Dave Dickenson will return as the Head Coach and General Manager of the Calgary Stampeders for the 2025 season. Calgary Stampeders President Jay McNeil made the announcement during the end-of-the-year press conference on Monday.
“Dave (Dickenson) will be our General Manager and Head Coach in 2025,” said McNeil. “Since Dave’s taken over as head coach, he’s got a record of 84 wins, 53 losses, and one tie, he’s taken us to three consecutive Grey Cups (from 2016-18) and he’s won a championship in 2018, and he’s earned the right and the opportunity to turn this around in 2025.”
Dave Dickenson became an Assistant Coach for Calgary after he retired following the 2009 season. In 2010, he was promoted to quarterback’s coach and offensive coordinator. During his time as an assistant coach, Dickenson helped running back Jon Cornish win the Most Outstanding Canadian Award.
In 2014, he was the offensive coordinator when the Stampeders won the Grey Cup in 2014 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was named the Grey Cup MVP. Two years later, Dickenson took over as the head coach for John Hufnagel.
In Dickenson’s first three seasons as the head coach, Calgary went to three consecutive Grey Cup title games losing the first two to the Ottawa Redblacks and Toronto Argonauts. In the 106th Grey Cup, the Stampeders defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 27-16 at Commonwealth Stadium.
That was the last playoff win for Calgary. Since then, they had lost four straight Western Semi-Final games, and for the first time since 2004, the Stampeders did not make the playoffs. Since 2023, the Stampeders are 11-24-1.
“Eleven wins in the last few years is not good enough, and we’ve got to do something better,” said McNeil. “So, we’ve been working incredibly hard for the last several weeks to build a plan to give us success in 2025. And we’re excited about that plan — we believe in it. We’re excited about that, and change will be coming. I know fans want to see change today, but it’s a process and it takes time. But we will get there.”
The plan that McNeil laid out is him, Dickenson and special advisor John Hufnagel includes getting aggressive in free agency and the draft. The Stampeders hold the number one overall in the 2025 CFL Draft.
Dave Dickenson is 51-years-old from Great Falls, Montana. As a player, Dickenson played 10 seasons in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders (06-00, 2009) and the B.C. Lions (2003-07). He also had a brief stint in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks, and Detroit Lions.
In the CFL, Dickenson completed 1,635 of 2,421 passes (67.5%) for 22,913 yards, 154 touchdowns, 50 interceptions, 253 carries for 1,560 yards, and 14 touchdowns in 143 games. He won three Grey Cup championships, Grey Cup MVP in 2006, CFL Most Outstanding Player in 2000, a CFL All-Star in 2000, and a two-time CFL West All-Star (2000, 2003).
Dickenson was inducted into the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame in 2015, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
