Fire Benny!!!!!!!

[South Pender]

While respecting the opinions of other posters on this website, I respectfully disagree and believe Benevides and the other coaches should be given the opportunity to right the ship next year. A suitable QB is crucial. That's my opinion. While I was made to look a fool by cromartie because I disagree with him and many other posters on this issue, my previous post simply included quotes by Elimimian and Marsh.

That was good post, ballhawk; it gave a players' eye view of the coaching situation. And, if we're getting the players' true feelings, it would seem to suggest that Benevides hasn't really lost the locker room.

I think all of us on this forum agree that some coaching changes are needed to right the ship. It seems clear that our coaching leaders are lacking in the fine-grained, up-to-date, and creative tactics and strategy needed to win in the CFL-- the "x's and o's." However, this finely-tuned knowledge and approach doesn't have to come from the HC; we could have coordinators who are good at this and are tasked with providing it, with the HC taking on other crucial leadership duties. A functional and effective coaching hierarchy could consist of two detail guys as the coordinators and a HC who has good executive, organizational, and leadership abilities providing oversight, along with player personnel evaluation, motivating activities aimed at the coaches and players, and appropriate conduct management, like moving definitively to reduce undisciplined behavior on and off the field, while holding everyone beneath him in the hierarchy accountable for good performance in their specific domains. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have a HC with a detail orientation, but it isn't critical. In my view, good leadership tendencies--skill and style--are more important (as long as someone in the organization can provide the molecular detail).

[David]

Interesting poll on TSN1040. If there's a silver lining to all this, the phone lines to talk about what's wrong with the Lions are full, and close to 300 people have voted thus far in the online poll:





DH

[Rammer]

Interesting poll on TSN1040. If there's a silver lining to all this, the phone lines to talk about what's wrong with the Lions are full, and close to 300 people have voted thus far in the online poll:





DH

Well if you vote Wally, all the active coaching gets the axe. I am glad that most of it is directed at Benevides, and Khari gets the small fry vote.

[WestCoastJoe]

Wally will emphasize Benny having won 33 and lost 21 in his three years. Never winning a playoff game? Not a selling point. Downward slide from 13 to 10 to 9? Don't focus on that. Player unrest? Lack of discipline? Focus on giving more time, as the protege is learning on the job.

If Wally waits until January for any announcement regaRding major coaching change, I expect we are looking at status quo.

Any coaching changes? Could be some sacrificial lambs there. Maybe as many as three.

If Wally does not want them fired, Benny might. I expect the firing of Jacques Chapdelaine and Rich Stubler was at the will of Mike Benevides. Wally has kind of gone All In with Benny. He has bet all his poker chips on Benny.

If Benny returns, Is it possible for the team to suddenly snap to attention, play like gangbusters, and challenge for the win/loss lead and the Grey Cup? Well, after all that we have seen, I guess some still hold out hope for that. People can even write off the 50-17 slaughter as an aberration. Many of the fans will not buy that faint hope. The dream dies hard, but there seems little doubt the fan base will dwindle.

[Toppy Vann]

“(Lulay’s) their guy,” Glenn said, referring to the Lions’ relationship with the franchise quarterback in an interesting choice of words “Let’s be frank. It’s never an easy situation when you go from one team to the next. People don’t take that into consideration. Think of someone who goes to work every day that changes to a new job every year. You got to get adjusted.”

B.C.’s offence never did. And by halftime it was already becoming unglued. TSN reported Lions players were shoving each other on the way to the locker-room before the intermission. A small fracas also reportedly broke out with the Als before the break.

“A coach, I think, hit me,” claimed Hardrick, describing one of the few points on the day where the Lions actually showed some resistance.

What was this about?

Looks like Glenn saying he was not really their guy and if you look at Benny's comments earlier in the season he was not endorsing Glenn as did the coaches in the Stamps team with both Huf and Dickie saying nothing but great things as did Nik Lewis - tone setter and team leader. No one on that team would challenge Lewis for his statements as he is popular with coaches, fans and players and he has long stories about him on glenn and this was just last year - all of it.

This is more on the HC and his approach.

What happened to QB factory? Well when Wally dumped Kruck who worked tirelessly with those QBs we had 4 of them and they all played. Then JC took over as QB and OC and well it starts to get less good for back ups as the guy in Ottawa and Reilly never got much of a chance to show anything here.

I used to take in practices and Kruck was never not working with a QB other than then when they were running the offense.

Benny is deservedly going to be tossed under the bus as he not only failed he got blown out by the Als.

One thing I heard in the Als pre-game player rant was a tone like the Lions had in 94 with the GC here in BC and playing Baltimore and how the entire Lions didnt want to be the team that let the Grey Cup go south - it sounded like the Als viewed the Lions as interlopers from the West and let's stop them big .... a good rallying cry. Don't be the east team to let the west thru.

