Friday night’s loss to the Ottawa Redblacks was one too many for head coach Paul LaPolice, who was fired by the team on Saturday.
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The 52-year-old was just the second driver in the recent history of the Ottawa team, which returned to the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2014. Hired prior to the canceled 2020 season, LaPolice succeeded Rick Campbell at the time.
The American’s stay in the capital was not very fruitful as he failed to push the Rouge et Noir from the bottom of the table. The team only went 6-22 during his reign.
“I have enjoyed working with Paul and thank him for his contribution to the team over the past two seasons; Today is not an easy day, general manager Shawn Burke said in a statement. Sometimes in this industry, change is needed to move the team forward, and that’s exactly what we’ve done here.”
“Paul is a great man who gave everything for this job. Unfortunately, we really didn’t win enough games,” added President and CEO Mark Goudie.
It is Special Teams Coordinator Bob Dyce who will provide the transition. The Manitoban, who has been with the organization since 2016, was the head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2015.
Before coaching the Rouge et Noir, LaPolice was a pilot for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 2010 to 2012. After his release, he worked as a television analyst before returning to the Bombers as an offensive coordinator from 2016 to 2019.
Ottawa (3-11) is still stuck at the bottom in the east and has suffered three straight losses, most recently 34-19 to the BC Lions. The Rouge et Noir will cross swords twice with the Montreal Alouettes by the end of the campaign.