Rick Campbell is entering his first season as B.C. Lions coach after being hired in Dec. 2019 (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

LIONS TRAINING CAMP

Lions hopeful for 2021 turnaround, feel Rick Campbell might make different in winning close games

Jul 15, 2021 | 4:24 PM

KAMLOOPS — When Rick Campbell was introduced as Lions head coach in December 2019, he spoke about the talent the team has.

“There’s some damn good football players here. I saw them up close twice last year. I’m not going to name all the names, but Mike Reilly and crew, there’s some really good guys here,” Campbell said during his introductory media conference.

The real question now heading into the shortened season is, how is Campbell going to bring that talent out?

“Every team has talent, and it’s actually a fine line in pro sports. Pick the pro sport and it’s a fine line between winning and losing,” said Campbell. “The key is we’re utilizing our talent the best we can and that’s what we’re working on.”

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Campbell believes there’s enough talent to be competitive. The Lions have upgraded the offensive line, which gave up a league-high 58 sacks — mostly to Michael Reilly. Campbell says the players have been dialed in at training camp so far.

“Every indication from these guys is they’ve showed up to work. They’re not messing around. They’re coming to play good football. Usually, over my last several years of coaching, when that happens, you can do some good stuff.”

The Lions have to be able to turn the really close games they lost into wins.

“I’ve been a part of championship teams and I’ve been part of team’s that have been 4-14 [2014 Edmonton Elks] and 5-13 [2019 B.C. Lions]. The crazy thing is there’s only a handful of games that separate those seasons,” said Lions’ QB Michael Reilly. “You look back at 2019, we had a game we very easily should’ve won in Calgary. I think it was the third week of the year. However you want to look at it, we managed to screw it up or they just took advantage and won the game. That kind of set a bad precedent for our season.”

Reilly also referenced a 35-34 loss in Hamilton in 2019 when the Lions were up 15 points at the start of the fourth and managed to lose.

“That’s the difference between championship teams and non-playoff teams is who can make the plays in crunch time,” he said. “It’s a fine line between being great and not in pro sports, [but] everyone here is capable of it.”

The Lions’ QB feels Campbell’s calm demeanor on the sideline will make a difference in those close games.

“He’s been coaching in this league for a very long time and has had tremendous success. He played in three of the last four Grey Cups and he’s a very calm guy. He’s smart, he knows what he’s doing, but he also takes care of the players. He never gets too high or too low, and knows that there’s a job to do. He’s going to make sure we enjoy it and have fun.”