Football Operations: GM Ed Hervey, HC Wally Buono and the Coaching Staff

[Hambone]

Sources on twitter suggest Ed Hervey is likely being added to the BC Lions front office. Apparently he and Buono have a good relationship and have talked on more than one occasion this season.

I have reservations about Hervey. He comes across as someone with at best a sour personality. He may have more disdain for the media than Don Matthews did. Seems to me the was always something he was doing in Edmonton to piss them off be it cutting off locker room access or closing practices.

[CardiacKid]

Here's a spitball if ever there was one....

The league has agreed to loan the Waterboys $5 million to make their $15 million pitch a $20 million offer.

Braley accepted and is in fact selling the team.....

[David]

Ed Hervey new GM, per Farhan Lalji.



DH

[The_Pauser]

Very interesting. What does this mean about our QB situation? Does Hervey bring in his own guy (James Franklin) or do we keep with what we have? What about head coach? I'm hopeful for someone outside the organization to be brought in as HC, as I have zero faith in the coaches we have.

[Hambone]

I thought Wally returning with the status quo would turn fans off the most?

Maybe Hervey has learned from his mistakes? Let's see where this goes.

There's a lot of concerns amongst those in here that Wally returning would turn fans off most but I think those concerns are held by a very tiny minority who get deeper into the particulars of the football ops staff and coaches. There's a lot of fans sitting in the stands who don't delve into those aspects. They are there to cheer for the team and players. They are hard core loyal to the club and players but when it comes to who makes up the coaching staff would be considered casual fans. Everybody knows Wally is the HC but many of them probably couldn't name more than 1 or 2 assistants and really don't care. Many of them know Wally as the guy who turned things around on the field and brought them the longest sustained success in the club's history. They will be far more concerned if Wally isn't on the sidelines in 2018 than if he is.

[Hambone]

Here's a spitball if ever there was one....

The league has agreed to loan the Waterboys $5 million to make their $15 million pitch a $20 million offer.

Braley accepted and is in fact selling the team.....

Holy. You seemed relatively sober when I saw you in the stadium concourse CK. Lol.

[WestCoastJoe]

Ed Hervey new GM, per Farhan Lalji.



DH

It would be a radical decision by Wally. Kind of an all-in decision, with Wally letting go.

If true, I would consider it bad news for Neil McAvoy and Geroy Simon, even a kick in the pants to them.

If it is true, Hervey could clean house.

But the fallout of Hervey being GM? Hmmm ... Hostility with the press. Arrogance.

We will know in a few minutes.

One thing about Hervey. He gets some credit for building the Eskimos. He made a good hire in Chris Jones. And even with Jason Maas, although Maas has his own issues. And I fully expect Hervey would be his own man.

[maxlion]

Love this decision. This franchise needs a fresh set of eyes to evaluate what we have and need, and Hervey is the best available, maybe the best in the league. A little bit of swagger doesn't hurt. Great move.

[CardiacKid]

Here's a spitball if ever there was one....

The league has agreed to loan the Waterboys $5 million to make their $15 million pitch a $20 million offer.

Braley accepted and is in fact selling the team.....

Holy. You seemed relatively sober when I saw you in the stadium concourse CK. Lol.

The pink elephants that gave me the inside scoop are totally on the up and up....at least that is what they tell me.

[WestCoastJoe]

He will have final say on issues.

Ed Hervey ... GM.

Wally will be Head Coach for 2018.

Ed and Wally will be working on the coaching staff decisions. Can we really expect significant change there for 2018?

Any way, change is coming. Hervey seems to know his stuff with player personnel, and he has made a couple of good hires for Head Coach. I do have concerns about his dealings with the media.

With Wally staying as Head Coach, I expect Wally to stay largely with the players we have.

Will the conservative systems Wally prefers to run allow us to be competitive next year?

