Monday Morning Joe

[Blitz]

That's a very good analysis of Chip Kelly guys...he was the OC in Oregon in 2007/08 and then the HC...Oregon has the best overall record in the NCAA since that time...Kelly's system (which is very much like what JC eventually evolved into himself) is all the rage in the NCAA and now in the NFL. The key, and Kelly has said this time and again, is an athletic OLine that can get the job done! As Kelly said, without an OLine to control the LOS and get out into space, none of my ideas work!

The more and more I see things unfold the more I understand that JC was the victim of a HORRIBLE OLine coach who has compromised out Offence (and its health) for a DECADE!

I would like to see a "disciple" of Kelly's system here because to operate that system you have to be SMART! You have to think on your feet by definition...it is the ultimate "adjustment" offence, as they are literally adjusting on EVERY DOWN to what the defences are doing!

So for those on this site worrying that there aren't any good coaches available to guide the Lions back to success, you're miss informed...there are lots of top coaching minds that might give the CFL a chance for a few years to make names for themselves. In the CFL right now are Jeff Garcia and Orlando Steinhauer (plus LaPolice) that possess good football minds. Garcia has a chance to be SPECIAL...and I would still welcome Wally coming back for a season as HC, making Garcia OC and Asst. HC, grooming him to take over, like he should have done with Dave Dickenson!!!

I agree that there are coaches that can come to B.C. and get the job done...if Buono will actually hire one and let them innovate.

Wally also has to look at the way we coach and who is coaching. Wally focuses way too much on the players, either for execution or leadership. Here is his most recent example.

After admitting he wasn’t “fresh” and had difficulty relating to players 10 days ago, Buono said Tuesday among his failings this season was adding the wrong mix of players to the locker-room. Johnson, Kevin Glenn, Ricky Schmitt and Khalif Mitchell, who are all not being asked back, along with Dante Marsh, were added to the team last winter.“Obviously when you bring in players there’s a risk things blow up in your face,” Buono said.

Certainly, nothing is going to get done offensively until we can change our offensive line coach and get a good offensive line going. Its not our talent. We led the CFL in points in 2005 and gave up the most sacks and we won the Grey Cup in 2006, giving up the most sacks in the CFL. Just think what our Lions could have been with good offensive line coaching. JC was ahead of the curve in 2011-2013. Lulay was a quarterback who could run and throw before he got injured. Both Chap and Lulay suffered because Wally loves Dorazio. It pisses me off that Wally just said the other day that Lulay needs to become a QUARTERBACK. Sometimes you wonder what prescriptions Buono is on. Now Buono is planning to renegotiate Lulays' contract, knowing his shoulder injury means he has no leverage.

Its interesting to see how things have involved with our Leos coaching staff internally. Mike Benevedes, Mark Washington, Dan Dorazio and Chuck McMann were favored. Chap was not. Instead he was the whipping boy who was forced to live with Dorazio`s ineptitude and Wally`s play book for too long. Wally wanted any excuse to get rid of Stubler, because Stubler was an outsider, who didn`t revere Wally. Benevedes wanted him and that was why he was hired. Players who could have been transitioned to coaches such as Dave Dickenson, Carl Kidd, Geroy Simon were not. Barrin Miles and Jarious Jackson, two players who were really considered leaders by teammates and had a strong sense of self, left.

I'm not on the Orlanado Steinhauer, Paul LaPolice bandwagon for HC. I believe they could do a decent job but its not the direction I would like to see. I can see Garcia becoming an offensive coordinator but I would prefer to see him working under a Head Coach with an offensiver background. I would prefer us to look south for a new HC, for a person with an offensive background and one that is innovative. But no matter who we hire, I really want a new offensive line coach and a new special teams coach.

Its mostly defenses that are ahead of the curve in the CFL right now. Stubler is a very smart defensive coordinator and Chris Jones is also a very bright defensive mind. Tim Burke will get things changed around defensively in Toronto and has already begun to do that. Steinhauer, in Hamilton, is a bright young coach who, with better defensive backs in Hamilton next season, will continue to improve. Noel Thorpe in Montreal is no slouch with his aggressive style.

What we need in the CFL is some new kinds of thinking offensively. Dickenson changed his thinking about offence working under Hufnagel. Marcus Crandell did the same thing in Edmonton this season, working under Chris Jones. Both are now running teams that use a lot of play action. But most CFL teams are still stuck in the spread offence too much. The wide, long CFL field is tempting for the use of spread offences. But when a quarterback is throwing quickly off his back foot with pressure in his face or lying on the ground, that wide, long field, looking like a great oppportunity to play pitch and catch, doesn`t always turn out that way. Offence was down this season because there is a lack of offensive innovation in the CFL.

Hufnagel and Dickenson are multi-formational coaches who favor a strong running attack. So does Chris Jones and Crandell has moved in that direction. Chap had become multi-formational. Trestman was a multi-formational coach with a West Coast flavor. But the rest of the CFL is mostly still stuck in the spread.

Whether we hire a HC with a defensive background or an offensive background, we need an offensive coordiantor who will work outside of the box and an offensive line coach who can actually get his offensive lineman to improve rather than deteriorate. The best season for a starting B.C. offensive lineman is his first season as a starter with our Leos. Then its downhill from there. I think the more we break away offensively from the old Calgary playbook and from the trend in the CFL, the better we will be.

Calgary got turned around when Hufnagel came north as did Montreal when Trestman arrived. I believe that a south-north direction, could possibly be a very good one, rather than hiring from the current crop of CFL coaches who might be interested in the job.

[TheLionKing]

So for those on this site worrying that there aren't any good coaches available to guide the Lions back to success, you're miss informed...there are lots of top coaching minds that might give the CFL a chance for a few years to make names for themselves. In the CFL right now are Jeff Garcia and Orlando Steinhauer (plus LaPolice) that possess good football minds. Garcia has a chance to be SPECIAL...and I would still welcome Wally coming back for a season as HC, making Garcia OC and Asst. HC, grooming him to take over, like he should have done with Dave Dickenson!!!

I agree that there are a lot of good coaches out there. It's just a matter of finding one and giving him the full autonomy to run the team

[MexicoLionFan]

I agree TLK...

