Head Coach - Lions announce Jeff Tedford as 2015 HC

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Ravi
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Toppy Vann wrote:To me it is now pretty clear that the GM recommendation to the owner must be none other than Tedford.
My suspicion, as well, is that Tedford will be taking over the GM role from Wally in two years and that he has been promised this.
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WestCoastJoe
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http://bclions.com/video/index/id/107837

Wally interviewed re Jeff Tedford

* try to hire the best people to make this organization successful, to make our fans proud of our football team

* Jeff Tedford is a great football coach, and, as people are going to see, he is as good a person

* the coach has to help cultivate the community, the fans, the corporate market

* Jeff has a much bigger picture than just the Xs and Os

* people like Jeff just do not become available all that often

* Jeff has a temendous resume

* Jeff has produced some of the great NFL quarterbacks

* offence sells tickets ... offence creates excitement ... you have to score points to win

* Jeff is passionate, energetic, definitive
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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B.C.FAN
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Ravi wrote:
Toppy Vann wrote:To me it is now pretty clear that the GM recommendation to the owner must be none other than Tedford.
My suspicion, as well, is that Tedford will be taking over the GM role from Wally in two years and that he has been promised this.
I don't think anyone is in a position to make promises. Lowell Ullrich noted that Tedford's contract expires at the end of 2016, same time that Buono's and Skulsky's contracts expire, and that happens to be when David Braley turns 75 and has said he will sell the team. The new owner will have a clean slate and be able to bring in new people or move forward with existing people in their current or new roles.
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http://www.theprovince.com/sports/footb ... story.html

From the pen of Lowell Ullrich ... ummm, keyboard ...
Though he came from meagre beginnings as a former CFL quarterback and assistant coach from 1989-91 with Wally Buono and the Calgary Stampeders, Tedford is arriving from a seven-figure world.

The final year of an 11-year run in 2012 as coach at the University of California paid Tedford a reported $2.44 million US. There were other seven-figure bonuses and perks that also came his way as coach of a Pac-12 program. It’s why Buono was driving Tedford around to show him the very best Surrey real estate options earlier this week.
Tedford, with his hard work throughout his career, has put himself in a position of being able to make choices for reasons other than money. Quality of life. Putting down roots. And we are the beneficiaries.
“I said, ‘Would you ever consider coming back to the CFL?’ and he said, ‘Yes, if it was the right place and the right time’,” Buono told The Province this week. “Part of my understanding is that he wants the quality of life and he wants to be settled with his family.”

Lifestyle issues became a greater priority again earlier this season when Tedford underwent a heart procedure that resulted in the termination of his first NFL coaching stop this year as offensive co-ordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Observers said Tedford appeared to be worn down during his final days at Cal, when he was diagnosed with walking pneumonia. Stories of Tedford pushing his assistants to sleep in their offices early in the practice week became routine while the head coach reshaped a once-dreadful program.

It’s why even before the Lions made their first offer Wednesday, Tedford submitted medical records to club doctors and took a physical.

“His work ethic, energy and emotional commitment is not predicated about the number of zeros (on a contract),” Buono said.
The timing of this hiring is rather amazing. All to our benefit.
With coaching jobs popping up across the NCAA at this time of year, Tedford could certainly find more zeros on a deal elsewhere. Instead, he’s choosing the Lions.
:thup:
Quarterbacks: Nothing on Tedford’s resumé is more vital to the Lions than his track record when it comes to nurturing quarterbacks, and though it can be stated he hasn’t delivered since Aaron Rodgers, what he does with Travis Lulay is huge. Tedford must decide from film and medical records whether Lulay is his offensive leader, then figure whether Travis Partridge or Jordan Rodgers shows promise or recommend the Lions keep searching. The process has already started. Lulay and Tedford reportedly met for three hours this week.
We just do not know if Travis will be able to play again at his high level, for extended time. I sure hope he can.
The assistant coaches: Tedford’s first moves will determine whether Wally Buono is really allowing him to change culture or still has considerable influence. Two assistant coaches, Dan Dorazio and Chuck McMann, have been with the Lions in the same jobs since 2003, and though their experience would be huge for a first-year CFL head coach, keeping them will be seen by some fans as a sign that the general manager is only interested in superficial alterations.
Oh yeah. There has been just a little discussion of these two men on here. Both hard working guys. But pro football only wants results. And sometimes you have to move on. We will see.

