Former Calgary Stampeders great Jeff Garcia interested in B.C. Lions head coaching vacancy
Dave Dickenson has no interest in taking the vacant B.C. Lions head coaching job. But another former Calgary Stampeders quarterbacking great just might.
Mere hours after cleaning out his office in Montreal and heading back to meet his family in California, Jeff Garcia told the Calgary Sun he’s certainly intrigued by the possibility.
“Would I consider it if (Lions GM) Wally (Buono) approached me or wanted to talk about it — I can’t say I would say, ‘No,’ ” said Garcia from the Detroit airport late Monday afternoon.
“If I went to coach in Montreal as a quarterback coach, why wouldn’t I look at a head coaching job?”
After spending a few years dabbling in private coaching, mentoring and representing several young football prospects in California, Garcia shocked many by joining the Montreal Alouettes in August to help stabilize the struggling squad’s young quarterbacks.
Although he desperately missed his wife — former Playboy Playmate of the Year Carmella DeCesare — and four young kids, he enjoyed the experience.
“It was a job I was appreciative for,” said Garcia, whose five seasons playing for Buono in Calgary were punctuated by a Grey Cup win in 1998 in which his MVP performance acted as a springboard for a lucrative 11-year NFL career. “We did a good job turning the situation around — it was a great second half of the season. There are a lot of good things that came out of it. There’s a good chance this journey could continue down the coaching path.
“Whether it’s private coaching that keeps me active six months in the off-season or an actual coaching job in the CFL, NFL or college, I’m open.”
As the son of a football coach growing up, the four-time NFL Pro-Bowler knows all about the long hours and nomadic lifestyle of a high-level coach, which is why the native of Gilroy, Calif., also tempers his enthusiasm for a full-time job with a strong desire to maintain family time — something few pro football coaches have any semblance of.
“I’m not in a position I desperately need a job, so I’m going to be particular about any job I look at,” said Garcia, 44, who made 10s of millions of dollars in the NFL.
“I haven’t even considered talking to Wally about it yet. I spoke to him in Montreal when the Lions were there (for the East Division semifinal), but that was just in general — they hadn’t made a decision (to fire head coach Mike Benevides) then.”
Benevides was fired last week by the CFL’s Lions.
Garcia listed his 11,000 square-foot southern California home just outside San Diego in late August for US$7.75 million, as he and his wife planned to eventually build on a piece of land they bought in San Diego. However, he says they’ve also discussed moving to the Midwest, where she is from.
“She’s expressed openness in terms of relocating, but those are basic talks,” said Garcia. “I’m not a sit-at-home kind of guy. I need to be motivated and doing things. Whatever I decide to do next year — whether it’s coaching or not — it has to benefit my entire family. It can’t just be about me. My main thing is I still want to have my family time.”
“Right now, I want to decompress for awhile and not even think about football. My wife and kids need me back, and I need to be back.”
Garcia says his wife likes to remind him that while he played, he always said he’d never wanted to coach.
“Who knows?” said Garcia, clearly uncertain when or where he may resurface in the football world.
“It’d be interesting to see who Wally is looking at. I haven’t approached him, but that relationship is there.”
eric.francis@sunmedia.ca 
). Paul LaPolice has 16 wins as a head coach, Benevides had 33. 