Blitz outstanding analysis and I agree...however, I do think that if Steinhauer gave himself the right Coordinators, he would make a great HC...to be honest I would lean towards OS if I knew his personal philosophies. Right now everyone in the CFL knows that the Spread offence is in trouble, they have to. In the CFL, as a coach, you have even less tenure than the NFL, so you must win...Wally's "Lifetime contract" from Braley just got downgraded to "we'll see". He too is on the hot seat and as Joe, Cro and Rammer have all said, Wally is a survivor first and foremost. Wally may not be an X's and O's guy, but he knows football and the industry. Wally knows that Chip Kelly is the rage with the multi formational system that protects the QB by RUNNING THE FREAKING FOOTBALL! I cannot see Wally doing something completely braindead like hiring Paul LaPolice while forcing upon him Dorazio, McMann and Washington...we would be looking up at OTT by season's end.

Wally knows, generally, why Huff is successful...Wally also knows like I do that Bo Levi Mitchell is NOT something special. He's a good, young QB that does not possess a single aspect to his game that is outstanding. He is a protected QB...the GC where he was named MVP, was embarrassingly simple for him because of DD...Mitchell was not asked to do a single thing that he wasn't good at...that's micro-managing a game and it almost cost Dave in the 4th quarter, but what was he going to do? Ask Mitchell to surprise everyone and be successful outside of his comfort zone? No, that's the providence of the BC Lions!

Wally knows that this franchise in a big city like Vancouver can get lost in a hurry and thus its value...and there is nothing like lost value to incur the wrath of David Braley. Wally fired MB because Wally could not safely ensure himself that the Lions wouldn't slide again next year, which would have meant that Braley would have been trying to GIVE AWAY the Lions and Wally would have been OUT OF THE GAME FOR GOOD! That's why he fired MB! So I can't see Wally putting himself back into that predicament. I think Wally absolutely knows how bright Jeff Garcia is, and what a future he has, but he also worries (and rightly so) that Garcia might not be ready without ANY HCing experience. So I see Wally conducting VERY in depth interviews for the jobs that will involve deep discussion on the Asst Coaches and the systems we will be running. Wally is going to want to know how the new HC plans to defeat John Hufnagel in CGY...Wally is a competitive man, and Wally does not like how he has been beat up pretty badly by Hufnagel! Since choosing to go Multi-formational and riding Jon Cornish, JH has gone something like 38-9 as a HC over the last two and a half seasons...Wally knows he will have to change if he is to compete with Huff and now Dave Dickenson!

[Blitz]

I agree TLK...

Blitz outstanding analysis and I agree...however, I do think that if Steinhauer gave himself the right Coordinators, he would make a great HC...to be honest I would lean towards OS if I knew his personal philosophies. Right now everyone in the CFL knows that the Spread offence is in trouble, they have to. In the CFL, as a coach, you have even less tenure than the NFL, so you must win...Wally's "Lifetime contract" from Braley just got downgraded to "we'll see". He too is on the hot seat and as Joe, Cro and Rammer have all said, Wally is a survivor first and foremost. Wally may not be an X's and O's guy, but he knows football and the industry. Wally knows that Chip Kelly is the rage with the multi formational system that protects the QB by RUNNING THE FREAKING FOOTBALL! I cannot see Wally doing something completely braindead like hiring Paul LaPolice while forcing upon him Dorazio, McMann and Washington...we would be looking up at OTT by season's end.

Wally knows, generally, why Huff is successful...Wally also knows like I do that Bo Levi Mitchell is NOT something special. He's a good, young QB that does not possess a single aspect to his game that is outstanding. He is a protected QB...the GC where he was named MVP, was embarrassingly simple for him because of DD...Mitchell was not asked to do a single thing that he wasn't good at...that's micro-managing a game and it almost cost Dave in the 4th quarter, but what was he going to do? Ask Mitchell to surprise everyone and be successful outside of his comfort zone? No, that's the providence of the BC Lions!

Wally knows that this franchise in a big city like Vancouver can get lost in a hurry and thus its value...and there is nothing like lost value to incur the wrath of David Braley. Wally fired MB because Wally could not safely ensure himself that the Lions wouldn't slide again next year, which would have meant that Braley would have been trying to GIVE AWAY the Lions and Wally would have been OUT OF THE GAME FOR GOOD! That's why he fired MB! So I can't see Wally putting himself back into that predicament. I think Wally absolutely knows how bright Jeff Garcia is, and what a future he has, but he also worries (and rightly so) that Garcia might not be ready without ANY HCing experience. So I see Wally conducting VERY in depth interviews for the jobs that will involve deep discussion on the Asst Coaches and the systems we will be running. Wally is going to want to know how the new HC plans to defeat John Hufnagel in CGY...Wally is a competitive man, and Wally does not like how he has been beat up pretty badly by Hufnagel! Since choosing to go Multi-formational and riding Jon Cornish, JH has gone something like 38-9 as a HC over the last two and a half seasons...Wally knows he will have to change if he is to compete with Huff and now Dave Dickenson!

It was interesting watching Wally weave and dance at his press conference. He was wise enough to play it humble...we`ve all made mistakes, I`ve made mistakes (but of course never mention what those mistakes were) while at the same time ensuring the focus was on the lack of leadership and chemistry, the need to change the `culture` and of course, having Lulay play more conservatively next season and avoid injury.

The major problem with the `culture`was the favoritism of Wally towards certain players, the favoritism of Benevedes towards certain players, the lack of real leadership by Benevedes, the dismal offensive coordination of Khari Jones, the ineptitude of Dorazio with 3 International starters, the high number of dum penatlies, the unpreparedness of our special team return units under McMann etc.

But no, the major problem presented by Wally were the players that were added to the team and of course it was also Lulay's fault for playing a style that got him injured. How about the lack of pass blocking that he has never been provided for too long. Huh? Problems with the players added to our Leos this season. Jamal Johnson has never been a problem player and always played with heart - we just never used him properly, Kevin Glenn was highly respected by Calgary HC John Hufnagel, Ricky Smitt was a non-entity, and the only player who created any problems could have been Khalif Mitchell.

Here is a question for you MLF. I remember well your strong support of Sol E. when he returned to our Leos and you believed him in, even when your views were a minority on this board at the time. You usually get players right. What the heck happened with Khalif?

In 2011 he was the most dominant player in the CFL He was offered a contract and a signing bonus to go to the NFL. Benevedes takes over in 2012 and Mitchell is a big problem. He goes to Toronto, where he isnt' a problem and has a decent season, gets penetration and sacks. He returns here this season and he is a non-entity. You really wanted Mitchell back last season and mourned his loss. We got him back and he was awful. I understand his issues but its hard to understand why he was so ineffective on the field this season. He had no presence at all.

