Time with CEBL prepared Morreale for challenge of Ottawa Redblacks president’s role

OTTAWA – Life in the Canadian Elite Basketball League prepared Mike Morreale perfectly for his newest career challenge.

The Ottawa Redblacks formally introduced Morreale as their new president Wednesday, a day after the CFL franchise announced his hiring. Morreale takes over a franchise that’s won just one of its 17 regular-season games heading into its final contest Saturday versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5-12).

Morreale spent 12 CFL seasons as a receiver with the Toronto Argonauts (1995-96, 2002-03) and Hamilton (1997-2001, 2004-06), winning two Grey Cups (1996, ’99). Morreale was the league’s top Canadian in 1998 and received the Tom Pate Memorial Award two years later for outstanding contributions to his team, community and the CFL Players’ Association.

Following his playing career, Morreale, 55, of Hamilton, co-founded the CEBL in 2017 and served as commissioner until October 2025.

“Certainly (eight) years of running the league have just made me a better, different executive person,” Morreale said. “I’ve been challenged, I’ve challenged myself.

“I think it’s everything, really, because I view this (Redblacks job) as not too dissimilar to what we did in the CEBL. A true startup, starting from scratch and getting people to believe and getting the right people in place to be able to deliver. It’s a major, major reason why I feel comfortable taking on this challenge.”

Ryan Dinwiddie is completing his first season as Ottawa’s head coach and general manager. He signed a three-year deal with the Redblacks following five seasons as the Toronto Argonauts’ head coach.

During Dinwiddie’s time in Toronto, the franchise won two Grey Cups (2022, ’24) and he was named the CFL’s coach of the year in 2023.

But it’s been a difficult run of late for Ottawa. Since reaching the 2018 Grey Cup game, the Redblacks have made the CFL playoffs just once (2024) and managed just 28 regular-season wins (nine of which came in ’24).

Ottawa also owns the CFL record for most losses to start a season (16).

“It’s a challenge because it involves people, it involves feelings and emotion and a recent history that hasn’t been great,” Morreale said. “My job is to oversee the football operations department, make the decisions to change how we act, how we look, how we play. 

“There is a path to success here. It’s going to take some hands-on treatment and that’s OK.”

Morreale registered 509 career catches for 6,649 yards and 24 touchdowns in 216 CFL regular-season games. He later served with the CFL Players’ Association as its marketing director (2007-12) and president (2012-14).

Morreale doesn’t see himself being a hands-on president once he gets his people in place.

“I’m not going to bring someone on and not give them the trust to do their job,” Morreale said. “Obviously, the people I’m looking at I trust implicitly but I do want to be a part of it.

“If everything is in place the way I want it to be, I should never have reason to put my own stamp on anything. My stamp will be way earlier, it will be when I’m setting all of this up in the next month, month and a half.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.