I fully expect Jeff Tedford to have all the autonomy a Head Coach needs. He is no youthful protege. He is no inexperienced, first time head coach. He has Wally's great respect. Perhaps it is time for Wally to assume more of the role Bobby Ackles played. Big picture. Sounding board. Et cetera ...
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/foot ... story.html

From Eliott Pap.

Re his health ...
“It was a temporary setback where I had a little heart issue and I had two stents put in,” he explained. “So I had to make sure I went through the proper rehabilitation period, but I’ve been good to go for a couple of months now and I feel great. I’m exercising, eating right, doing all those things, and I have as much energy now as I’ve ever had.

“So I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Tedford added. “I feel very fortunate that we caught it when we did and that I didn’t have some catastrophe. It was a warning sign, for sure, to say, ‘Hey, wake up and look after what you’re doing.’ But that won’t affect the way I work or the way I coach.”
Re adaptation to the CFL ...
“I would be naïve to think it’s still the same way it was in 1991,” he responded. “But it’s still football and it still comes down to the trenches and blocking and tackling. Whether it be college football, NFL or Canadian football, trends happen all the time and they feed off one another. So there is not that much difference, there really isn’t.

“That being said, I’m not going to bury my head in the sand either. I want to make sure I’m seeing what things are going on, what difference defences people are attacking with, how much zone pressures there are and all those different types of things. I will study that very, very hard and I think the learning curve will be very short because of my background in the CFL as far as playing and coaching.” -- JT
Yup. Time for some Xs and Os.
“The philosophy is that we don’t talk about the terms,” Buono said. “That’s not something I’m concerned about. The thing that I am excited about is that this is a long-term commitment in the sense that we believe Jeff has the abilities to be a head coach and, hopefully, in the future be more than just that. So contracts are what they are. That’s not an issue for me and I don’t believe it’s an issue for Jeff.”
"Jeff has the abilities to be a head coach and, hopefully, in the future be more than just that." ... Interesting.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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David wrote:
Honour Dewalt wrote:Couldn't agree more. Skulsky's audio was so bad because he wasn't mic'd up. Wally and Tedford both had lapel mics, meaning the plan was for them to be talking at the podium. Skulsky charged in there as Wally was clearly introducing Tedford. So strange.
I listened live on TSN1040 radio (because, what else, the Lions' live streaming wasn't working; at least not for me) and Skulsky actually came through loud and clear, so I think it was just part and parcel of that embarrassing clip that actually shouldn't be on their site - at least not until it's edited to remove the really amateur parts.

Skulsky actually did quite well in his remarks, speaking from the heart. Once they got past the awkward gift giving and went to the signing, Moj cut in and apologized to listeners (didn't sound impressed; kind of like it was "filler" that of course makes bad radio because of lack of visuals). Tips for the Lions:

* Again, dignify signings of this magnitude by hosting at a downtown Vancouver hotel. You'll win points from the media you're wooing too for hosting in their back yard.

* Set up a dais. Have Cartmell brief the gathered media, then have Skuksky go first if he must and keep it brief. If presenting flowers to the Mrs (including his wife was actually a nice touch), have your assistant come up and hand them to you. Don't reach down behind a bench like Uncle Bob's tickle trunk to pull out fresh cut flowers. Sheesh.

* No plastic gift bags. Do that later. The coach just put them right back down on the same bench anyway. Super awkward. If anything, just hand him a ball cap that he can wear for the media.

* Save the dog and pony we've-got-our-man "signing" for after the coach's remarks. I know you were badly burned by Foley, but it's not like Tedford was going to come up to the podium and go, "Actually, we've had a change of heart. They told me it rains a lot here, but I had no idea. We're actually headed back to Tampa. Sorry."

* Above all, hire a qualified videographer to capture it. What lives on their website right now is an embarrassment to the organization.


DH :cool:
If they were to "remove the really amateur parts" there'd be nothing left to show. From stem to stern, the camera work was just far too shaky.

There have been a few suggestions about holding this presser somewhere downtown as a better venue, but at this time of year I think a lot of those spaces would have already been long since booked for annual corporate Christmas parties, especially so late on a Friday. Not stating that for a fact but it's certainly plausible; perhaps an AM booking would have been more amenable to a downtown location.

