u2019s situation is different, he has no interest in framing 2026 as a developmental free pass.<\/p>\n \u201cI think year one in Toronto was a little bit quicker than we anticipated,\u201d said the head coach and general manager. \u201cI was lucky to have the COVID year, so it gave us two years to build our roster and an extra year. But there\u2019s no reason why we can\u2019t get it done year one here. I tell everybody in our building we\u2019re rebuilding, but there\u2019s no reason our goal can\u2019t be making the playoffs. The next goal is winning the division, and the next goal is winning the Grey Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, Dinwiddie stressed the importance of sustainability, noting that chasing a one-year run at the expense of the future is not the plan. High standards and long-term thinking, in his view, are not mutually exclusive.<\/p>\n THE FIRST OVERALL PICK IS ABOUT PATIENCE, DEPTH, AND LONG-TERM IMPACT<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Holding the first overall pick in the 2026 CFL Draft gives Ottawa flexibility, but Dinwiddie cautioned against expecting an immediate franchise-altering contribution.<\/p>\n Instead, the focus is on long-term value, particularly along the offensive line and at Canadian receiver.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to be realistic going into it,\u201d Dinwiddie said.\u201d Let\u2019s say we take whatever position at number one. Are they going to play for us right away? Probably not, but you want them to establish themselves at some stage during the season and become a difference-maker. You\u2019re not going to have guys that change your organization through the draft in the first year, but they will in year two or year three.\u201d<\/p>\n Dinwiddie also reiterated his preference for Canadian skill talent, especially at receiver, while acknowledging how quickly offensive linemen come off the board due to league-wide demand. Ultimately, Ottawa plans to stay flexible and prioritize value.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to look to find the best player on the board.\u201d<\/p>\n Taken together, Dinwiddie\u2019s comments paint a picture of an organization that understands where it is in the process, but refuses to be passive. The REDBLACKS are building with purpose, setting clear expectations internally, and trusting that patience, paired with urgency, is the right formula to bring Ottawa back into contention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CALGARY \u2014 Ryan Dinwiddie enters his tenure as head coach and general manager of the Ottawa REDBLACKS with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-412022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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