CFL NOTEBOOK

VANCOUVER – The B.C. Lions have signed co-general manager and head coach Rick Campbell and co-general manager and director of football operations Neil McEvoy to contract extensions through the 2024 CFL season.

Campbell was hired as head coach in December 2019. Campbell and McEvoy took on co-GM duties a year later after Ed Hervey stepped down.

McEvoy is entering his 28th season with the Lions. He has played a role in various front-office duties including contract negotiations, Canadian scouting, training camp preparation and team travel.

The Lions, with Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke leading the way, finished with a 12-6 record in 2022, good for second place in the West Division standings.

The Lions advanced to their first division final since 2016 but dropped a 28-20 decision to Winnipeg.

Campbell was the first head coach of the Ottawa Redblacks and spent six seasons there from 2014-19. The club won a Grey Cup in 2016 and advanced to two other finals under his watch.

“From the moment I arrived here three years ago, I knew I had found my new home with a great organization on and off the field,” Campbell said Wednesday in a statement.

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VANCOUVER – Illinois running back Chase Brown has been awarded the Jon Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian in NCAA football.

Brown was second in the NCAA and first in the Power Five conference with 1,643 rushing yards.

The native of London, Ont., was second in the NCAA in rushes of 10-plus yards (48), 100-yard games (10), and rushing attempts per game (27.3), and was third in all-purpose yards (1,883). He had 328 carries in the regular season.

Ohio Bobcats quarterback Kurtis Rourke of Oakville, Ont., was runner-up in the voting by the Cornish Trophy committee. Chase’s twin brother and Illinois teammate, senior defensive back Sydney Brown, finished third.

Chase Brown was runner-up for the award last year, finishing behind two-time winner John Metchie III.

Brown is the CFL Scouting Bureau’s top-ranked Canadian prospect.

He said he will decide after the Rellaquest Bowl against Mississippi State on Jan. 2 if he will declare for the NFL draft and is weighing his options on playing his senior year.

The Cornish Trophy is named after former Kansas and Calgary Stampeders star running back Jon Cornish.

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WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have signed cornerback Winston Rose to a one-year contract extension.

He had been scheduled to become a free agent in February.

Rose was third on the Bombers last season with 66 tackles while adding three interceptions, including one for a touchdown.

Rose added eight tackles and an interception in the Bombers’ win over B.C. in the Western final and another five tackles in their loss to Toronto in the Grey Cup.

Rose led the CFL in interceptions in 2019 and was a league all-star.

He spent most of the 2020 season on the practice roster with the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals, suiting up for two regular season games, and then rejoined the Blue Bombers in October 2021.

A veteran of 60 CFL games with Ottawa, B.C., and Winnipeg, Rose has 182 career tackles and 17 interceptions.

(Canadian Press)