Mark Goudie has indicated the person they hire will be entirely focused on the Redblacks alone<\/a>. Hunt thinks that will be a smart decision given the energy the job requires, as there are only so many hours in a day.<\/p>\n\u201cAdrian did a great job, but having him divide his time between the Redblacks and 67s (OSEG\u2019s OHL team) put him in a tough spot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Many fans don\u2019t know what a team president does, though it depends on the organization.<\/p>\n
As far as CFL presidents go, Hunt was a bit of a unicorn in that he was in the public eye much more than most of his peers.<\/p>\n
When the original OSEG partners came together in 2008 to start the process of bringing football back to the nation\u2019s capital, Roger Greenberg and John Ruddy agreed that Hunt would be the public face of OSEG. He was also to have final say on everything related to the football team.<\/p>\n
Hunt ultimately came up with the club\u2019s name after a fan suggested \u201cRed and Blacks\u201d to him at a Grey Cup party in 2012. His other responsibilities included marketing, in-game promotions, jerseys, hiring, ticket sales, and briefing his partners on financials.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got your fingers in a lot of pies as a president. You might go into the office without knowing exactly where the day will take you,\u201d said Hunt.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe you start off meeting about a marketing idea, then you\u2019re reviewing ticket sales for an upcoming game, then you\u2019re just kind of checking on everyone else to see how things are going with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t just focus on one aspect of the business, be it revenue or on-field results. You\u2019ve gotta see the bigger picture, but at the same point in time, you can\u2019t just hire someone for a position and step away, trusting them fully.\u201d<\/p>\n
While most of R-Nation knew Hunt and recognized him as the team\u2019s president, the same probably couldn\u2019t be said for many CFL teams today. Heck, two teams outside of Ottawa don\u2019t technically have presidents.<\/p>\n
In Montreal, the Alouettes use a by-committee approach between Ren\u00e9 Masson and Danny Maciocia. In Toronto, the Argos have a similar setup under the MLSE umbrella.<\/p>\n
As far as Hunt is concerned, if a fan base knows their president\u2019s name it\u2019s either because they just won a Grey Cup or things are going badly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m an outgoing guy who doesn\u2019t mind the media, and although I was probably too honest at times, like when I agreed in a radio interview that stadium beer prices were too high, I felt like fans always appreciated that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On game days, Hunt shifted to a coordinator role, making sure building operations, game day operations, and concession vendors were all on the same page.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was obsessed with having a great environment. One thing that quickly became clear to me (during my tenure as president) was that obviously the wins on the field matter, but fans aren\u2019t stupid. They understand that bad seasons happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why the game day experience should be elite, regardless of the result on the field. The music has to be upbeat and fun. The halftime show must be something people feel like they can\u2019t miss. Concession lineups gotta move. Beer\u2019s gotta be ice cold. Hot dogs gotta be hot. Bathrooms need to be clean. Parking should be efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can do that, their pain tolerance is a bit higher, but if you also are lacking in terms of atmosphere, if the game\u2019s not fun to be at, then patience wears thin quickly. The beers suddenly aren\u2019t that cold. The lines are just a bit too long. That\u2019s when an organization needs to move quickly before they lose the bandwidth to actually fix things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sometimes, the job simply requires being approachable. That might mean being present at practice, hanging out in the lunchroom, popping into the training room to talk to doctors or rehabbing players, or chatting on the field with the equipment staff pre-game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI often felt that a huge part of my role was to simply gauge the mood around the team and the best way to do that was to make sure people were comfortable around me,\u201d stated Hunt. \u201cIf they felt they could talk to me because I was familiar and friendly, I often got insights I might have otherwise missed.\u201d<\/p>\n
But by far, Hunt feels like the most important responsibility a president carries is to establish the upper management team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were starting the Redblacks back in 2013, I felt I only had to make one good decision to have a positive ripple effect for years. If I got the general manager right, he in turn would get the head coach right, and in turn, they\u2019d work well together to find the right players,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it was really a case of make one good decision and everything else would fall into place. And that\u2019s how it went for a number of years with Marcel (Desjardins) and Rick (Campbell).\u201d<\/p>\n
The duo worked together from 2014 to 2019, earning three East Division titles, four trips to the playoffs, three Grey Cup berths, and one championship. However, by the end of 2019, things had started to come apart, and that\u2019s when Hunt\u2019s time with the Redblacks came to an end as well.<\/p>\n
When it became apparent that one of Desjardins or Campbell would have to leave the team following a 3-15 season, there was internal friction over who to keep amongst OSEG partners. Hunt believed that he had final say, as he had up to that point with all things football related. Yet, he was overruled.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, while we\u2019d been successful with both, I just felt Rick was so good at what he did that he\u2019d immediately find another job. I didn\u2019t know that the same could be said of Marcel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking back, history has proven Hunt was correct.<\/p>\n
Team presidents can also sometimes become involved in player personnel, as was the case with Henry Burris in 2014. Desjardins and then-assistant general manager Brock Sunderland already had the future Hall of Fame inductee close to a deal, when Hunt was asked to step in and help finalize the signing.<\/p>\n
One year later, Burris was named the CFL\u2019s Most Outstanding Player. The following year, he led the team to a championship and was named the Grey Cup\u2019s Most Valuable Player.<\/p>\n
The Redblacks have lost 17 consecutive games dating back to last season, and it\u2019ll take time to build the team back to respectability on and off the field.<\/p>\n
One might argue that there\u2019s no person more qualified to lead the Redblacks again than Hunt, even if it doesn\u2019t appear he\u2019ll get that chance.<\/p>\n
Regardless, the next person who takes up the president\u2019s mantle in Ottawa will have their work cut out for them.<\/p>\n
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Santino Filoso is originally from Ottawa and has written about the Redblacks since 2013. He is the only CFL writer currently living in Brazil (as far as we know).<\/p>\n
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