Buono does not let loyalty interfere with championship quest

Wally Buono proved – again – Thursday that he does not play favourites or adhere to longstanding loyalties.
The B.C. Lions general manager made the “very difficult” decision to fire coach Mike Benevides four days after the CFL team suffered a humiliating 50-17 playoff loss to the Montreal Alouettes. The setback came after a disappointing 9-9 regular season in which the Lions expected to do much better while seeking the chance to host the Grey Cup at home.
“Our football team experienced a very tumultuous season,” said Buono in a news release. “Still, we believe as an organization that the team we had assembled was capable of more than what we accomplished in the regular season and in the playoffs. In short, we underperformed and failed to meet both our own expectations and the expectations of our fans.”
Perhaps a hint of Buono’s decision came Monday when he was asked whether the team was spiralling downward. He noted that the Lions had gone from 13 to 11 to nine victories in the past three season under Benevides and added “simple math” indicated they were. Clearly, Buono does not friendships or loyalty interfere with the quest for a championship.
The timing of the firing is, perhaps, the biggest surprise because it came so soon after the conclusion of the Lions’ season. (Unlike the NHL, the CFL apparently has no qualms about teams making major announcements during the playoffs.) But the dismissal re-affirmed Buono’s decisive nature and willingness to make moves for the better of the team, even if they might make him look bad.
Benevides, who compiled a 33-21 record as a head coach, had worked with Buono for more than a decade in B.C. and Calgary. Buono gave him his first coaching job, an assistant’s position which earned no pay because of the Stampeders’ financial difficulties. Then Buono brought Benevides with him to B.C.,and promoted him through the ranks before promoting him to head coach after stepped down following the Lions’ 2011 Grey Cup victory.
He also gave Benevides, who aspired to be the team’s GM one day, a two-year contract extension prior to this season.
If any coach deserved the benefit of the doubt for a sub-par season, Benevides did. The Lions suffered numerous injuries to key players, including running backs Andrew Harris and Stefan Logan, and receiver Courtney Taylor, and their valiant, but injury-riddled offensive line was a patchwork quilt at the best of times. Most significantly, starting quarterback Travis Lulay missed most of the season after he was slow to recover from off-season shoulder surgery was injured again in the lone game he played – a storm-interrupted 7-5 win over Ottawa. Then Lulay suffered another relapse during the warmup before Sunday’s debacle in Montreal.
But these factors did not sway Buono, whose decision came after fans were quick to blame Benevides for the mediocre regular season and playoff mauling.
Now, Buono must find a successor, and he has one readily available in defensive co-ordinator Mark Washington, who built a standout defence that dominated for most of the season before struggling late in the season. Fatigue, from being on the field too long as the offence failed to put up points consistently, and injuries undoubtedly explained part of the defence’s woes.
Washington is widely expected to become a head coach somewhere in the not-too-distant future, and Buono stressed earlier in the week that’s it’s critical to have continuity in the club. The defensive co-ordinator’s promotion would allow for that continuity, and he would likely keep most of the assistants, who did a commendable job under the circumstances. Offensive co-ordinator Khari Jones appears likely to depart after the offence continued to show a lack of creativity that was evident under his predecessor Jacques Chapdelaine.
Former Lions defensive back Barron Miles, an assistant with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, could be another worthy candidate, and Lions running backs coach Kelly Bates might also merit an interview.
Some media types have speculated that Calgary offensive co-ordinator Dave Dickenson, a former Lions quarterback who was brought to the CFL by Buono, could be a frontrunner for the position. But Dickenson has strong family ties in Calgary and appears the likely successor to general manager and coach John Hufnagel. Dickenson’s promotion could be expedited if the Stampeders do not parlay their 15-3 regular season into a playoff berth.
Buono has ruled out returning to the coaching ranks, because he believes that the CFL’s version of football is a young man’s game. So the new Lions coach will likely be in his 30s or early 40s. He will also likely have an existing relationship with Buono, who prefers to hire people he knows.
But the new coach should not expect any longstanding ties with Buono to enhance his job security.