Getting back to Wally, you have more confidence in him than I do. Wally is not a guy who changes easily. Right now he has to be completly out of his comfort zone. He imagined that Benevedes would continue as the HC for a long time, Wally would advise and direct him when he wanted to, and both would be sharing wine together at family dinner get togethers. He had prepared Benevedes for 10 years for his succession plan. He got rid of Stubler and Chap, in part to deflect away from Benevedes taking the accountability he should have taken last season or the weaknesses of Dorazio and McMann. He hired a favorite in Mark Washington as his defensive coordinator. He gave Benevedes a two year extension (not one) to start this season. He was prepared to use the injuries as an excuse. But our offence was so bad and then our defense completely collapsed at the end of the season and in the playoff and the entire team tanked. Buono had no choice than to fire Benevedes and it was the last thing he wanted to do. Buono has not had much time to adjust to the new reality.

Coaches don`t want to come here knowing what a control freak Buono is. Free agents don`t want to sign here because they dont`trust Wally. Vets know that he will dump them a year ahead or try to screw them on their next contract. Most leave angry and not dealt with with respect. Dante Marsh is another vet leaving us with a bad taste in his mouth, after getting an ok to travel home in the break and then being unexpectedly told to change his plans and then embarrassed. Those ways of treating vets doesn`t facilitate player leadership.

Wally has different standards for certain players and certain coaches. It doesn't wash well.

Will Wally be able to really hire an innovative coach, give him autonomy, be able to hire his own assistants, and play the players he wants to. That may be what he is saying now because he has to change his optics. Will he really allow a new HC to dump Dorazio and McMann and especially Mark Washington. Will he allow a new HC to pine Kito Poblah or be willing to say goodbye to Iannuzzi if he chooses to?

Words are cheap now, while Wally is in a tough spot.

The writing has been on the wall for years regarding the kind of changes that were needed and they have not occured. Dorazio should have been gone a long time ago as should have McMann. LaRose at safety was beyond comprehension.

Can you imagine what is would have been like to be Khari Jones this season. Your background is in the spread offence, which is why you were hired. You are handed the old Calgary playbook and told to simplify things. Your offensive line coach is Dan Dorazio. Your receivers coach is Joe PaoPao, who as a quarterback never saw double coverage that he didnt' want to throw into and as a coach he has struggled in almost all of his situations. Everyone loves Joe..he's a nice, laid back guy...but this is pro football. Jones didn't have it but he also was completely unable to overcome what Chap had to overcome each and every season. And to boot, your HC can offer you nothing, while he focuses on what ice cream treats to buy at the next practice, what slogans to use, and which players he wants to pal around with. Not a good scenario. No wonder the wheels came off and the person I blame the most is Buono, dispite his teflon skills with the media.

Buono is cold, hard, heartless, manipulative, deceptive and untrustworthy. He is a master at deflection. He is a survivor though, as WCJ observes, no matter how many mistakes he makes. Buono at one time was very good at hiring assistant coaches. They were the ones who really created the x and o's while Buono managed and directed and set standards.

This time Buono has to hire a coach and from the outside. That is not his comfort mode, in terms of hiring. He likes to train his own and create them while having them beholding to him. When he hired Dave Ritchie he was a friend. Going out there to the unknown to hire must have him losing a lot of sleep. Things probably feel out of control for him right now and control is his essence.

Will he really take a chance on a Head Coach who is very confident, who knows what he wants, is innovative and assured and is truly his own man?Or will he hire someone who he can 'mentor' as Wally likes to see himself.

This is a huge decision that will set the direction one way or the other. It will be very interesting to see who is hired as our future HC. It will say much more about Wally than it will about the person who gets the job.

[WestCoastJoe]

Here is a question for you MLF. I remember well your strong support of Sol E. when he returned to our Leos and you believed him in, even when your views were a minority on this board at the time. You usually get players right. What the heck happened with Khalif?

MLF certainly was out front in his support of the astonishing ability of Solomon Elimimian. What we saw this year with Solo was a phenom. Beyond my expectations and hopes. All time great.

Words are cheap now, while Wally is in a tough spot.

Oh Yes. A very tough spot for Teflon Wally. No place to hide on this one.

Buono is cold, hard, heartless, manipulative, deceptive and untrustworthy. He is a master at deflection. He is a survivor though, as WCJ observes, no matter how many mistakes he makes. Buono at one time was very good at hiring assistant coaches. They were the ones who really created the x and o's while Buono managed and directed and set standards.

At bottom, Wally is a survivor, to his credit. He will make decisions against his preferences when he knows his career survival is at stake.

Can we get this done right? I think so, but IMO it is dicey.

For me it does not seem like we are off to a good start. I hear Wally say he thinks his approach to autonomy with Benevides was correct. I do not see it that way, as has been noted numerous times. This is not just football leadership. Autonomy is an issue that runs through any organization. Seemingly forever, Wally was both GM and Head Coach. It seems clear to me that he has had a very difficult time letting go of the HC reins. And that certainly will affect the hiring process for our next Head Coach.

It has our attention.

Another great post, Blitz. Strong medicine. I think strong medicine is appropriate after the ultimate humiliation we suffered vs Montreal, and in view of the dire straits we find ourselves in, as a franchise close to the hearts of all our members.

[TheLionKing]

Given his past history, I seriously doubt that Wally will step outside the box and hire someone who is innovative. He'll likely hire someone who is conservative oriented. Playing not to lose instead of playing to win.

[Rammer]

Given his past history, I seriously doubt that Wally will step outside the box and hire someone who is innovative. He'll likely hire someone who is conservative oriented. Playing not to lose instead of playing to win.

Ahh, I can't counterpoint that concept. With that in mind, the list diminishes dramatically. I am going to throw out LaPolice as the only real contender, unless Trestman does the unexpected and walks into a situation that he can do the HC job now, and take the GM job once Wally passes the torch.

[MexicoLionFan]

Great comments Blitz and Joe...Blitz I said before the season started that Mitchell might have been a year too late...his 2nd year in TOR wasn't as dominating, and he wasn't young when he was here the first time. My best guess on Khaliff is that it is mental...when he was leveraging his way like a beast between OLinemen he KNEW how powerful, how unstoppable he was...but as he became more and more nullified at the line, he lost his swagger, his verve, and he faded...however, I will say that I saw him twice this season have dominating games before his injury...after he came back to the lineup he wasn't the same player and simply lost his "mojo".

