Two-time Grey Cup champion Dinwiddie in first season as Ottawa’s head coach/GM

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“I was in this situation before in Toronto but thankfully I had the benefit of the COVID year (CFL didn’t play in 2020) so that kind of gave me an extra off-season,” Dinwiddie said. “It does feel a little bit like that (being first-year head coach) but there’s more of a comfort level being an older head coach and having gone through a similar process.”

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Since appearing in the ’18 Grey Cup, Ottawa has reached the CFL playoffs once (2024). That year, the Redblacks lost 58-38 to Toronto in East semifinal and last year posted a league-worst 4-14 record.

Ottawa was active in free agency, signing the likes of quarterback Jake Maier (Saskatchewan), linebackers A.J. Allen (Saskatchewan) and C.J. Reavis (Saskatchewan), receiver Ayden Eberhardt (B.C.), running back Greg Bell (Hamilton), defensive lineman Habakkuk Baldonado (Saskatchewan) and defensive back Demerio Houston (Winnipeg).

“I get final say on a lot of stuff,” Dinwiddie said. “Obviously I’m evaluating more guys on defence than I have in the past … but it’s great being able to make decisions and be a decision-maker.

“You get to make sure you’re building the right football club and making the best decisions for right now but also the future.”

There will be one true first-year CFL head coach. Mike Miller succeeded Dinwiddie in Toronto after serving the previous four years as quarterback coach on Dinwiddie’s staff.

But Miller, 56, of Pittsburgh, has an extensive coaching resume that dates back to 1997 and includes time spent coaching offence and defence in the NCAA, NFL, NFL Europe and CFL. Miller will also serve as Toronto’s offensive co-ordinator.

The other CFL head coaches include:

— Montreal: Jason Maas begins his fourth season as Alouettes head coach and chases a third Grey Cup appearance. Montreal won the ’23 title (28-24 over Winnipeg) but suffered a 25-17 setback to Saskatchewan in last year’s game. Maas enters his eighth season as a CFL head coach — he served in Edmonton from 2016-19 — and has a 72-53-1 regular-season record and 8-5 playoff mark.

— Hamilton: This is Scott Milanovich’s third season as Ticats head coach and eighth in the CFL. Hamilton was first in East (11-7) before losing 19-16 to Montreal in last year’s division final. He won a Grey Cup his first season as Toronto’s head coach (2012) and was the league’s top coach that season. Milanovich has a 61-65 regular-season record and is 3-3 in the playoffs.

— Winnipeg: Mike O’Shea is the CFL’s longest-tenured head coach, entering his 12th season with the Bombers. They’ve won 10 or more regular-season games in each of the last nine seasons and last year failed to reach the Grey Cup for the first time since 2019. O’Shea has a 117-77 regular-season record and is 9-7 in the playoffs. Twice he’s been named the coach of the year.

— Saskatchewan: Corey Mace led the Riders to just their fifth Grey Cup title last year after the club finished atop the West Division with a CFL-best 12-6 record. That earned Mace, 40, of Port Moody, B.C., the CFL’s coach of the year award after being a finalist in 2024. Entering his third season in Saskatchewan, Mace has a 21-14-1 regular-season record and is 3-1 in the playoffs.

— Edmonton: The Elks (7-11) were fifth in the West Division last season, Mark Kilam’s first as head coach. But after struggling for years at home, the franchise had a winning record in 2025 at Commonwealth Stadium (5-4). Now comes improving upon the 2-7 road mark. The club last made the CFL playoffs in 2019 as an East Division crossover team.

— Calgary: Dave Dickenson and Dinwiddie are the only CFL head coaches to also have the GM’s title. After finishing fifth in the West Division in 2024 (5-12-1), Dickenson led the Stampeders (11-7) back into the playoffs before a 33-30 semifinal loss to B.C. Dickenson enters his 10th season as Calgary’s head coach. He has 95-60-3 regular-season record and is 4-7 in the playoffs but with a Grey Cup title (2018).

— B.C.: Buck Pierce begins his second season as a CFL head coach and the Lions’ offensive co-ordinator. B.C. (11-7) finished second in the West Division last season behind Saskatchewan (12-6). After dispatching Calgary 33-30 in the West semifinal, the Lions suffered a 24-21 loss to the eventual Grey Cup-champion Roughriders in the West final. B.C. last won the Grey Cup in 2011.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2026.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press