[B.C.FAN]

Wally confirms the hiring of Ed Hervey as GM. Hervey will have complete autonomy over football operations staff. Hervey has asked that Wally remain as head coach in 2018, and Wally accepted.

The BC Lions are excited to announce that Ed Hervey has been appointed General Manager of the football club by VP of Football Operations, Wally Buono.

The 44 year-old California native joins the Lions after most recently serving as VP of Football Operations and GM with the Edmonton Eskimos from 2013 to 2016.

“This is a significant day for our organization and I am very pleased to welcome Ed Hervey to the BC Lions as our new GM,” said Buono, who steps down after serving in the role since 2003.

“I’ve had a great deal of respect for Ed since his days as a player,” noted Buono. “His extensive work as a scout and his proven ability to build competitive and exciting teams make him a natural fit for this position and I am confident that the BC Lions will thrive under his leadership.”

Hervey, the former Edmonton Eskimos wideout who spent 18 years with the Green and Gold as a player, scout and senior football operations executive becomes the Lions’ 14th General Manager in team history. The USC grad and former Dallas Cowboy draft pick earned Grey Cup rings as an Eskimo in 2003 and 2005 before assembling the 2015 league champs.

“I am both honoured and proud to be joining the BC Lions Football Club and it is with sincere thanks to David Braley and Wally Buono that I take on the responsibility of bringing a Grey Cup title back to British Columbia,” said Hervey.

“Wally was very clear during our discussions that I would be working from a clean slate as it relates to player personnel and football operations staff, but my first request of him was that he remain on as head coach for the 2018 season. He is unquestionably, the best person to lead our team on the field next year and I am very pleased he has agreed to do so. We will work together in coming days to assemble the rest of our coaching staff.”
For Buono, 2018 will mark his final season with the Lions as he hands over the reins of the team to Hervey and ultimately to a future head coach. Highlighted by 120 regular season wins, 14 postseason appearances, nine divisional finals and a pair of Grey Cup titles in 2006 and 2011, his accomplishments with the Leos are unequaled.

“My time with the Lions has been memorable to say the least, but right now my sole focus is working with Ed to build a championship team in 2018. This past season was tremendously frustrating for all of us, but today’s announcement is the kind of change I believe our organization needs, our fans want to see and something we can build on moving forward.”

BC LIONS APPOINT ED HERVEY AS GM; BUONO TO COACH FINAL SEASON IN 2018

[Hambone]

Love this decision. This franchise needs a fresh set of eyes to evaluate what we have and need, and Hervey is the best available, maybe the best in the league. A little bit of swagger doesn't hurt. Great move.

He has to prove it to me first.

[B.C.FAN]

Love this decision. This franchise needs a fresh set of eyes to evaluate what we have and need, and Hervey is the best available, maybe the best in the league. A little bit of swagger doesn't hurt. Great move.

He has to prove it to me first.

Hervey has a lot to prove. He has always struck me as an arrogant, toxic personality, the complete antithesis of Wally's fan-friendly personality. Hervey was run out of Edmonton when he rubbed fans and media the wrong way. The Lions brand loyalty is not as strong as the Eskimos' brand loyalty. Hervey can't afford to turn off the people this franchise needs.

This also shuts off Geroy Simon's route to career advancement as GM. Geroy lacks experience but he is a much better face for the franchise than Hervey.

[maxlion]

Love this decision. This franchise needs a fresh set of eyes to evaluate what we have and need, and Hervey is the best available, maybe the best in the league. A little bit of swagger doesn't hurt. Great move.

He has to prove it to me first.

Sure. Every GM and coach has to prove themselves over and over again. It's the nature of the business. But his track record so far is outstanding.

[CardiacKid]

While Wally is never going to be confused with the muppet Elmo, he is more prickly pear than contemptuous of fans and media.
I hope he is the moderating voice to Hervey’s bullying instincts.

But all in all, I was assuming Wally would concentrate his efforts in the managerial role and leave the sideline. Maybe he is trying to create separation between himself and Braley?