Blitz I am with you on your comments about Wally as a GM and person...I just believe, from listening carefully to Wally's comments this offseason, that he WANTS to keep his GM job and I think he knows his little "game" with MB has been uncovered at last...I believe that this will force Wally's hand...Wally has a jealous rivalry with Hufnagel and one building with Dickenson. Wally will step outside of his normal haunts (that TLK and Rammer alluded to) to not only survive, but to compete with Hufnagel and DD who are fast RUNNING AWAY from Wally and his legacy. Wally knows he made a mistake in not keeping DD around...Wally also knows now (as evidenced by pathetically trotting Lulay out with him) that it was a mistake to not keep Geroy around. As you, I, Joe and TLK have all said time and again, Wally has now seriously burned bridges all over the CFL at EVERY LEVEL! I can guarantee you that Wally and Skulsky don't see eye to eye either! Whether he likes it or not, to survive as a GM in this league and attack Coaches and FAs, Wally MUST let go of his incessant controlling of the football operations, which to a large extent have passed him by. He will have to embrace a Big Name and Face to become the leader of the franchise while he slowly falls back into the limelight or he is doomed as a CFL GM.

To make a comment like "our team problems were sacrificing chemistry and leadership for a few bad apples with talent" is beyond incorrect, its also stupid and alarming! I have always said the same thing about football, you MUST have the horses to win, and horses come in all different shapes, sizes and colours...it is YOUR JOB as HC/GM to MAKE everyone fit within your system...and its actually pretty easy if you have a leadership system in place with the players, and a rule based system for the team that EVERYONE FOLLOWS. Did you read the comments from the players after the MTL loss? INCONSISTENCY in how BOTH the HC and the GM treated certain players. Now, when I coached, I gave HUGE AMOUNTS of power and leadership to our veterans because THEY EARNED IT! They in turn ensured that our system (which they had bought into and contributed to) was being adhered to by all players! That's not favouritism in my eyes, that's developing team leadership which leads to chemistry. If I were the coach of the Lions I would have been incredibly close to Korey Banks, Dante Marsh, Angus Reid and Geroy Simon...they would have been my "face" with the players and meetings would have been led and co-led by this group! That sends the message to the younger, wilder players that there is ONLY ONE WAY on this football team. The fact that the Lions clearly NO LONGER possess this stems from both Wally and MB. MB doesn't know how to "win" the locker room (buying them frozen treats is a sign of WEAKNESS, not strength...can you imagine what Lombardi would have said???) because Wally didn't teach him that part because he couldn't. Wally won the locker room through POWER, he was the Coach AND GM...that's the gun to the head part that that says "you listen to me or pack your bags"! Bennie never had that kind of power, so he didn't have that authority.

I understand Wally moving Geroy, Jason, Korey and even now Dante...I likely would have done the same thing (but not with Banks)...but I would have made it PERFECTLY CLEAR that when their playing days were done, there would be NO CHOICE in the matter, they were coming back home...I don't know if Geroy and the others ever thought about coaching, but they should have been asked. Geroy has now made it clear that he thinks he can become a CFL GM within 5 years...Why didn't Wally find this out? Why wasn't a "succession plan" made with Geroy to apprentice under Wally (NOT a spring chicken) to become our next GM...what better person to take this role than the best player in our franchise history who WAS adored by fans and is incredibly intelligent???????? Why? Why? Why?

Because Wally doesn't think in terms of the BC Lions Football Team as a singular franchise belonging to David Braley and the loyal, long term fans like BCFAN, BB, Hambone, Joe, TLK, etc...he sees the Lions as HIS TEAM and his tinker toy! That's why Wally surrounds himself with his YES TEAM and what he thinks of as his family. I would NEVER had tolerated a performance like Dorazio's over the last decade from myself, why would I tolerate it from someone else? Wally did because he truly THOUGHT (and I stress the PAST TENSE now) that he was invulnerable in BC...Braley was a long distance owner who only ever cared in the beginning for a balanced budget...nothing more...then came the success with Wally and the surplus in revenue and suddenly Braley saw the Lions as something OTHER THAN a charity case. And now that Wally is seriously jeopardizing Braley's sale of the team for $40 million dollars, Braley is now suddenly interested and he has Skulsky observing carefully for him...Wally was put on notice that the days of his private playground are OVER!

So, either Wally takes the message deadly seriously and adheres to the words he said to the press about going down south with the intention of finding the best coach and support staff, or he will be done here in two years. Its Wally's choice at this point, and will his survival trait take over at this point? Let's hope it does.

Right now North American football is in a state that it has never seen before...there are now as many good coaching candidates available as players, and as this plays out, especially with the advent of computers and software, football is only going to become MORE and MORE about the X's and the O's...the good ole days of Bob Obillivich drawing up a play on his chalkboard DURING A GAME and having the entire offence huddle around him on the sidelines while he taught it to them are OVER! For better or worse, the game has changed. It started with Bill Walsh outthinking and outsmarting every other coaching staff on a weekly basis, it was Hank Stram drastically out coaching Bud Grant because Bud thought that coaching was teaching the players your system once, and then keeping them focused on executing it every week! Sound familiar? Joe and I love Bud Grant both as a coach and a human, but the game was changing in front of his eyes and he wasn't able to understand it! Does Wally? This is why I am such a big proponent of Jeff Garcia...he has a SPECIAL background, all the way back to SJ State. He has WON AT EVERY LEVEL AS A QB...he has played under the BEST coaching staffs and has played under a LOT of DIFFERENT coaching staffs. He has had phenomenal success already coaching players one to one, especially QBs and that's the hardest position to successfully coach because its the hardest position to play in Pro Sports! With a little time and help, Garcia could become a legendary coach as literally NO ONE, not even Peyton Manning should he choose to follow this path, can boast as good a resume as Jeff!

We will see what happens, but the future is right now for the BC Lions and their GM Wally Buono. As Joe has pointed out a few times already since Wally said it, the two most important positions on a CDN football team are QB and HC...and we have NEITHER!

[Blitz]

Because Wally doesn't think in terms of the BC Lions Football Team as a singular franchise belonging to David Braley and the loyal, long term fans like BCFAN, BB, Hambone, Joe, TLK, etc...he sees the Lions as HIS TEAM and his tinker toy! That's why Wally surrounds himself with his YES TEAM and what he thinks of as his family. I would NEVER had tolerated a performance like Dorazio's over the last decade from myself, why would I tolerate it from someone else? Wally did because he truly THOUGHT (and I stress the PAST TENSE now) that he was invulnerable in BC...Braley was a long distance owner who only ever cared in the beginning for a balanced budget...nothing more...then came the success with Wally and the surplus in revenue and suddenly Braley saw the Lions as something OTHER THAN a charity case. And now that Wally is seriously jeopardizing Braley's sale of the team for $40 million dollars, Braley is now suddenly interested and he has Skulsky observing carefully for him...Wally was put on notice that the days of his private playground are OVER!