[Hambone]

Wally will emphasize Benny having won 33 and lost 21 in his three years. Never winning a playoff game? Not a selling point. Downward slide from 13 to 10 to 9? Don't focus on that. Player unrest? Lack of discipline? Focus on giving more time, as the protege is learning on the job.

If Wally waits until January for any announcement regading major coaching change, I expect we are looking at status quo.

Any coaching changes? Could be some sacrificial lambs there. Maybe as many as three.

If Wally does not want them fired, Benny might. I expect the firing of Jacques Chapdelaine and Rich Stubler was at the will of Mike Benevides. Wally has kind of gone All In with Benny. He has bet all his poker chips on Benny.

If Benny returns, Is it possible for the team to suddenly snap to attention, play like gangbusters, and challenge for the win/loss lead and the Grey Cup? Well, after all that we have seen, I guess some still hold out hope for that. People can even write off the 50-17 slaughter as an aberration. Many of the fans will not buy that faint hope. The dream dies hard, but there seems little doubt the fan base will dwindle.

I don't expect Wally to wait until after his annual vay-kay to make any major changes. When he's done that in the past it was mostly related to player personnel decisions. Those can wait until the New Year. Coaching changes cannot wait that long. There is a bit of a methodical off-season order of business that has to be followed. Exit meetings and assessment comes first. Realistically if coaching changes are to be made you want to make them happen before you get into personnel decisions are made. That those need to start happening as soon as possible in the New Year. That makes it essential to deal with any coaching changes sooner than later. Given Grey Cup week starts in 10 days and the league likes to keep the positives of that in the forefront I don't expect any news on that front until after Grey Cup and likely within days as happened last year with Stubler and Chap. Waiting until mid-January serves no purpose other than to put the club 3 or 4 weeks behind the rest with their offseason work.

[WestCoastJoe]

Wally will emphasize Benny having won 33 and lost 21 in his three years. Never winning a playoff game? Not a selling point. Downward slide from 13 to 10 to 9? Don't focus on that. Player unrest? Lack of discipline? Focus on giving more time, as the protege is learning on the job.

If Wally waits until January for any announcement regading major coaching change, I expect we are looking at status quo.

Any coaching changes? Could be some sacrificial lambs there. Maybe as many as three.

If Wally does not want them fired, Benny might. I expect the firing of Jacques Chapdelaine and Rich Stubler was at the will of Mike Benevides. Wally has kind of gone All In with Benny. He has bet all his poker chips on Benny.

If Benny returns, Is it possible for the team to suddenly snap to attention, play like gangbusters, and challenge for the win/loss lead and the Grey Cup? Well, after all that we have seen, I guess some still hold out hope for that. People can even write off the 50-17 slaughter as an aberration. Many of the fans will not buy that faint hope. The dream dies hard, but there seems little doubt the fan base will dwindle.

I don't expect Wally to wait until after his annual vay-kay to make any major changes. When he's done that in the past it was mostly related to player personnel decisions. Those can wait until the New Year. Coaching changes cannot wait that long. There is a bit of a methodical off-season order of business that has to be followed. Exit meetings and assessment comes first. Realistically if coaching changes are to be made you want to make them happen before you get into personnel decisions are made. That those need to start happening as soon as possible in the New Year. That makes it essential to deal with any coaching changes sooner than later. Given Grey Cup week starts in 10 days and the league likes to keep the positives of that in the forefront I don't expect any news on that front until after Grey Cup and likely within days as happened last year with Stubler and Chap. Waiting until mid-January serves no purpose other than to put the club 3 or 4 weeks behind the rest with their offseason work.

I agree that any major change has to happen before Christmas.

I think there is a chance we will not see it. Wally might wait. He might decide outright to keep Benny. He might see it differently in January.

Firing Mike Benevides will not be easy for Wally. Seems almost like a father-son relationship. And Benny is a good guy. There is great loyalty both ways.

Wally and Benny might decide that changing OC and one or two more position coaches might be the answer.

[Dusty]

I would agree with Hambone and WCJ that if there are coaching changes, they will happen after Grey Cup week and before mid-December since I suspect that some of the position coaches are on year-to-year contracts that expire at the end of December. With Benavides and Jones on longer contracts (not expiring eDec 31, 2014), there is less urgency to make a decision on them now, and I suspect that Wally will think long on the HC and OC positions, well into the new year.

Over the long term, I do not see Bennevides as a HC, but I do not have a lot of faith that this dismissal will happen. Short term, I can see Bates moving up to the line coach and Dorazio moving out or sideways as a consultant used to assess college lineman in US for both O and D lines. Whether this and some position changes will right the ship, I'm not optimistic. We have slipped great distances as others have pointed out in terms of fresh approaches to schemes and in-game adjustments. Getting new blood in as receiver, defensive backfield and even QB coaches would be a start to stem the outflow of season ticket holders.

