Redblacks fire head coach Bob Dyce after team misses playoffs

After a tough year that saw the Ottawa Redblacks go 4-14, the team has fired head coach Bob Dyce. CTV’s Josh Marano looks back on the season.

The Ottawa Redblacks relived head coach Bob Dyce of his duties Saturday morning, just hours after the Canadian Football League team’s season ended.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats beat the Redblacks 35-15 on Friday night in Hamilton.

The Redblacks announced at 8 a.m. Saturday that Dyce has been fired as head coach.

“This is a difficult day as Bob poured his heart, sweat, and tears into our organization over the past 11 years,” Shawn Burke, General Manager of the Ottawa Redblacks, said in a statement. “Bob is someone I worked with daily and leaned on as a colleague and friend. I want to thank him for all his contributions to our team and wish him all the best in the future.”

The Redblacks ended the season with four wins and 14 losses this season, missing the playoffs for the fifth time since appearing in the 2018 Grey Cup.

“We’re appreciative of what he provided for us, he loved us as a team and, you know, I wish we could have been better for him,” Redblacks quarterback Dru Brown said.

Dyce was the third Redblacks coach in franchise history after taking over the role on an interim basis in October 2022. Dyce served as special teams coordinator for six seasons from 2016 to 2022.

Veteran running back Anthony Gosselin says Dyce has been around for every step of his Redblacks journey.

“I’ve been with him since I came here in 2017, and we went to a Grey Cup in 18. He was such a good mentor for me and a good coach,” Gosselin said. “The best coach I ever had.”

The Redblacks made the playoffs once with Dyce as head coach, losing the Eastern Conference semi-final to the Toronto Argonauts 58-38 last season. The Redblacks had a record of 9-8-1 last season, including a franchise best seven wins in nine games at TD Place.

“You don’t take a decision like this lightly. You’re not only impacting the person, you’re making the decisions on lives, but, players, the rest of the staff, staff members. But you got to do what’s best for the organization and this is what we felt was best to get to the next level,” said Burke.

TSN 1200’s AJ Jakubec reported Friday night that Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group president Adrian Sciarra confirmed Burke will return as Redblacks general manager next season.

With files from CTV’s Josh Marano.