Dan Rambo

Dan Rambo is a Canadian and American football scout, and executive who served as general manager of the Ottawa Rough Riders.

Dan Rambo
Born:Libby, Montana
Career information
CollegeCarroll College
Career history
As administrator
1983–1990Saskatchewan Roughriders (Dir. of Player Personnel)
1990–1991WLAF (Scout)
1992Ottawa Rough Riders (GM)
1993Denver Broncos (Scout)
1994–1997Saskatchewan Roughriders (Dir. of Player Personnel)
1998–2006Denver Broncos (Scout)
2007–2009Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Dir. of Football Ops.)

Playing career

Rambo was born in Libby, Montana.[1] He attended Carroll College where he led the NAIA in rushing with an average of 152 yards per game during his senior season.[2] He went undrafted and signed with the New York Giants as a free agent. In 1976 he tried out for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He was a member of the Oakland Raiders practice squad and played semi-pro football.[1] He stopped playing in 1979 and took a job as the manager of a health club in Helena, Montana.[1][2]

Scouting

Saskatchewan Roughriders

In 1982, Oakland Raiders executive John Herrera was named general manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Herrera wanted to hire a friend to serve as the team's chief scout and he hired Rambo, who he knew from when Rambo was on the Raiders practice squad, as director of player personnel.[1][2] In Saskatchewan, Rambo developed a computerized scouting system. Herrera was fired after the 1984 season, but was kept on by his successors, Bill Quinter, Bill Baker, and Alan Ford. In 1989 the Roughriders won their first Grey Cup in 23 years.[2] In August 1990, Rambo joined the World League of American Football as a scout.[3]

Ottawa Rough Riders

In 1991, Rambo was named general manager and director of football operations of the Ottawa Rough Riders.[4] Following Rambo's hiring, interim head coach Joe Faragalli resigned due to a dispute with management.[5] After Mike Riley, Tom Higgins, Dennis Meyer, and Joe Paopao all declined the position, Rambo hired Edmonton Eskimos offensive line coach Ron Smeltzer to serve as head coach.[6] Under Rambo and Smeltzer, the Rough Riders finished with a 9-9 record. It was the first time the Rough Riders didn't have a losing record in ten years.[7] In May 1993, Rambo was fired by the Rough Riders due to a dispute with the team's vice-chairman, John Ritchie.[8]

Later career

Following his dismissal from the Rough Riders, Rambo was hired by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to scout NFL training camps.[9] He later joined the Denver Broncos as a scout. In February 1994 he returned to the Saskatchewan Roughriders as director of player personnel.[10] He resigned in May 1998 to become a northeast region college scout for the Denver Broncos.[11] He remained with the Broncos until 2006, when he resigned to spend more time with his family. He then worked as a consultant for a group that unsuccessfully sought to bring an expansion franchise to Ottawa.[12] From 2007 to 2009 he was the director of football operations for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In the role, Rambo oversaw the team's player recruitment and scouting. After leaving the Tiger-Cats, Rambo co-founded FBXchange - a football scouting software company.[13]

References
  1. "Dan Rambo, who had a spotty professional football career after leading the nation in rushing for Carroll College, said Monday he will become director of player personnel for the Saskatchewan Roughriders". UPI. February 28, 1983. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  2. Scanlan, Wayne (December 7, 1991). "Programmed to Win: Rough Riders' Dan Rambo takes big byte out of football". The Ottawa Citizen.
  3. "Rambo on the Job". The Globe and Mail. August 17, 1990.
  4. Campbell, Don (November 21, 1991). "Rambo, Ursaki Raiders' choices". The Ottawa Citizen.
  5. "Faragalli dumps Rambo's Riders". The Province. November 28, 1991.
  6. "Riders beat bushes for new coach". The Vancouver Sun. February 11, 1992.
  7. Campbell, Don (June 10, 1993). "Smeltzer aims higher than .500". The Ottawa Citizen.
  8. Campbell, Don (June 1, 1993). "Club says it's 'parting company' with GM: Riders' Rambo gets the gate". The Ottawa Citizen.
  9. "Blue Bombers add ex-Ottawa GM Rambo". The Hamilton Spectator. July 3, 1993.
  10. Campbell, Don (February 26, 1994). "Rambo hooks on with Roughriders". The Ottawa Citizen.
  11. "Rambo bolts to Broncos". The Calgary Herald. May 16, 1998.
  12. Naylor, David (August 8, 2007). "Rambo returns to Hamilton". The Globe and Mail.
  13. Baines, Tim (November 26, 2012). "Former Ottawa Rough Riders GM Dan Rambo opts out of aiming for top football role with city's new club". The Ottawa Sun. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
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