I believe you are right MLF that Wally thought that he was invulnerable in B.C. I sure hope you are right that Wally is not going to continue to view the B.C. Lions as her personal tinker toy.

I was never a Buono fan. But I recognized his strengths as well as was concerned about his faults.

I love Lionbackers, not only because there are so many knowledgeable posters but also because so many of us bleed Lions orange. So many posts on Lionbackers reflect how much so many regulars on here care about our B.C. Lions, how passionate they are, and the time and thought that is put into each post.

What bothers me most about Buono is the lack of RESPECT that is shown, to both players, coaches, and fans. In terms of players, I want a GM who is willing to make the difficult decisions in order to achieve the goal of having a successful team. There is a time when you have to cut a veteran or say good bye to a player who has served the team well in the past. But the way Wally treats veteran players, who have not only given their hearts to the team but also to the community, is often disgraceful. The Dante Marsh suspension this season is only the latest example of a player who provided dedicated service to the team and the community and was treated like crap. It's unacceptable. Dante worked out like a mad man, did tons of communtiy work, mentored younger players, was always professional, and was treated like crap.

The list of veteran players who have left B.C. with a bad taste is huge. Sure, some of them still thought they could play when their time was due, but if they had been treated respectfully, they would not have such bad feelings. Geroy Simon, Jason Claremont, Dave Dickenson, Korey Banks, and Dante Marsh are just some of the more well known names who have left, feeling very disrespected.

What was done to Paris Jackson was terrible. Jackson was forced time and again to reduce his contract because he wanted to stay in B.C. He was parked on the sidelines while certain receivers were given chance after chance and did nothing and when Paris was given a brief opportunity, either due to a rotation or an injury he always came through. Wally is above it all...he will play his favorites, no matter the cost and punish his non-favorites, no matter what they can offer. Poblah is a great example of that and so is LaRose. We had lots of opportunites to play an import at safety but other choices were made and the reasons for doing so were not in the teams' best winning interests but rather Wally's interests.

Buono pushed players to play or green lighted themn to play when they were seriously injured and especially our quarterbacks. Dickenson was returned to the lineup way too soon with serious consequences. Printers was pushed to play with a rotator cuff injury that he could only throw underhanded at practice and during pre-games in 2005. What other coach would play a quarterback play on a knee that required knee reconstruction as Printers did in 2010. What coach would watch Buck Pierce writing on the sidelines after each series in 2008, injured from head to toe. What coach would start Jarious Jackson with such a hand injury and then hide it and c criticize Jackson's play after the game. At one time, when the punishement our quarterbacks were taking was being criticized Buono's comment was "That's why we have four of them".

Wally thinks he is such a legend that he can almost do anything. His treatment of Chap last season, calling him out publically, when the problems we were experiencing, were mostly due to poor offensive line coaching and the fact that Lulay played the season until his injury with a bad shoulder and Chap also had to start a rookie in DeMarco was very unfair and had to embarrassing for Chap. He also publically, in the past, had commented that he would 'mentor' Chap, as if Wally had any ability to do any mentoring on the offensive side of the football. Chap was powerless to do anything about Dorazio, whose offensive line could not open holes for Harris and Wally let Chap wear it all.

Even worse was his treatment of Stubler, stating how publically he was pissed at Stubler for the loss to Saskatchewan. Stubler, at the time, was a much better defensive coordinator than Wally could ever dream of being. Stubler had McKenzie playing middle linebacker in that game, because Sol E. was hurt and McKenzie did not make the plays on Durrant that needed to be made. Stubler, in 2012, had set many records for a B.C. defense. His body of work, here in B.C. and in Toronto, as a defensive coordinator, deserved more respect. Benevedes was our HC on the sidelines and a former defensive coordinator but Wally left him unscathed. It was so disrespectful to Stubler and I was happy to see Stubler get another Grey Cup ring this year, as well as listen to Hufnagel publically state how much Stubler had meant to the Stamps this season.

In many ways Buono was also disrespectful to Benevedes. You don't 'mentor' your future Head Coach, create a succession plan and then interfere with his coaching and control some of his decisions. If Benevedes wasn't ready he shouldn't have been given the job. Benevedes wasn't ready, dispite 10 years of Wally 'mentoring' which says a lot.

I find it so unfair that coaches like Dorazio and McMann can do no wrong with Wally and yet other coaches have been held, not only to such high standards and others are given free passes, season after season.

Wally did the the same thing with Leos players. Some players can play horrible and continue to be rewarded and yet others are singled out or punished for the smallest error.

One can't take away Buono's longevity as a Head Coach, his number of regular season wins but Buono has been given way too much credit, as if he did it alone. He had tons of money in Calgary to sign the Doug Fluties and he had Roy Shivers bringing himn in the best talent in the CFL, year after year. He had John Hufnagel in Calgary and he was a huge key to Buono's success on the field there, giving Buono an offence that was ahead of the curve, a system of having quarterbacks take a lot of first team practice snaps, and a blue print for offensive success even after Hufnagel left. Buono would have been let go if Hufnagel had wanted the HC job in Calgary. He was revered there and Buono was not but Hufnagel was principled.

When Buono came to B.C. he had both Ackles and O'Billovich bringing him the most talent in the CFL. It was Ackles who got Dickenson signed to turn things around, it was Burratto who got such a great season out of a rookie starter in Printers, it was Ritchie who gave us a defense that was the key to our success for a number of seasons, and it was Chapdelaine, who not only developed our quarterbacks but also was able to overcome Dorazio enough to make our offence as good as it was. Buono gets credit for developing quarterbacks and he has never coached a single one of them. Mostly, he has screwed up a lot of quarterback decisions. Buono's actual ability to coach (not manage coaches) is lousy. He was terrible at coaching our short yardage offence for seasons (and yet Chap wear those unsuccessful short yardage failures), he was a terrible game day coach in terms of decision making, and his idea of defense is so vanilla and simple, its elementary. He interfered with Ritchie's defense to the point the players asked him to stop.

Our best years in B.C. were from 2003-2007, when Ackles was here, Ritchie was here for here for some key seasons, and Obie was bringing in loads of talent, and Hufnagel consulted in 2007.

Since the time that Ackles left us and Obie went to Toronto, and Ritchie retired, Buono has mostly been on his own to make decisions without wise football men around him. The results have been less than stellar. From 2008 to 2014, with Buono mostly calling the shots, we got a couple of good seasons in 2011 and 2012 and that's basically been it. We have not been a very good football team consistently as we were from 2003-2007.

