Buck Pierce: Head Coach
Buck returned to his original CFL team as our 28th head coach on December 3, 2024 following an outstanding decade-long run on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaching staff.
Pierce served as the Bombers running backs coach (2014-15), then quarterbacks coach (2016-19) and offensive co-ordinator (2021-24). His stint in Manitoba included a pair of Grey Cup victories (2019, 2021) and five consecutive Western Division championships (2019, 2021-24).
Under Pierce’s guidance, Zach Collaros won CFL Most Outstanding Player in 2021 and 2022 while Brady Oliveira took home Most Outstanding Canadian in 2023 and 2024 and this season became the first Canadian to win Most Outstanding Player since Jon Cornish in 2013. The Blue Bomber offence was tops in the CFL in many major categories in 2023 including offensive touchdowns, points per game, net offence and rushing yards.
After taking over as quarterbacks coach in 2016, Pierce helped mould Matt Nichols into one of the league’s most dynamic pivots as Nichols moved into the top ten on Winnipeg’s all-time passing list.
As a player, Pierce enjoyed an outstanding college career at New Mexico State (2001-04) where he twice broke the single-season program record for completion percentage before signing with the Lions as a free agent on May 16, 2005. He emerged from his first professional training camp with a spot on the active roster before making one start in his rookie campaign.
Following the departure of Casey Printers to the NFL ahead of 2006, Pierce was elevated to the number two quarterback spot behind Dave Dickenson and earned six starts in year two before winning his first championship ring when the Lions took down Montreal in the 94th Grey Cup.
Pierce moved on to the Blue Bombers ahead of the 2010 season and would lead the team to an appearance in the 99th Grey Cup the next year. He finished his career back with the Lions following a trade in September 2013.
Pierce sits tenth on the club’s all-time list with 8,964 passing yards while his 713 completions are good for eighth spot. In 35 regular season starts with the Lions, the club held a record of 22-12-1.
Born in Hutchinson, Kansas and raised in Crescent City, California Pierce married his wife Lori, a native of Winnipeg, in 2014. They have two children: a daughter Bailey and a son Bo.