Rick Campbell switches sides in the Battle of Alberta—again

New Stampeders' defensive coordinator Rick Campbell must know the road from Edmonton to Calgary well. Campbell worked with the Eskimos from 1999-2008 as special teams and linebackers coach, defensive secondary and special teams coach and defensive coordinator, then headed to Winnipeg for a year as defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator before joining the Stampeders as running backs coach in 2010. He then returned to Edmonton in 2011 as special teams coordinator and appeared set to stay there after being passed over for Dave Walkosky in the Stampeders' search for a defensive coordinator to replace Chris Jones, but Walkosky's departure for a special teams job at NCAA Division I FBS Georgia Tech meant the Stampeders were again in the market for a DC. Edmonton allowed them to talk to Campbell and they quickly hired him. The decision looks like a good move for the Stampeders, who get a very experienced and promising coach quite late in the hiring cycle, and it also reflects well on the Eskimos, who put aside their intraprovincial rivalry and the difficulty of finding a replacement to allow Campbell to take a well-deserved promotion.

Campbell has held a tremendous variety of roles over the years, but he's impressed in just about all of them. The short-tenured ones don't necessarily mean he did a bad job either; Campbell only spent one season in Winnipeg, but Bombers' star safety Ian Logan had strong praise for him, and most of his recent moves appear just to be a way to find a more promising job. In the world of CFL coaching, where staffs frequently change dramatically from year to year and your job is never guaranteed, that's probably a good tactic. With the promotion to DC in Calgary, Campbell should be in a good position, and he brings a lot of experience in a wide variety of roles to the table. Stampeders' head coach John Hufnagel certainly seems pretty enthusiastic about the move:

The move does make things a little difficult for Edmonton, as they'll now have to find a new special teams coordinator and most of those with CFL experience have already been hired, but it's worth pointing out the pool isn't as limited as it can seem. Former CFL coach Mike Kelly had a great post recently on how the legendary Cal Murphy hired him and a bunch of other CFL neophytes from the NCAA ranks, and that wound up working out very well for the Bombers. One man's departure provides an opportunity for someone else. The Eskimos look good for allowing Campbell to leave this late in the game for a promotion, and that may help boost the reputation of their organization; moreover, his departure may give them the chance to find another great coach somewhere. The Battle of Alberta may have turned unexpectedly friendly this week, but that isn't necessarily bad for either organization.