The Ottawa Redblacks finished the 2025 season on a six-game losing streak and made several high-profile changes to right the ship after finishing the season at 4-14 for the third time in four years.
The team hired Ryan Dinwiddie from the Toronto Argonauts as its new head coach and general manager. The two-time Grey Cup-winning head coach spearheaded a complete roster overhaul, including moving starter Dru Brown into a backup role in favour of former Calgary Stampeders starter Jake Maier. Brown was later traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson was named the backup.
The team also moved on from veteran tailback William Stanback and signed Greg Bell to work in tandem with Canadian Daniel Adeboboye. Dinwiddie added in several veteran pieces on defence, with linebackers A.J. Allen and Nyles Morgan, defensive back C.J. Reavis, and defensive lineman Habakkuk Baldonado.
The changes have not yielded the intended results as the Redblacks (0-10) remain winless in 2026 after their latest blowout loss at the hands of the first-place Montreal Alouettes. Ottawa currently holds the longest losing streak in modern CFL history at 16 games.
They are also the ninth team in league history to lose their first 10 games of a season.
Longest Losing Streaks in CFL History
| Team (Seasons) | Losing Streak |
|---|---|
| Ottawa Senators/Rough Riders (1928-32) | 25 |
| Ottawa Redblacks (2025-26)* | 16* |
| Hamilton Wildcats (1948-49) | 16 |
| Shreveport Pirates (1994) | 14 |
| BC Lions (1957-58) | 13 |
*Active
“I just told all the guys, we’ve got to look in the mirror, and everybody’s got to do their job better,” said Dinwiddie, following the 46-16 Week 12 loss to the Alouettes. “That should be our focus individually.”
With eight games remaining in the season, the Redblacks can still avoid finishing with one of the worst records in CFL history. The 2003 Hamilton Tiger-Cats hold the worst record in CFL history at 1-17, while the 2014 Redblacks finished at 2-16 in their first season back in the league.
Worst Seasons in CFL History
| Team (Season) | Record (Winning Percentage) |
|---|---|
| Hamilton Wildcats (1949) | 0-12 |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2003) | 1-17 |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders (1959) | 1-15 |
| BC Lions (1954) | 1-15 |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1964) | 1-14-1 |
| Ottawa Redblacks/Rough Riders (2014/1988) | 2-16 |
The Redblacks are last in the league in points per game (22.3) and points allowed per game (36.8). The team is on pace to allow 662 points this year, which would be tied for the fourth-most in league history, with the 1994 Shreveport Pirates.
Worst Defensive Seasons in CFL history
| Team (Season) | Points Allowed |
|---|---|
| Saskatchewan Roughriders (1991) | 710 |
| Ottawa Roughriders (1995) | 685 |
| BC Lions (1992) | 667 |
| Shreveport Pirates (1994) | 662 |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1995) | 653 |
| Ottawa Redblacks* (2026) | 368* |
*Active
The Redblacks began making more changes to the franchise on Sunday, dismissing vice president of football operations Sean Burke from his role. Burke joined the Redblacks as general manager in November of 2021 and assumed the vice president role when Dinwiddie arrived as head coach and GM in November.
“This is a difficult decision because I have a lot of respect for Shawn,” said Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group CEO Mark Goudie. “At the same time, our football results have not been good enough. Ultimately, I have a responsibility to make changes when I believe we need a different approach, and I have concluded that a change in our football leadership is necessary.”
The Redblacks next chance to earn their first win will be in Week 13 when they take on the BC Lions in Ottawa.
“We’re professional football players and we’re getting paid to play a game, so we can’t just lay down and quit,” Redblacks DB Alonzo Addae said after the loss to the Alouettes. “Keep the fight, keep the spirit high and continue to play out the rest of the season. We’ve got games left, nobody in the league is going to feel sorry for us.”