We won one Grey Cup in 2011, when everything went right. We have only one Grey Cup appearance since 2006. We have a lot of playoff losses. Buono has proven that he can't do it on his own, without very good, wise football people surrounding him. Buono came to beleive that he could do anything and still be succesful and that was delusional.

If he thought he could get rid of two experienced coordinators who were able to create some discipline and structure and go with a cast of Benevedes, Khari Jones, Mark Washington, Dan Dorazio, and Chuck McMann as his coaches and start players like Kito Poblah and J.R. LaRose and have success, then he was delusional, engaging in magical thinking, or believed his own legend was all that was necessary to have a winning team.

The ship needs to be burned but this team does not need to be dismantled. Everyone thought that was the case with the Canucks but a new coach, a new GM, a new President, and a few player changes and the Canucks are a different team this year. The Edmonton Eskimos looked like a ship that was ready to sink last year but Chris Jones proved that the ship didn't need to be burned. It just needed a good leader, a GM to be a GM and not interfere, and a few player changes.

What is needed for our Leos is a different kind of thinking. That starts with Buono, who needs to make some major changes in his approach to players, coaches, and Leos football.

Bono can b.s. the media but he can't b.s. the die hard, knowledgeable posters on Lionbackers. That much is obvious. It's time Buono started to RESPECT the fans who support our Leos. He can start by being straight forward for a change, by hiring the best HC possible, by focusing on his GM duties, and rolling up his sleeves and getting this franchise turned around from the dismal direction its been going and that he, more than anyone, has been the reason why that's happened.

[Sir Purrcival]

Good Post Blitz. I don't know why Wally handles things the way he does. You seem to attribute it to some kind of ego issue but the why's are really neither here nor there for me. The basic issue however seems to rotate around dignity. Although Wally has always be a kind of tough, hard case sort at least in his approach to football, he usually comes of somewhat a realist too; "it is what it is" kind of guy. We all get that the life of a football player is a case of "what have you done for me lately" but with Wally, when it comes to deciding that "you haven't done enough" he seems quite prepared to drop players like they were some kind of left over litter. Somewhere in the message of "we can't use you any more", he seems to not understand that this is a difficult for some to accept. It doesn't mean that he should change his mind but somewhere in there must be some kind of recognition that these players are people who have worked hard, strived to be their best and in some cases put in many long years of service both on and off the field. Now maybe he does try to recognize this but the litany of hurt and angry ex-players says that whatever he is doing in that regard isn't getting the job done.

The challenge with that in the end is he is hurting the longer term prospects for the team. Some of these players/ex-players are the coaches of tomorrow and all things being equal, I'm sure that many would like someday to be coaches for their former teams. It is a natural thing but if your last most poignant memory is of being summarily kicked to the curb like some kind of worthless trash then that isn't going to encourage many to come back to share what they know should there be a position. Too many hard feelings.

Wally may be past figuring out how to do things differently so along with everything else, the new Head Coach is going to need to be a strong counter presence to Wally's all-encompassing personality. And if push comes to shove he may need to be a person who is prepared to walk away if Wally isn't prepared to be more accommodating in his points of view.

[TheLionKing]

Because Wally doesn't think in terms of the BC Lions Football Team as a singular franchise belonging to David Braley and the loyal, long term fans like BCFAN, BB, Hambone, Joe, TLK, etc...he sees the Lions as HIS TEAM and his tinker toy! That's why Wally surrounds himself with his YES TEAM and what he thinks of as his family. I would NEVER had tolerated a performance like Dorazio's over the last decade from myself, why would I tolerate it from someone else? Wally did because he truly THOUGHT (and I stress the PAST TENSE now) that he was invulnerable in BC...Braley was a long distance owner who only ever cared in the beginning for a balanced budget...nothing more...then came the success with Wally and the surplus in revenue and suddenly Braley saw the Lions as something OTHER THAN a charity case. And now that Wally is seriously jeopardizing Braley's sale of the team for $40 million dollars, Braley is now suddenly interested and he has Skulsky observing carefully for him...Wally was put on notice that the days of his private playground are OVER!

I believe you are right MLF that Wally thought that he was invulnerable in B.C. I sure hope you are right that Wally is not going to continue to view the B.C. Lions as her personal tinker toy.

I was never a Buono fan. But I recognized his strengths as well as was concerned about his faults.

I love Lionbackers, not only because there are so many knowledgeable posters but also because so many of us bleed Lions orange. So many posts on Lionbackers reflect how much so many regulars on here care about our B.C. Lions, how passionate they are, and the time and thought that is put into each post.

What bothers me most about Buono is the lack of RESPECT that is shown, to both players, coaches, and fans. In terms of players, I want a GM who is willing to make the difficult decisions in order to achieve the goal of having a successful team. There is a time when you have to cut a veteran or say good bye to a player who has served the team well in the past. But the way Wally treats veteran players, who have not only given their hearts to the team but also to the community, is often disgraceful. The Dante Marsh suspension this season is only the latest example of a player who provided dedicated service to the team and the community and was treated like crap. It's unacceptable. Dante worked out like a mad man, did tons of communtiy work, mentored younger players, was always professional, and was treated like crap.

The list of veteran players who have left B.C. with a bad taste is huge. Sure, some of them still thought they could play when their time was due, but if they had been treated respectfully, they would not have such bad feelings. Geroy Simon, Jason Claremont, Dave Dickenson, Korey Banks, and Dante Marsh are just some of the more well known names who have left, feeling very disrespected.

What was done to Paris Jackson was terrible. Jackson was forced time and again to reduce his contract because he wanted to stay in B.C. He was parked on the sidelines while certain receivers were given chance after chance and did nothing and when Paris was given a brief opportunity, either due to a rotation or an injury he always came through. Wally is above it all...he will play his favorites, no matter the cost and punish his non-favorites, no matter what they can offer. Poblah is a great example of that and so is LaRose. We had lots of opportunites to play an import at safety but other choices were made and the reasons for doing so were not in the teams' best winning interests but rather Wally's interests.

Buono pushed players to play or green lighted themn to play when they were seriously injured and especially our quarterbacks. Dickenson was returned to the lineup way too soon with serious consequences. Printers was pushed to play with a rotator cuff injury that he could only throw underhanded at practice and during pre-games in 2005. What other coach would play a quarterback play on a knee that required knee reconstruction as Printers did in 2010. What coach would watch Buck Pierce writing on the sidelines after each series in 2008, injured from head to toe. What coach would start Jarious Jackson with such a hand injury and then hide it and c criticize Jackson's play after the game. At one time, when the punishement our quarterbacks were taking was being criticized Buono's comment was "That's why we have four of them".