As for the contract signing — that was pure optics. There is no way the "document" that was signed during that presser is the official and legally binding contract, and by now it might as well have made its way through the shredder for recycling. The real one was surely already signed sometime on Thursday at the latest, shortly after which travel arrangements were made for JT's wife. There's no way she would have come all this way without all the Is dotted and Ts crossed. We didn't even get a very good look at it thanks to the conveniently placed helmet, and at any rate it seems highly unlikely that the contract terms for a professional football head coach would take up only two pages.

One thing the Lions did RIGHT with this presser was in how they constructed a scene whereby JT's introduction was accompanied by a round of applause from those in attendance. This subtle bit of framing establishes and/or reinforces the man as a highly respectable addition to the organisation — which is something that was MISSING from the WD intro presser I mentioned above. The Canucks did some good things with that one but I felt the abrupt, silent transitions from one guy to the next as they took their turns speaking were a little clunky, especially with TL & JB clearly reading almost verbatim from prepared, written statements in a somewhat dull monotone. So I give the Lions credit on that front.

FWIW it could also be noted that WD's wife was present for his presser but at no point during the proceedings did she ever appear on camera — though I have no idea whether this was something to which the Canucks gave no thought, or if she simply declined any notion of having her husband share the spotlight with her.
Last edited by sj-roc on Sat Dec 20, 2014 1:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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Finally the Lions got a coach that is well versed in the "x" and "o"'s
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Ravi wrote:
Toppy Vann wrote:To me it is now pretty clear that the GM recommendation to the owner must be none other than Tedford.
My suspicion, as well, is that Tedford will be taking over the GM role from Wally in two years and that he has been promised this.
I don't think anyone is in a position to make promises. Lowell Ullrich noted that Tedford's contract expires at the end of 2016, same time that Buono's and Skulsky's contracts expire, and that happens to be when David Braley turns 75 and has said he will sell the team. The new owner will have a clean slate and be able to bring in new people or move forward with existing people in their current or new roles.
True, but there's that rumour of DS organising a consortium of Waterboys to become the new owners when DB is ready to divest. Should things so come to fruition then this by itself would not likely be a trigger for far-reaching change in the ball club, other than perhaps all of the major principals getting kicked upstairs a notch.

BTW, Braley turns 75 at the end of May 2016 so strictly speaking next year is the last season of play before he reaches this milestone, though I suppose he could ride out the 2016 season as its training camp would be starting right around this time, which might be the plan anyway given the duration of the contracts to his two highest ranking subordinates.

If the plan indeed calls for Tedford to succeed WB as GM in time for the 2017 campaign then I imagine Neil McEvoy — who's been with the Lions now for nearly 20 years — will probably soon start sniffing around for other opportunities. If he leaves the Lions before the sale goes through then it would certainly be a clue in this direction.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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TheLionKing wrote:Finally the Lions got a coach that is well versed in the "x" and "o"'s

We really haven't had a Head Coach who is well versed in x and o's for a long time and especially well versed in them on both sides of the football. Buono had some defensive x and o's experience but it was basic stuff...four man rush, drop the linebackers off, five player defensive backfield playing straight up zone, an occasional single linebacker blitz..that was Wally as a DC. Wally did run the short yardage offensive unit for years and years here in B.C. and it was terrible and when it was a disaster, Wally was very quiet and let Chap wear it.

Benevedes was a very basic defensive coordinator as well, with one exception. In 2011, he began the season trying to use a 3-4 defense, without the personell to do so. He moved Aarron Hunt to defensive end. The result was a disaster and played a role in our horrible start to the season in 2011, a pattern that had been with us before. Benevedes changed the defense back to a 4-3 and managed to convince Buono to let him have an extra defensive lineman to rotate in and towrds the end of the season convinced Buono to let him use a 6 man defensive line rotation. Benevedes was at least smart enough to realize taht if Buono wanted a vanilla four man rush and basic zone defensive scheme, he needed to have fresh defensive lineman to rush the passer as well as play the run.

But Benevedes, as a Head Coach, was not an x and o's guy in terms of offensive football and the best he could do was berate Khari Jones on the sidelines. I've always found it interesting that Stubler was made the scapegoat by Wally for the 2013 Semi-Final loss to the Riders, when minus Eliminian, Durrant took off for those 4th quarter runs and yet we had a Head Coach, who was a former Leos defensive coordinator and he got off scot free by Buono.

Tedford is known as an offensive innovator and quarterback developer. He is well versed in the x and o's of offensive football in both the spread offence, which he helped create with Hufnagel in Calgary and which he utilized as an OC in Oregon and also in California and he is also well versed in the x and o's of the pro offence, which he also used at California and was going to utilize in Tampa Bay.

