Ottawa Redblacks hope Jason Maas' deep ties with Rick Campbell leads to an offensive breakout in second CFL season

While Jason Maas will be officially be a first-time offensive coordinator, the Ottawa Redblacks believe he can accelerate their learning curve in Year 2.

The trend in the CFL has been that former quarterbacks have thrived as head coaches and OCs — three of the four involved in last Sunday's Grey Cup are former pivots in the league. After a yearling season where they were 2-16 whilst scoring the fewest points in the league, Ottawa is hopeful Maas can create a more cohesive attack, regardless of who it lines up. The 39-year-old, who's actually a few months younger than incumbent starting quarterback Henry Burris, has worked under some of the best passing-game gurus in the league.

"It's not hard to figure what kind of offence I'll run, I've been around some great offensive minds in the CFL, starting with [former Edmonton coach] Danny Maciocia and [Argos coach] Scott Milanovich," Maas, who spent the last three years as the Toronto Argonauts receivers coach, said on Wednesday. "And the offence we'll run is very similar to what Scott's been running in Toronto and what Marc Trestman brought up here [with the Montreal Alouettes before coming head coach of the NFL's Chicago Bears]. Will everybody notice that? I'm not sure. But what you will hopefully notice is that we'll be prepared, we'll play fast and ultimately, when we do all things, you should score points and be successful. Hopefully that pans out.

"The daily grind is what I'm excited about," said Maas, who spent 11 seasons in the CFL, mostly as a backup or change-up quarterback. "And that culminates in those defining moments in the fourth quarter – making the proper decision based on all the work you've done over the week. Some of it will be gut, some of what will be what you've observed and remembered and what you've taught."

Ottawa fired Mike Gibson, whose background was in coaching offensive linemen, shortly after the end of the regular season. It was a given that a first-year team would often be sporadic offensively, but the Redblacks, based on armchair-QB observation, had their challenges with make-or-break situations in some of their closer losses.

"This signals to the organization that what were doing wasn't enough," said  Redblacks GM Marcel Desjardins, who confirmed that the team also interviewed Saskatchewan special teams coordinator Bobby Dyce.

The aim is that Maas, with his penchant for preparation honed over all those years of not knowing what circumstances he might come into a game under, can tie it all together.

"The quarterback position requires a lot as you're managing a large group of people," Campbell said. "It does require understanding the whole offence. Jason understands you're only as good as the people around him. It's going to really be our offence as far as the whole offensive coaching staff working together and the players. It's going to be a total collaboration led by Jason.

"We never found a groove for an extended period of time," Campbell added. "That's what we're trying to do here; keep growing as a football team. I know Jason, he's such a good fit with the can-do attitude, the positive attitude and the experience with being around a lot of good coaches. He can find ways to get things done."

Campbell confirmed that Marcus Crandell is staying on as the quarterbacks coach. Crandell and Maas will coach the QBs and running backs. Maas will also have a direct line to the quarterback during games.

Whither Burris?

Maas didn't bite when asked about the pecking order under centre. Burris will turn 40 during training camp. The future Hall of Famer was tied for eighth in the league with just 11 touchdown passes. That total reflects the team's inexperience and a spate of injuries at the skill position. Thomas DeMarco and Joey Elliott are also in the stable.

"I'm excited to work with Henry, I'll tell you that much," said Maas, who came off the bench as an Esk in the 2005 Western semifinal to direct a road win over the Burris-led Calgary Stampeders. "I've watched him throughout his career and I've been playing against him, coaching against him, and I know he can play an extremely high level still.”

In any event, Maas has been working toward this throughout his career. The 2002 through '05 stretch gave him his first inkling that he might be cut out for coaching. He also had to be a de facto OC in 2006 when Hamilton had a midseason coaching shakeup.

"I came to Hamilton and they had just fired the offensive coordinator," Desjardins recalled. "That's how far he goes back to kind of being a coordinator because he kind of had to do it on the spot because they had just let Joe Paopao go. He's been doing it. He's learned a lot. He understands what Henry's going to be seeing — or what our starter's going to be seeing."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.