{"id":873984,"date":"2026-08-28T01:36:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T01:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873984\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T01:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T01:36:18","slug":"i-let-him-down-ryan-dinwiddie-couldnt-get-shawn-burke-off-hot-seat-prior-to-redblacks-firing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873984\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I let him down’: Ryan Dinwiddie couldn’t get Shawn Burke off ‘hot seat’ prior to Redblacks firing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Shawn\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Ottawa Redblacks\/Brandon Tretter<\/p>\n

The Ottawa Redblacks made significant organizational changes this week, and Ryan Dinwiddie blames himself for why they had to take place.<\/p>\n

The head coach and general manager spoke to the media for the first time since the firing of vice president of football operations Shawn Burke on Wednesday<\/a>, admitting that he felt partially responsible for his colleague\u2019s involuntary departure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough news. I know he brought me in to change the fortune of this\u00a0organization and his as well. He knew he was on the hot seat; that\u2019s\u00a0why he brought me in. I feel like I\u00a0let him down,\u201d Dinwiddie told reporters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cShawn\u2019s a good friend of mine, as well. We got to be close\u00a0throughout this process. We spent every day together since I took the\u00a0job. That\u2019s always tough to see someone leave, especially a quality person\u00a0like Shawn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ottawa made a splash this offseason when they poached Dinwiddie from the Toronto Argonauts. The two-time Grey Cup-winning head coach was only able to make the jump because taking on the additional title of general manager constituted a promotion. Burke, who had served as GM since 2022, voluntarily ceded the position in order to make the hire, though he continued to perform most of his previous duties once he became vice president.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great. Our offices were right next to each other. We\u2019d walk back and forth, and he did a lot of the GM stuff,\u201d Dinwiddie recalled. \u201cThe paperwork and the scouting part, organizing those things, that was stuff that he did, so it allowed me to focus on the football club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, that arrangement didn\u2019t bear fruit. The Redblacks have yet to win a game this season, sitting at the bottom of the standings with an 0-10 record. The franchise has now dropped 16 straight games dating back to last season, marking the longest losing streak in modern CFL history<\/a>. After posting a 21-60-1 record over five years with the organization, Burke was shown the door following a blowout loss to Montreal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While it may have been Dinwiddie\u2019s failure to record a win this season that sealed Burke\u2019s fate, the coach was just as responsible for attracting his replacement. Ottawa lured Jim Popp, a five-time Grey Cup champion, back north of the border to fill the gap as a senior football advisor<\/a>, and the 61-year-old made clear that the man on the sidelines was the number one reason he took the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a real believer of his, being a player and a\u00a0coach, and watching him grow. I was doing my best to try to get him to Toronto\u00a0before I ever left Toronto. They made a very good decision bringing him in when\u00a0they did, and then they\u2019ve made a great decision of getting him here\u00a0to Ottawa,\u201d Popp said.\u00a0 \u201cWatching from the outside, I\u2019ve got a lot to understand and\u00a0learn. I hate to see anybody lose their job, but I get a call,\u00a0and if I can help Ryan and (Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group president Mark Goudie) and this organization bring\u00a0itself back up as much as we can, and get it going this year, and then\u00a0next year, I want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Popp and Dinwiddie\u2019s relationship dates back more than two decades. The longtime Montreal Alouettes executive scouted him when he was a college QB at Boise State, grading him highly for his intelligence and renegade streak. That led to Dinwiddie signing in Montreal at the end of the 2005 season. Knowing that there would be no real opportunity behind Anthony Calvillo, Popp encouraged former Alouettes offensive coordinator Doug Berry to take Dinwiddie when he became the head coach in Winnipeg the following year.<\/p>\n

Once the quarterback finally retired and turned to coaching in 2013, Popp was there waiting to give him his start once again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he had a\u00a0chance to be a coach, I wanted him there (in Montreal), and then we went through some different\u00a0things and had some tough times. He got a chance to actually\u00a0coordinate a little bit, did fantastic,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI realized sitting in\u00a0meetings or sitting next to him while we\u2019re\u00a0coordinating stuff, and he\u2019s not the coordinator, and he would give us the answer before the coordinator would, I knew\u00a0he really had a great chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen different things happened there, and\u00a0coaches wanted different people to be that guy. I wanted him to be the guy,\u00a0and he had a chance to go to Calgary; I supported him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Popp later attempted to reunite with Dinwiddie when he was general manager of the Toronto Argonauts, but his attempt was foiled. Nevertheless, he laid the groundwork for him to be hired as the Double Blue\u2019s head coach following his departure, which led to a pair of championships.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted him to come in. Not everybody wanted that, and I laid a game plan out,\u00a0and it was to have him there someday,\u201d he explained. \u201cThey hired him,\u00a0so some people got really smart, and he\u2019s proved it, proved how valuable he\u00a0is, and he\u2019s had some great teachers around\u00a0him. When this opportunity was\u00a0presented, knowing what I know about him, I want to help him. I want to be a part of\u00a0his success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite their longstanding rapport, Dinwiddie insists that he had no say in the Redblacks\u2019 hiring of Popp. However, when Goudie informed him of management\u2019s decision, he couldn\u2019t have been more pleased.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at his resume. I coached for him and played for him. I know he\u2019s really good at bringing in American talent. His track record speaks for itself,\u201d Dinwiddie said. \u201cThat\u2019s a decision that they made, and I was all for working with Jim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Popp will fill Burke\u2019s spot under the football operations cap, the native of Mooresville, N.C., won\u2019t assume all the duties that the ex-Redblacks GM previously handled. Instead, he\u2019ll be leveraging his recent experience as vice president of player personnel with the United Football League to deliver a fast infusion of talent, all of which will need to be rubber-stamped by Dinwiddie. Other day-to-day tasks will continue to be handled by incumbent staff.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Director of player personnel) Brendan Taman has taken on more of the logistics stuff,\u00a0the paperwork and all the transactions and things that Burkey was\u00a0doing,\u201d Dinwiddie explained. \u201cJim\u2019s sole focus right now is finding American talent. He\u2019s got a\u00a0lot of connections in the States, and that\u2019s why we brought him on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reality is that while Burke\u2019s firing cut deep for those who worked with him, it has done little to dampen calls for change outside of the organization. Dinwiddie acknowledged everybody from management to fans remains frustrated<\/a>, describing their current situation as \u201cGroundhog Day.\u201d <\/p>\n

At least, Bill Murray was funny in that particular comedy. Nobody is laughing in Ottawa right now, though Popp\u2019s fresh eyes do offer some optimism. He does not feel the Redblacks are as bad as their record might suggest, and sees plenty of reasons to remain hopeful so long as Dinwiddie is at the helm.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelieve. Just believe,\u201d he responded when asked if he had a message for the fanbase. \u201cYou\u2019ve been in\u00a0times where you weren\u2019t winning, and you even had teams fold, and then you\u00a0came back, and you\u2019ve won Grey Cups after that. Things kind of go in waves sometimes. It might be within a season. It might be within a couple years, and\u00a0sometimes, through your ups and downs, you may win\u00a0games. It may not be that you haven\u2019t won a game,\u00a0but just believe because the tide will turn, and\u00a0you\u2019ll be very proud of this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ottawa Redblacks (0-10) will host the B.C. Lions (4-5) at TD Place Stadium on Sunday, August 30, with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league’s Global initiative.<\/p>\n

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