I sense that the media see Tedford as more of a pass oriented coach but he has always viewed the running game as the key to his offences, no different than Chip Kelly is often seen as a pass oriented coach but in reality he also emphasizes the running game.

But Tedford also knows the x and o's of defense. Because he called the offensive plays during games for a number of season in California (and when Cortez was his OC in California Tedford called the plays during games) and because of his past as a quarterback and OC, there is a tendency to view Tedford from the perspective that he is only an 'offensive football mind' but Tedford was also involved in defensive x and o's in California and knowledgeable with both the 4-3 and 3-4 defence, which is a plus, since four man and 3 man fronts are both utilized in a CFL game.

I wonder if Tedford will call the plays next season. He eventually stopped doing that in California, with weaker results. I don't see Telford just hiring a DC and letting him create the defence nor the offence.

Tedford's offensive playbook was about 250 pages, 100 plays...its was a volume offence, sophistocated, and very clearly laid out. The volume and sophistication will be something Lulay will be able to deal with, because Chap's offence was about the same volume and sophistication. We learned this season that offensive simplicity isn't always better.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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I must say my first impression after watching Tedford be introduced is a good one. He seems confident yet humble, very experienced, calm and professional. My only concern is that its been over 20 years since he has been in the CFL and he more or less admitted to being out of touch with today's CFL. But overall I feel like this is good hiring. Tedford seems to be the type of guy the players will want to play for. He's not going to have to earn respect from his players nor does he seem like the type of guy who has to demand it.

Interesting the lack of comment about the existing coaching staff. He met with MW on his way out of town but KJ did not even get mentioned. I think MW has a good chance of being invited to stay around. The Lions had one of the best defences in the CFL last year. The only thing that might cost MW his job is that his defence should have been even better. Despite the amount of talent on that side of the ball the Lions defence never seemed to be able to take over a game, to make the huge play when it was really needed, to keep sustained pressure on a QB and dictate what an offence could do. On offence it could be much easier to make a case for a new coordinator, especially with Tedford being an offensive coach himself. Plus you have George Cortez on the market who was the OC for Tedford at Cal. Likely not going to be a merry christmas for KJ.
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Ravi wrote:
Toppy Vann wrote:To me it is now pretty clear that the GM recommendation to the owner must be none other than Tedford.
My suspicion, as well, is that Tedford will be taking over the GM role from Wally in two years and that he has been promised this.
I don't think anyone is in a position to make promises. Lowell Ullrich noted that Tedford's contract expires at the end of 2016, same time that Buono's and Skulsky's contracts expire, and that happens to be when David Braley turns 75 and has said he will sell the team. The new owner will have a clean slate and be able to bring in new people or move forward with existing people in their current or new roles.
Did Wally say this?
"Jeff has the abilities to be a head coach and, hopefully, in the future be more than just that."
As to Neil McEvoy IF this were to come to pass and he's doing a good job I don't doubt they'd pay him a good salary to stay.

I agree he can't make promises but I do recall he said he made a recommendation to the President and to the owner as to who the future GM should be after two years when he wants to go.

Hey, if they were losing or the HC decided to head south all bets are off.
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It would be refreshing to see an offence emphasizing both the running and passing game. Keep the defence guessing.
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TheLionKing wrote:It would be refreshing to see an offence emphasizing both the running and passing game. Keep the defence guessing.
Especially when we have the talent in the backfield to utilize both. Andrew Harris is our best player on offense, we need to properly use him. If we decide to bring back Stefan Logan, we need to exploit this as well. I saw far too many times last year us trying to send Logan up the middle, which doesn't make too much sense for a guy with his ability. I'm already getting my hopes up for 2015!

