Ottawa

Redblacks lock up GM, head coach through 2020

The Ottawa Redblacks have signed general manager Marcel Desjardins and head coach Rick Campbell to contract extensions that will keep them with the defending Grey Cup champions until 2020.

Marcel Desjardins, Rick Campbell have been with CFL club since debut 2014 season

Ottawa Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell, left, and general manager Marcel Desjardins, right, have been signed to contract extensions that will keep them with the club through 2020. (Canadian Press)

The Ottawa Redblacks have signed general manager Marcel Desjardins and head coach Rick Campbell to contract extensions that will keep them with the defending Grey Cup champions until 2020.

The team made the announcement Wednesday, two days before their 2017 season kicks off with a rematch of last year's final against Calgary.

Both Desjardins and Campbell have been with the club since they joined the CFL as an expansion team in 2014.

They've been the architects of the Redblacks' swift rise to the top of the league, having led them to consecutive Grey Cup finals after finishing a dismal 2-16 in their inaugural season.

"They've shown exemplary skills assembling and leading our football operations department and making the Redblacks a model franchise," said Jeff Hunt, president of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, in a statement.

Financial terms of the contracts were not released.