{"id":941799,"date":"2026-10-22T07:36:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T07:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/941799\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T07:36:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T07:36:24","slug":"mike-morreale-reviewing-future-of-ryan-dinwiddie-with-ottawa-redblacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/941799\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Morreale reviewing future of Ryan Dinwiddie with Ottawa Redblacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\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\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<\/p>\n

Mike Morreale is still in his first week as the new president of the Ottawa Redblacks, yet he\u2019s already facing a critical decision regarding the club\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s future, Morreale indicated that everything is being assessed for next year.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think there\u2019s always a review,\u201d Morreale told\u00a03DownNation on Wednesday. \u201cWhatever discussions I have with Ryan will be completely open, honest, and transparent. Ryan is a pro \u2014 he was a pro player, he\u2019s a pro coach, he\u2019s a Grey Cup-winner. (The losses are) not all on Ryan\u2019s shoulders \u2014 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a performance-based industry \u2014 he knows that, I don\u2019t have to tell him that \u2014 but I will have those conversations. These are human beings, these are people with families that have made decisions for their life, and they\u2019ve got a whole life ahead of them. I don\u2019t 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\u2019t go, and that could be good, bad, or otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morreale indicated that he\u2019d like to have Ottawa\u2019s 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\u2019s season set to close with a meaningless game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday, it shouldn\u2019t take long for the review to be in full swing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure everybody\u2019s on pins and needles, and that\u2019s not my intent,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just the reality of a situation in a season that didn\u2019t go as planned.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon for teams to go from worst to first in the CFL, something Morreale has experienced first-hand.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s most recent CFL championship.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis team knows what it\u2019s like to win. There\u2019s 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,\u201d said Morreale.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomewhere along the way, things went a little sideways and they compounded over time, and sometimes that happens based on numerous reasons. They\u2019re really not important. What\u2019s important is how do we change that, and how do we change the dynamic of what\u2019s important to this organization, both off the field and on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was shortly after some public comments (Goudie) had made,\u201d said Morreale. \u201cJust the way he had referenced what (the Redblacks) were looking for, I sent him a text saying, \u2018Hey, that sounds a lot like me.’\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, the two men spoke at least once per week. Morreale indicated Goudie\u2019s questions became more pointed over time, though it didn\u2019t take long for him to decide that he would accept the job if Goudie offered it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a big-time job and a big-time opportunity,\u201d said Morreale. \u201cI knew pretty early that, \u2018Hey, if you\u2019ll have me, I\u2019m in.\u2019 The passion runs deep for me on the football side, and I know I\u2019ve been away from it for a minute, but it\u2019ll never get out of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hamilton, Ont. native indicated that he plans to move to Ottawa in the coming weeks. In the press release announcing Morreale\u2019s hiring on Tuesday, Goudie said he\u2019s been tasked with \u201creconnect(ing) this team with Ottawa,\u201d a challenge he has welcomed with open arms.<\/p>\n

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\u201c(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\u2019re at now \u2014 boy, that\u2019s a pretty steep curve and a pretty steep cliff,\u201d said Morreale.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of emotions tied to that, so I think you have to recognize that from my position, and understand that it\u2019s not going to be an easy fix in terms of rekindling that support. There\u2019s a lot of great support that never wavered, and then there\u2019s some that did \u2014 and rightfully so, I think, under the circumstances. I\u2019m gonna be present in the community, I\u2019m gonna be here, I\u2019m gonna listen, and I\u2019m gonna be available.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s long-since been accepted that the CFL\u2019s two community-owned teams \u2014 the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers \u2014 are the only ones that don\u2019t lose money. However, the tide could be turning, particularly with an upcoming boost to the league\u2019s media rights<\/a> deal with TSN and DAZN.<\/p>\n

In the spring, Edmonton Elks president Chris Morris told\u00a03DownNation\u00a0that the team could be \u201cvery profitable\u201d<\/a> 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\u2019s regular-season now complete, the club ended up with average crowds of 22,421 in 2026.<\/p>\n

Around that same time, Montreal Alouettes senior vice-president of football operations and general manager Danny Maciocia indicated the team was \u201cextremely close\u201d 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\u2019s East Final.<\/p>\n

Between poor play and limited capacity coming soon to TD Place Stadium<\/a>, Ottawa is essentially guaranteed to lose money for the foreseeable future. However, according to Morreale, profitability isn\u2019t necessarily part of his mandate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that was a major factor,\u201d said Morreale. \u201cThere\u2019s 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 \u2014 and all the executive team \u2014 to be successful. They want to return the glory days of not only just the Redblacks, but the Ottawa football organization as a whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have oversight of the business and it\u2019s 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\u2019s not where someone\u2019s looking over my shoulder saying, \u2018You need to win next year, you need to be profitable or else this thing isn\u2019t gonna survive.\u2019 Actually, the opposite is what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attendance has plummeted in Ottawa in recent years.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

When asked what he\u2019d say to disillusioned fans, Morreale offered the following pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say thanks, first of all. We\u2019re nothing without the fan base. I would also say have a little patience, but I\u2019m not expecting a lot of patience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the first moves I\u2019m 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\u2019s gonna take a minute, and it\u2019s gonna take multiple looks at multiple opportunities to ensure that you get it right because this is my first chance to get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here and I\u2019m open. I\u2019m willing to listen and learn, and I probably won\u2019t make everyone happy, but I\u2019ll also own it, and I think that\u2019s a big, important part.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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John Hodge is a longtime Canadian football reporter, insider, and podcaster for 3DownNation. Based in Winnipeg, Hodge is also a freelance television and radio broadcaster.<\/p>\n

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