RE: Neil McEvoy/Jeff Tedford for GM...at this point it's tough to say. Tedford could be a complete flop here and is long gone before Wally retires. Maybe Wally doesn't even retire in 2 years. My first impression of talking to McEvoy wasn't a great one though. He prefers the NFL game, prefers their style of play and rules. For a guy working in a key role in the CFL I would have expected him to talk up the CFL game a bit more, but he even mentioned how he prefers how the NFL has some games that are basically over within 2 minutes if the right team has the ball (as opposed to the CFL where anything can happen). Left me with a very sour taste in my mouth (though I do admit this has zero to do with his ability as a GM).
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The_Pauser wrote:RE: Neil McEvoy/Jeff Tedford for GM...at this point it's tough to say. Tedford could be a complete flop here and is long gone before Wally retires. Maybe Wally doesn't even retire in 2 years. My first impression of talking to McEvoy wasn't a great one though. He prefers the NFL game, prefers their style of play and rules. For a guy working in a key role in the CFL I would have expected him to talk up the CFL game a bit more, but he even mentioned how he prefers how the NFL has some games that are basically over within 2 minutes if the right team has the ball (as opposed to the CFL where anything can happen). Left me with a very sour taste in my mouth (though I do admit this has zero to do with his ability as a GM).
Wow. I mean, maybe he has NFL ambitions and I certainly wouldn't begrudge him for it. If Ackles can leave the Lions after 32 years for a bigger NFL paycheque, then someone else who's put in about 20 can, too. And in talking like this, he could be thinking more like the stakeholding competitor that he IS, who just wants to lock in the win early on in the game — fan entertainment factor be damned. Still, that chat didn't sound very good — though I'd like to know more about the circumstances surrounding it.

Was this at an official Lions event, like at training camp or fanfest or something, where he was basically on the job and ought to have known he was talking to a serious Lions fan who was maybe all decked out in team colours? Or was it more like (opposite extreme), you happened to see him off the clock, at a sports bar during Monday Night Football, so that as far as he was concerned, you had no idea who he was and that (again, as far as he was concerned) the guy he was talking with was Just Another NFL Fanboy, perhaps sporting no obvious relics of Lions/CFL fandom? And what triggered these comments? Did he simply offer them up unsolicited, apropos of nothing, or were there direct questions asked of him that spawned these responses?

Maybe it's not really a fair comparison and I don't know a whole lot about Tedford anyway, but I wouldn't expect to hear a story like this about JT. I mean, he might THINK it, which is fine ambition-wise, but I wouldn't expect him to be loose-lipped about it.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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sj-roc wrote:
The_Pauser wrote:RE: Neil McEvoy/Jeff Tedford for GM...at this point it's tough to say. Tedford could be a complete flop here and is long gone before Wally retires. Maybe Wally doesn't even retire in 2 years. My first impression of talking to McEvoy wasn't a great one though. He prefers the NFL game, prefers their style of play and rules. For a guy working in a key role in the CFL I would have expected him to talk up the CFL game a bit more, but he even mentioned how he prefers how the NFL has some games that are basically over within 2 minutes if the right team has the ball (as opposed to the CFL where anything can happen). Left me with a very sour taste in my mouth (though I do admit this has zero to do with his ability as a GM).
Wow. I mean, maybe he has NFL ambitions and I certainly wouldn't begrudge him for it. If Ackles can leave the Lions after 32 years for a bigger NFL paycheque, then someone else who's put in about 20 can, too. And in talking like this, he could be thinking more like the stakeholding competitor that he IS, who just wants to lock in the win early on in the game — fan entertainment factor be damned. Still, that chat didn't sound very good — though I'd like to know more about the circumstances surrounding it.

Was this at an official Lions event, like at training camp or fanfest or something, where he was basically on the job and ought to have known he was talking to a serious Lions fan who was maybe all decked out in team colours? Or was it more like (opposite extreme), you happened to see him off the clock, at a sports bar during Monday Night Football, so that as far as he was concerned, you had no idea who he was and that (again, as far as he was concerned) the guy he was talking with was Just Another NFL Fanboy, perhaps sporting no obvious relics of Lions/CFL fandom? And what triggered these comments? Did he simply offer them up unsolicited, apropos of nothing, or were there direct questions asked of him that spawned these responses?

Maybe it's not really a fair comparison and I don't know a whole lot about Tedford anyway, but I wouldn't expect to hear a story like this about JT. I mean, he might THINK it, which is fine ambition-wise, but I wouldn't expect him to be loose-lipped about it.
It was sort of in-between. It was during one of the Operation Orange road trips. My Dad and I were having a drink at one of the hotel lobby bars and joined Dennis, Neil, and a few others sitting around watching a game. We got into the discussion about the differences between the CFL and NFL, and Neil was mentioning how he prefers the NFL game. I mean, it's his opinion and I can't hold that against him, but it does rub me the wrong way when you start discussing him as a potential candidate to run a CFL team. So yes, it was at a fan event, but I don't think you could really consider him as being on the clock either. The way I look at it, it was a bunch of guys just relaxing, shooting the breeze while watching football and talking football over a drink or two.
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