Wally thinks he is such a legend that he can almost do anything. His treatment of Chap last season, calling him out publically, when the problems we were experiencing, were mostly due to poor offensive line coaching and the fact that Lulay played the season until his injury with a bad shoulder and Chap also had to start a rookie in DeMarco was very unfair and had to embarrassing for Chap. He also publically, in the past, had commented that he would 'mentor' Chap, as if Wally had any ability to do any mentoring on the offensive side of the football. Chap was powerless to do anything about Dorazio, whose offensive line could not open holes for Harris and Wally let Chap wear it all.

Even worse was his treatment of Stubler, stating how publically he was pissed at Stubler for the loss to Saskatchewan. Stubler, at the time, was a much better defensive coordinator than Wally could ever dream of being. Stubler had McKenzie playing middle linebacker in that game, because Sol E. was hurt and McKenzie did not make the plays on Durrant that needed to be made. Stubler, in 2012, had set many records for a B.C. defense. His body of work, here in B.C. and in Toronto, as a defensive coordinator, deserved more respect. Benevedes was our HC on the sidelines and a former defensive coordinator but Wally left him unscathed. It was so disrespectful to Stubler and I was happy to see Stubler get another Grey Cup ring this year, as well as listen to Hufnagel publically state how much Stubler had meant to the Stamps this season.

In many ways Buono was also disrespectful to Benevedes. You don't 'mentor' your future Head Coach, create a succession plan and then interfere with his coaching and control some of his decisions. If Benevedes wasn't ready he shouldn't have been given the job. Benevedes wasn't ready, dispite 10 years of Wally 'mentoring' which says a lot.

I find it so unfair that coaches like Dorazio and McMann can do no wrong with Wally and yet other coaches have been held, not only to such high standards and others are given free passes, season after season.

Wally did the the same thing with Leos players. Some players can play horrible and continue to be rewarded and yet others are singled out or punished for the smallest error.

One can't take away Buono's longevity as a Head Coach, his number of regular season wins but Buono has been given way too much credit, as if he did it alone. He had tons of money in Calgary to sign the Doug Fluties and he had Roy Shivers bringing himn in the best talent in the CFL, year after year. He had John Hufnagel in Calgary and he was a huge key to Buono's success on the field there, giving Buono an offence that was ahead of the curve, a system of having quarterbacks take a lot of first team practice snaps, and a blue print for offensive success even after Hufnagel left. Buono would have been let go if Hufnagel had wanted the HC job in Calgary. He was revered there and Buono was not but Hufnagel was principled.

When Buono came to B.C. he had both Ackles and O'Billovich bringing him the most talent in the CFL. It was Ackles who got Dickenson signed to turn things around, it was Burratto who got such a great season out of a rookie starter in Printers, it was Ritchie who gave us a defense that was the key to our success for a number of seasons, and it was Chapdelaine, who not only developed our quarterbacks but also was able to overcome Dorazio enough to make our offence as good as it was. Buono gets credit for developing quarterbacks and he has never coached a single one of them. Mostly, he has screwed up a lot of quarterback decisions. Buono's actual ability to coach (not manage coaches) is lousy. He was terrible at coaching our short yardage offence for seasons (and yet Chap wear those unsuccessful short yardage failures), he was a terrible game day coach in terms of decision making, and his idea of defense is so vanilla and simple, its elementary. He interfered with Ritchie's defense to the point the players asked him to stop.

Our best years in B.C. were from 2003-2007, when Ackles was here, Ritchie was here for here for some key seasons, and Obie was bringing in loads of talent, and Hufnagel consulted in 2007.

Since the time that Ackles left us and Obie went to Toronto, and Ritchie retired, Buono has mostly been on his own to make decisions without wise football men around him. The results have been less than stellar. From 2008 to 2014, with Buono mostly calling the shots, we got a couple of good seasons in 2011 and 2012 and that's basically been it. We have not been a very good football team consistently as we were from 2003-2007.

We won one Grey Cup in 2011, when everything went right. We have only one Grey Cup appearance since 2006. We have a lot of playoff losses. Buono has proven that he can't do it on his own, without very good, wise football people surrounding him. Buono came to beleive that he could do anything and still be succesful and that was delusional.

If he thought he could get rid of two experienced coordinators who were able to create some discipline and structure and go with a cast of Benevedes, Khari Jones, Mark Washington, Dan Dorazio, and Chuck McMann as his coaches and start players like Kito Poblah and J.R. LaRose and have success, then he was delusional, engaging in magical thinking, or believed his own legend was all that was necessary to have a winning team.

The ship needs to be burned but this team does not need to be dismantled. Everyone thought that was the case with the Canucks but a new coach, a new GM, a new President, and a few player changes and the Canucks are a different team this year. The Edmonton Eskimos looked like a ship that was ready to sink last year but Chris Jones proved that the ship didn't need to be burned. It just needed a good leader, a GM to be a GM and not interfere, and a few player changes.

What is needed for our Leos is a different kind of thinking. That starts with Buono, who needs to make some major changes in his approach to players, coaches, and Leos football.

Bono can b.s. the media but he can't b.s. the die hard, knowledgeable posters on Lionbackers. That much is obvious. It's time Buono started to RESPECT the fans who support our Leos. He can start by being straight forward for a change, by hiring the best HC possible, by focusing on his GM duties, and rolling up his sleeves and getting this franchise turned around from the dismal direction its been going and that he, more than anyone, has been the reason why that's happened.

Excellent post Blitz

[Toppy Vann]

If Buono made Benny's decisions then I'd to know what ones they were as this is mostly media spec and some players. I need to hear more specifics before I 'd say GM Wally was wrong.

He did wrongly give the perception of roof top viewing of being Bear Bryant and we know he was a control freak.

We know he dumped on his HC after losses.

But for his big failure was not forcing him to learn from Ritchie as a DC - all Benny's behaviour in that time was disregard for Dave in my view based only on sideline watching at games as in those days I was at the games.