And then comes the player decisions..... Mitchell, Marsh, Phillips, Larose, Westerman, Logan, Ianuzzi, Gore may all have new uni's next year.

[TheLionKing]

Wally will emphasize Benny having won 32 and lost 22 in his three years. Never winning a playoff game? Not a selling point. Downward slide from 13 to 10 to 9? Don't focus on that. Player unrest? Lack of discipline? Focus on giving more time, as the protege is learning on the job.

Fans pay good money to see a winning and entertaining team, not to see Wally's protégé learn on the job.

[TheLionKing]

I anticipate some changes will be announced in the first couple of weeks in December in hopes of getting some undecided season ticket holders to renew.

In an interview this afternoon Buono was asked directly whether Mike Benevides will be returning next season. Buono skirted the question by replying that none of us (himself and the coaching staff) could be returning.

[cromartie]

I believe there is much merit to your post hambone. I have mentioned in previous posts that the QB situation IMO has been the major factor with the Lions this year, and had Lulay been at the controls the harshness of the current posts against the Lions coaches would not have occurred.

Clearly, with every team, the QB is the problem. Which is why, had they won this week, they wouldn't have stood a chance in the Eastern Final next week against Ricky Ray and the Argos. Because it's all about the QB.

[Toppy Vann]

I believe there is much merit to your post hambone. I have mentioned in previous posts that the QB situation IMO has been the major factor with the Lions this year, and had Lulay been at the controls the harshness of the current posts against the Lions coaches would not have occurred.

Clearly, with every team, the QB is the problem. Which is why, had they won this week, they wouldn't have stood a chance in the Eastern Final next week against Ricky Ray and the Argos. Because it's all about the QB.

In fact Crompton is a case in point. This guy hasn't been at all spectacular BUT he is normally playing within his skill set and they're giving him plays to make him successful and as TSN - Black and co. said one game -the Als receivers like this QB and will get the ball for him - something that can't exactly be said about our BC Lions.

Another case in point. Glenn did well in Calgary given what they gave him to do... not purrfect but didn't need to be.

Here not a healthy Lulay could have won consistently all year EXCEPT possibly that he is their guy (REC) and maybe they'd have done a better job for him than for Glenn.

If your team is all about just your QB, you're doomed. The best QB with no run game in the CFL or not a decent REC corps will suck.

[sj-roc]

So now that I've had a chance to reset after this latest playoff debacle, I've come to realise something. We live in pretty remarkable times: when our favourite sports teams don't perform up to the high standards we set for them, we can complain about it on the internet. How did we ever manage in the old days?

I discovered an answer to this question this evening while watching this youtube video of an old TSN Sportsdesk broadcast from Jul 1988. It's kind of long at about 25 minutes so you'll have to cue it up to about 18:45 where the interesting part runs for a minute or so.

You'll hear from a disgruntled Lions fan who wanted some answers from then-GM Joe Galat. So he had to write a letter. On paper. And then mail it in to TSN's offices in Don Mills, ON.

It all seems so quaint, watching this some 26 years after the fact. But still, I think this fan would fit in rather well here on Lionbackers.

[video][/video]

If the embedded video doesn't work, you can try this link where I've already cued it up to the right place for you:

[B.C.FAN]

I believe there is much merit to your post hambone. I have mentioned in previous posts that the QB situation IMO has been the major factor with the Lions this year, and had Lulay been at the controls the harshness of the current posts against the Lions coaches would not have occurred.

Clearly, with every team, the QB is the problem. Which is why, had they won this week, they wouldn't have stood a chance in the Eastern Final next week against Ricky Ray and the Argos. Because it's all about the QB.

In fact Crompton is a case in point. This guy hasn't been at all spectacular BUT he is normally playing within his skill set and they're giving him plays to make him successful and as TSN - Black and co. said one game -the Als receivers like this QB and will get the ball for him - something that can't exactly be said about our BC Lions.

Another case in point. Glenn did well in Calgary given what they gave him to do... not purrfect but didn't need to be.

Here not a healthy Lulay could have won consistently all year EXCEPT possibly that he is their guy (REC) and maybe they'd have done a better job for him than for Glenn.

If your team is all about just your QB, you're doomed. The best QB with no run game in the CFL or not a decent REC corps will suck.

Crompton passed for only 155 yards on Sunday but his team scored 50 points. Being a QB is relatively easy when the team has a good running game and is functioning well overall. That's the situation Glenn faced in his Calgary years.

[cromartie]

Crompton passed for only 155 yards on Sunday but his team scored 50 points. Being a QB is relatively easy when the team has a good running game and is functioning well overall. That's the situation Glenn faced in his Calgary years.

So you mean coaching matters too? Things like scheme, solid Quality Control Coaching, in depth self scouting and the ability to make in game adjustments are important to the success of a team? And that coaching staffs with a consistently failing body of work in those areas tend to underachieve in comparison to their talent level and lose their jobs? Who knew?