Redblacks GM addresses LaPolice firing, future performance in open letter
Ottawa Redblacks general manager Shawn Burke has released an open letter to fans after head coach Paul LaPolice was fired earlier this week.
The team dismissed LaPolice on Saturday, hours after he returned from Vancouver following a 34-19 loss to the B.C. Lions. The Reblacks have posted only six wins in 28 games with LaPolice at the helm the last two seasons. Special teams coach Bob Dyce was named interim head coach.
Burke says Dyce will finish out the season.
“We look forward to finishing out this season by competing hard in our final 4 games while looking forward to the future and evaluating our coaching staff and players,” Burke wrote.
Addressing LaPolice, Burke called him a “great football man and an even better person” and said he wanted to give LaPolice and the team a chance to overcome a tough start to the season and make the playoffs.
“With back-to-back wins on August 27 and September 2 combined with the overall situation in the East division this year, that possibility was firmly alive until more recently,” Burke said. “Given where we stand today, I felt the time for a change had come so we can begin the process of turning our attention to 2023, that will include the search for a new head coach along with an infusion of more talent to fill some of the holes we see in our roster.”
Burke, who came to Ottawa from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats organization, said he believed every aspect of the Redblacks organization was aligned toward becoming a Grey Cup competitive team.
“While the results haven’t materialized, YET (sic), I can tell you that we’ve been given everything we needed this year to be successful and the commitment made to me last December is the same today as it was then. I am more excited now than ever before to be your General Manager,” he said.
Identifying players Jeremiah Masoli, Jaelon Acklin, Jacob Ruby, and Patrick Levels as key building blocks for the team’s future, he said he remains committed to building “a winning culture that brings year to year consistency and a winning product to our fanbase.”
Finally, he urged fans to stick with the team, despite recent frustrations.
“We know our record over the past few years has left RNATION frustrated, but this isn’t the time to turn your back on us,” he wrote. “We have a plan and vision of where we want to go. This is the time to come together and show the players and the organization that we are all in it together. If we can do that, we’ll achieve our on-field goals, while playing to full stadiums of excited and passionate fans. That’s what we all want right? Let’s do that together.”
The Redblacks face the Alouettes in Montreal on Oct. 10, host the Alouettes at TD Place on Oct. 14, and then play home-and-home games against Burke’s former team, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, on Oct. 21 and 29.
The Redblacks are last in the East Division with a 3 and 11 record this season.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.