MexicoLionFan wrote:Hambone wrote:SammyGreene wrote:Good for DD. His roots are firmly established in Calgary now and he is a big part of their success. Lions stood a better chance after Wally stepped down in 2011 but Benny was his guy. Too bad.
Although at that time I think one easily would've questioned if Dickenson was ready for a HC position. He was only 3 years removed from playing with 2 years as a position coach and 1 as a coordinator. He's since added 3 more years as an OC to his resume and is obviously much better prepared to take that next step than he might've been in 2012. We'll never know what the results might've been but we could've been lamenting why Wally went outside the organization to take an inexperienced coach when he had somebody like Benevides sitting inhouse with so much more experience.
You have to be kidding me? And MB was ready? With DD Wally could have stayed on one more season and made DD Asst. HC and we would have had an intelligent man running this operation, instead of the mess we find ourself in...when you think you know more than the game reveals, then you always end up in trouble with the game...Wally has seen himself as "bigger than the game" for a long time, and the game has humbled him. His next decision will be the most important in Lions history because of his reckless choice to "groom" MB as the Lions next coach...the game told him that there were BETTER coaches available and he ignored it!
In my post MLF I was looking in terms of what the lay of the land was back in late 2011. I was deliberately ignoring the easy-to-use revisionist history because it carries no validity in our little debate. Buono certainly would not know how the future would unfold. When he determined it was time to turn the coaching reins over there were obviously options. Internally he had Benevides and Chapdelaine as possible candidates. He may well have given Dickenson some consideration. Certainly he worked with all 3 long enough to know their capabilities very well. Did he talk to some possible candidates outside of the organization including Dickenson before deciding on Benevides? I'm not sure and couldn't unearth anything one way or the other.
Since revisionist history seems to be in vogue when these things happen I looked back to some threads mostly to refresh my memory on what the Lionbacker general consensus was when Buono promoted Benevides. Largely it was widely supported. It's interesting how much your opinion has changed since then when you seemed to believe Benevides was indeed ready.
This was a Nov.28, 2011 post when Lionbackers were just speculating about the possibility Buono might relinquish coaching duties:
MexicoLionFan wrote: 2. Continuity Comes From Promoting From Within.
Assistants for Head Coaching vacancies come from winning teams and Grey Cup champions...TO made a run at Benevides 2 years ago, and they, or others, may attempt to do so again. I have always felt that Benevides would make a better Head Coach than a position coach due to his particular skill set. Buono moving upstairs at this point in time, would likely result in the smoothest of changes for this team and still leave more than capable replacements already in place.
Toppy as usual had some prophetic reservations in a December 5, 2011 post.
Toppy Vann wrote:I don't see Dickinson as a guy who can walk on water quite yet but he does seem to have a calm enough but demanding enough demeanor to be a good HC. I am not sure yet he is the right guy but how can we be when we haven't heard his views on how he'd do the job. Only the GM would get to hear that.
Benevides still is far too jumpy and running around on the side line to make me think he sees the next role in the right way. But after the losing at the start he did a pretty fine job getting the Lions to and winning the GC. Results speak for themselves. Can he rise to the role and change, yes he can. Many of the best execs who got there from management set aside what they did as managers to act in a executive role leading a wider scope team where the person had to more fully rely on the team than doing some of it himself. But you have to know the role requirements and some guys get it - others don't.
And again from MLF a couple posts after Toppy's.
MexicoLionFan wrote:It will be Benevides...and as I have always said, Benevides will make a better Head Coach than a positional coach...He will still have his finger in the Defensive game plan, but will be much more of a rah-rah voice for both the players and the coaches...something I think this team has lacked for a number of years...
I think Benevides will do well as he is likely going to keep things the same, and yet infuse more passion and bravado...
There were several coaching changes back in that same area of time with a few other interesting threads and takes. Some questioned the Riders hiring Chamblin given his relative inexperience while commending Hamilton for hiring Cortez in what many across different fan sites thought was a deserved and long overdue appointment for the long time CFL OC. Chamblin is still Rider HC and Cortez is now working for him although a lot of Rider fans are calling for his head. I don't have a problem with the idea that Benevides should've been let go now. Maybe I'm misreading MLF's comments but they come across as implying that back in December of 2011 the organization was inept for not stepping outside the organization to hire a new HC. It's easy to say that now with purrfect 20/20 hindsight but back then other than Toppy's mild apprehension it doesn't seem like anybody here thought Buono was making a regretable decision.
You're as old as you've ever been and as young as you're ever going to be.