Not every coach can say they won their final game. Even fewer win a championship in their last game.
Wally Buono did. The man who won more games than any other coach in CFL history put away his whistle after the BC Lions won the 2011 Grey Cup to concentrate on being the team’s general manager and vice-president of football operations. After 22 years as a head coach in Calgary and BC it seemed the logical progression in Buono’s career.
Four years later — and after two head coaches stumbled following in his footsteps — Buono is returning this season as BC’s coach. He sees it as the logical move to right a Lions’ ship that has been listing in stormy seas.
“I felt if I could keep continuity from me down, then that would help this organization try to start building the pieces to make this football team more competitive,” Buono, who turns 66 on Feb. 7, said during an interview in his office.
“I know the personnel. I know which areas we need to improve on. Hopefully the players, whether they are veteran players who played for me or guys that were around me last year, are comfortable with me enough to know what I am all about. From that point of view, I felt it was a good solution.”
Buono sees his return as a call of duty, a debt he owes to owner David Braley. It’s also a gamble that could tarnish his legacy.
“It’s not a gamble,” said Buono. “What legacy is really the greatest to leave?
“I would do what I have to do to keep this organization going in the right direction. If after four years (away) I feel there is a point where the next best step is to step back into the fire, to absorb the pressure, the expectations, then is that not a greater legacy than winning another game or losing another game?”
Buono holds the Grey Cup following his team’s 34-23 win over the Bombers in 2011.
Even before he left in 2011 Buono had his critics. Some said his coaching style was from another era. In his final three years, twice the Lions finished below .500. During his 254 wins he coached teams to 13 West Division finals but had won just five Grey Cups.
Jim Popp, the Montreal Alouettes’ GM who has taken on the coaching duties four times since 2001, said Buono still carries respect and credibility.
“He’s a smart man,” said Popp. “He has made very good decisions over the years. He will be great. He will be fine.
“It’s a different team than he had. He has some very good football players on his team. But it will be an adjustment since he’s been out of it after four years.”
The Lions’ 2011 Grey Cup win was a Hollywood ending to a storybook season. The Lions started 1-6 before winning 10 of their last 11 games.
Over the next four years, under Mike Benevides and Jeff Tedford, BC would accumulate a 40-32 record, finish first in the West once, but not win a playoff game.
There were injuries to key players like quarterback Travis Lulay, running back Andrew Harris and middle linebacker Solomon Elimimian. What hurt more was the damage to the Lions’ image. BC struggled to be competitive. The offence was predictable and lacked imagination. Crowds at BC Place began to dwindle.
Not being on the sidelines gave Buono a different perspective.
“You definitely see the game different from upstairs,” he said. “You start to realize as a coach how much of an influence and how much of an effect you have on making good, wise decisions, whether it’s game personnel or game management.
“Sometimes when you are in the fire, I’m not sure you are as in tune to all that.”
“You start to realize as a coach how much of an influence and how much of an effect you have on making good, wise decisions, whether it’s game personnel or game management.”
Wally Buono
Popp said when a team hires a new coach from outside, the organization goes through an adjustment period. Buono has the luxury of knowing the players and most of them know him.
“There is more of a comfort level for him and for a lot of his players that he had a lot to do with bringing there and signing,” Popp said. “They know him already.”
The game has evolved and changed since Buono last coached. Defences are different. The rules have changed.
“That doesn’t mean Wally hasn’t stayed on top of the game,” said Popp.
The Lions struggled to a 7-11 record last year and only made the playoffs because Saskatchewan and Winnipeg struggled even more.
For any other new coach, managing a winning record would be judged a successful season. But the yardstick will be different for Buono.
“If you don’t win, people just say things,” said Popp.
“Wally is no dummy. He has survived and been successful for a reason.”
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Buono isn’t looking for a short-term fix. He wants to lay a solid foundation from which the Lions can build.
“I want to be able to put a team on the field that every time we line up, the fans know we are going to play hard and play to win,” he said. “I have always been about that.”
Buono knows the risk involved with his return.
One of his mentors is Hall of Fame coach Don Matthews, the second winningest coach in league history. In Matthews’ final season as a head coach he was 0-8 with the Toronto Argonauts.
“It might be a mistake,” Buono agreed. “Now there is no alternative. You have to be successful. The honeymoon period is over. Trial and error is gone. Probably the easy way out would be to be a spectator again.
“At the end of it, when I’m not here, whether I succeed in the next short time or not, at least I can say I honoured my commitment to David and the BC Lions.”