Ottawa Redblacks head coach Rick Campbel doesn’t seem impressed with the way Jaime Elizondo resigned from his offensive coordinator position with the team.
“The timing of it and how it went down was what was surprising about it. People have reasons to do things and want to go different places, it was just not real typical of the way you do it,” Campbell said on TSN 1200 radio in Ottawa.
“But it is what it is and we’re going to move forward. I have pretty good information that it was going back a few more weeks than this.”
Elizondo is leaving Ottawa to take a job in the XFL with the Tampa Bay franchise, which recently hired Marc Trestman as head coach. Trestman and Elizondo coached one season (2008) together in Montreal. Despite the connection, Campbell was caught off guard.
“There just was nothing to suggest that he was going to leave. He had been in meetings with our offensive staff, all our coaches are here working. And he just caught me at the end of the day on Friday – late – and said that he was leaving and he was going to go take another job,” Campbell said.
“It’s not typical. Sometimes weird things happen, but when you’re six weeks out and behaving like you’re part of our staff and working with offensive coaches then to just suddenly go just the way it goes. People do what they do and they do it how they do it and you can’t really change that.”
Trevor Harris had the two most prolific passing yardage totals under Elizondo including his first 5,000-yard season during the 2018 schedule. Harris left Ottawa in free agency to sign a $1.1 million contract with the Edmonton Eskimos. Dominque Davis was re-signed and Jonathon Jennings added as a free agent. According to Campbell, the person who fills the role needs to be a “quarterback expert.”
“If I can come through and get a guy in here that’ll fit in well – sometimes there’s a silver lining in things and we don’t want people around here that don’t want to be here. Football’s a tough enough game as it is trying to win without any negativity or any of that stuff around,” Campbell said, in what could be a subtle shot at Elizondo.
Elizondo had been Ottawa’s offensive play-caller for three seasons, helping the Redblacks win the Grey Cup in 2016. The system and its terminology is known well by the offensive coaches who remain on staff and Davis who the Redblacks are high on.
“It’s a pretty unique situation so we’re going to bring someone in that fits in to our offensive staff and what our players are expecting. So it’s not going to be someone that’s going to come in and do their thing, they’re going to adjust to what we do and it’s definitely more limited as far as the people available. Sometimes life can throw you some pretty good surprises. We’ll get this sorted out and get a guy in here,” Campbell said.
Henry Burris, the three-time CFL champion, knows the scheme well. Burris retired from playing following the 2016 Grey Cup MVP performance.
“I think he would be a really good coach, he’s a smart guy and he really enjoys the game of football. I know he’s got other stuff going on though right now with TV and some other things that he’s doing,” Campbell said.
“So that hasn’t been his plan that he was going to coach, but who knows.”