[Blitz]

Good Post Blitz. I don't know why Wally handles things the way he does. You seem to attribute it to some kind of ego issue but the why's are really neither here nor there for me. The basic issue however seems to rotate around dignity. Although Wally has always be a kind of tough, hard case sort at least in his approach to football, he usually comes of somewhat a realist too; "it is what it is" kind of guy. We all get that the life of a football player is a case of "what have you done for me lately" but with Wally, when it comes to deciding that "you haven't done enough" he seems quite prepared to drop players like they were some kind of left over litter. Somewhere in the message of "we can't use you any more", he seems to not understand that this is a difficult for some to accept. It doesn't mean that he should change his mind but somewhere in there must be some kind of recognition that these players are people who have worked hard, strived to be their best and in some cases put in many long years of service both on and off the field. Now maybe he does try to recognize this but the litany of hurt and angry ex-players says that whatever he is doing in that regard isn't getting the job done.

The challenge with that in the end is he is hurting the longer term prospects for the team. Some of these players/ex-players are the coaches of tomorrow and all things being equal, I'm sure that many would like someday to be coaches for their former teams. It is a natural thing but if your last most poignant memory is of being summarily kicked to the curb like some kind of worthless trash then that isn't going to encourage many to come back to share what they know should there be a position. Too many hard feelings.

Wally may be past figuring out how to do things differently so along with everything else, the new Head Coach is going to need to be a strong counter presence to Wally's all-encompassing personality. And if push comes to shove he may need to be a person who is prepared to walk away if Wally isn't prepared to be more accommodating in his points of view.

Pêrhaps the best way to look at Wally is to compare him and Hufnagel. Both Wally and Hufnagel have a background as being no-nonsense, being tough when needed to be, having high expectations etc.

What differentiates them in my view is that Hufnagel is a stand up guy and Wally isn`t. In an imaginary world I would feel comfortable playing or coaching under Hufnagel. I would know where i stood, what the expectations were, what the result would be if I didn`t achieve them, know there would be no favorites, and know that when Huf said something it came with integrity. I would have a high level of trust with him. I would know that he might release me as a player, or sit me on the bench, or fire me as a coach if I was not performing but I would understand why. I would also know that Hufnagel is a person who is accountable and doesn`t project blame or is unfair. If Huf released me he wouldn`t bad mouth me.

With Wally I certainly would not have the same confidence or trust. I wouldnt`see him as a stand up guy. I would know he would throw anyone under the bus to have the best optics for himself. I would know that he would project blame elsewhere and look for scapegoats. If I was a player and I was a favorite I would get chance after chance. If I wasn`t a favorite, I would know one mistake could cost me my job while a player who is a favorite of his would have completely different expectations. As a coach, the same thing would hold true. Certain coaches would be able to screw up time and again and still be part of his inner cadre. If I was one of those favorites, I would have a lot more comfort than if I wasn`t. In fact, if things went wrong, even if it was one of his favorite coaches that was at fault, he would make me wear it and there would be nothing I could do.

Huf would talk to me personally and privately. Wally would use the media to embarrass me. If, as a player or a coach I had worked for Huf and provided dedicated service and been let go, he would publically say good things about me when I was gone. I would know that he made a decision in what he believed was in the best interests of the football team and that I was still a person to him. If I was a player or coach for Wally and I was let go, even if I had provided dedicated service for Wally, I would feel like an object an and not a person. He would likely not say good things about my service but instead be blaming me publically. Any respect would be based only upon by usefulness and once that usefulness was gone, I would mean nothing to him.

I wouldn`t even know if he got rid of me because I was not good enough or he needed a scapegoat, or because he had a new favorite that would revere him. Quite frankly I wouldn`t trust him. I wouldn`t know if the decision was made in the best interests of the team or the best interests of Wally, because sometimes Wallys`decisions are made in the best interests of the team and sometimes his decisions are made in the best interest of Wally and sometimes those two things are not on the same page.

I really believe, if you could take a private, confidential poll of players and ex-players who have either played for Wally or Huf, you would find a huge difference in the respect levels of former players and coaches for the two men. Both Huf and Buono can be tough but the difference is in the ways they are tough. One is a leader and one is a manager. One has integrity and one doesn`t. One is standup and one is very manipulative. One has integrity and one is deceptive. One is accountable and one blames others for their own optics. One is straight forward with the media and one plays the media. One doesn`t play favorites and one doesn`t. One is not afraid to hire the best and one prefers to hire sychophants. One develops players and one needs assistants to develop players. One understands the x and o`s of coaching very well and one doesn`t. One is very bright and one is very manipulative and skillful. One leads with personal power and knowledge and one leads with threats and intimidation.

Put equal money on the table and a choice of playing or coaching for Hufnagel or Buono and Huf will win almost every time and for good reasons. Heck Wally can offer more money and most free agents will go elsewhere. There are good reasons for that.

RESPECT is a two way street. I know which one of these two men I highly regard and one I don`t. Both have been winners in football but to me, only one of them is a real winner in the bigger picture.

[B.C.FAN]

Players may not appreciate Wally's business sense but as a fan I appreciate his methodical ways and what I see is his desire to put the good of the team ahead of personal loyalty to long-serving players. It was evident long ago that Korey Banks would not be back with the Lions in 2014 and that Dante Marsh would not be back in 2015. The players didn't want to admit it but their time had come and the Lions couldn't afford to replace the two veterans in the same year, so Banks as the older of the two went first. At quarterback, Wally had to make hard decisions to let go of Dave Dickenson and Buck Pierce when the team couldn't count on them to stay healthy. I expect Wally to make a similar decision with Travis Lulay if he doesn't restructure his contract. You can say a lot of things about Wally and his loyalty to certain coaches but his treatment of veteran players is and always has been consistent and predictable.

[notahomer]

Players may not appreciate Wally's business sense but as a fan I appreciate his methodical ways and what I see is his desire to put the good of the team ahead of personal loyalty to long-serving players. It was evident long ago that Korey Banks would not be back with the Lions in 2014 and that Dante Marsh would not be back in 2015. The players didn't want to admit it but their time had come and the Lions couldn't afford to replace the two veterans in the same year, so Banks as the older of the two went first. At quarterback, Wally had to make hard decisions to let go of Dave Dickenson and Buck Pierce when the team couldn't count on them to stay healthy. I expect Wally to make a similar decision with Travis Lulay if he doesn't restructure his contract. You can say a lot of things about Wally and his loyalty to certain coaches but his treatment of veteran players is and always has been consistent and predictable.

I agree, I like to have some idea of where/what a teams managment is going to do. Its been obvious, to me, that Buono has wanted to put McCallum out to pasture for a few seasons now but he just didn't feel comfortable doing so due to who'd be the kicker(s). Loyalty to some coaches is certainly something I've come to expect even though I may not agree, he's the one getting paid. He also seems to understand he may be getting paid but we the fans are ones deciding whether to pay for the tickets to watch too.....