Buono says forget the grades, it’s only win or lose for his football team
B.C. Lions GM Wally Buono says head coach Benevides will be back, but feels this team should still be playing
Wally Buono probably wasn’t all that great in school, and even if he was, he surely wouldn’t have been a good teacher. Ask the man in charge of the B.C. Lions for a letter grade on the performance of the general manager this year and he sidesteps the question.
“Don’t give letter grades,” he said. “An A or a B isn’t acceptable if you don’t win. When you lose it’s never a good year.”
And during a wide-ranging discussion Thursday it was clear that Buono didn’t consider it to be a good year and will be sufficiently busy making improvements during the off-season. It will start, he said, with a recommendation by head coach Mike Benevides on the composition of his 2014 staff.
Speaking for the first time since the Lions’ season ended with their fourth-quarter meltdown in the CFL West Division semifinal, Buono said proof of Benevides’ ability to form a staff rests with the fact the club, unannounced, already picked up the option on the final season of his three-year contract.
Buono will have input but not before he hears from the man he hired as his successor after the 2011 season, and said a third season with Benevides in charge was an endorsement of his 24-12 record over two regular seasons.
But when asked to look at his own work, Buono broke the season into the moves made before and after training camp, when the general manager was busier than some years in the past plugging holes that were evident in Kamloops but made worse due to injuries (see chart).
“I don’t want to pat myself on the back or stab myself in the stomach. When we had to improve, we did,” Buono said. “Bringing Manny Arceneaux and Solomon Elimimian was good. Nick Moore, Courtney Taylor, Matt Norman and Kirby Fabien were good decisions. Cord Parks.
“Trading Khalif Mitchell, even though some idiot reporter keeps throwing it in my face, was good because it helped the individual turn his life around. Trading Geroy Simon, getting rid of Byron Parker and Anthony Reddick all clearly helped the locker-room and got us younger. Julius Williams wasn’t good.
“When we needed to fill needs, Steve Myddelton and Chris Wilson helped us. Buck Pierce gave us some confidence. Stefan Logan worked. And we’re going into a difficult winter with only three key free agents. We’re going to be under the cap.”
With all that going for the Lions, the GM should have a team in the West Division final Sunday at the very least. But after a year in which he signed three players with a Lions history to make mid-season upgrades, Buono also identified a need to make changes in scouting procedures and to get younger on defence as off-season points of emphasis.
B.C. had seven players on defence over 30 years of age Sunday, including five in the front seven, and Buono said it had to change, but hopes Benevides will concur that Dante Marsh or Ryan Phillips are not among those who must be moved.
Offensively, the Lions will have to look at an alternative at left tackle to Ben Archibald, 35, and with 43-year-old Paul McCallum for starters, said Buono.
“Kicking is a scenario where we have to get better,” said Buono, adding that some moves will be predicated on whether veterans are willing to agree to a contract restructuring.
But Buono has no interest in returning to the sideline to guide a team that doesn’t have a playoff win since he left coaching. As such he is willing to abide by Benevides’ coaching recommendations, providing they are sellable to the paying customer, and done quicker than normal because of upcoming vacancies around the CFL.
“Winning is important but whether it’s a coach or a player, if people are going to repulse from supporting you, you have to do something,” said Buono, who made it clear he never told anyone he would make reactionary coaching changes in the immediate aftermath of the Lions’ loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders Sunday.
“We fought through adversity in 2013 to put us in position Sunday. We were very well prepared. The one thing that’s been consistently inconsistent is the ability to make plays on the road at a critical time. It’s not good enough to win.
“We’re not too far away. But I’m not being fooled.”
lullrich@theprovince.com
twitter.com/fifthqtr
Moves made since the end of training camp this year by Lions GM Wally Buono:
Position, Player(s), Reason(s)
QB, Buck Pierce and Joey Elliott-x, injury to Travis Lulay.
TB, Stefan Logan, underperformance by Andrew Harris and offensive line.
OL, Steve Myddelton, injuries to Kirby Fabien, Angus Reid, Adam Baboulas.
DL, Chris Wilson and Jermaine Reid, underperformance by Julius Williams.
DB, Keynan Parker, underperformance by J.R. LaRose; training camp injury to Matt McGarva.
K, Steven Schott, contract issue, underperformance by Hugh O’Neill.
LS, Jordan Matechuk, underperformance by Tim Cronk.
x-Released and later re-signed
lullrich@theprovince.com
