Some interesting takeaways from the article are:Willes: From fizzle to sizzle — Buono excited about the Lions again
After a disastrous 2014, the B.C. Lions GM and his new coach Tedford are rebuilding and hoping to lure the fans back
By Ed Willes, The Province May 26, 2015
‘We didn’t play an exciting brand of football (in 2014),’ B.C. Lions general manager Wally Buono admits. He hopes that will change this year.
“If you would have tried to come up with a plan to be unsuccessful, I’m not sure you could have come up with all the things which occurred,” Buono said, ticking off Lulay’s shoulder woes, the loss of Harris, injuries which decimated the offensive line and personnel misjudgments.
In the latter category, Buono didn’t mention Khalif Mitchell by name. Then again he didn’t have to.
“Certain players were brought back into the organization and that was my fault,” he said. “The one thing I’ve seldom done over my career is bring back players. I did and we paid a price for it.”
As for the decision to fire Benevides, Buono said the problems were more deep-rooted than the quarterback position.
“It was evident to me before the season started,” he said. “You can’t put your head in the sand and not see the truth, and the truth was things were starting to slowly regress. If we could have changed the course of that, maybe we could continue. But we couldn’t and we had to make a tough decision.”
Buono admits part of the problem was the perception his presence undermined Benevides’ authority. There’s some debate over that but, at the very least, it’s not going to be a problem with the more experienced Tedford.
“I told Jeff, you summon me. I’m not going to summon you,” Buono said. “I’ll be over Jeff’s shoulder too. That’s my job. But the perception will be different.”
Then: “I’m learning more and more you have to separate yourself from the coaching.”
No, after four decades as a player, head coach and senior executive, he’s still learning. Buono’s contract with the Lions expires after the 2016 season. By then, he’ll be 67, which leads to the inevitable question.
“(Lions owner) David (Braley) and Dennis (Skulsky) know my thoughts,” Buono said. “Let’s get 2015 done and we’ll go from there. There might be a time and place for somebody else.”
But now it’s time for football and that’s always been his time.
-In my opinion Benevedes starting losing the team in the second half of 2013. Wally recognized that was the case prior to the 2014 season. The quote from Wally “It was evident to me before the 2014 season started,” he said. “You can’t put your head in the sand and not see the truth, and the truth was things were starting to slowly regress. If we could have changed the course of that, maybe we could continue. But we couldn’t and we had to make a tough decision.”
-Wally was in a Catch 22 position once he made the decision to hire Benevedes as a HC. If he left Benevedes alone to coach Benny did not have the leadership skills to do so but Buono getting too involved also undermined Benevedes. It was Wally who got things turned around towards the latter part of 2013, bringing in Logan and Buck Pierce and pushing the running attack (which created a new blocking scheme) but doing so publically was not wise.
-I don't see injuries as the key problem of 2014. When Harris got hurt we had Logan, Kevin Glenn had done a very good job in Calgary and brought experience. The problem was that we had a new offensive coordinator in Khari Jones who was in over his head, a boring offensive system, and terrible line blocking under Dorazio. The second problem was that the ice cream treats, belly bumps, clichés, bad pre-game and half-time slogans wore thin because there wasn't solid Head Coaching leadership behind them.
-I really like the concept of the hybrid H back/tight end offence. It will allow us to do a lot of things offensively, especially in terms of blocking for the run and the pass. I've believed we've needed to get away from the spread for a long time now (as you've heard ad nauseum from me at times that the scheme is past its due date and a more multi-formational, more dynamic offence is needed in today`s game). Chap made the move to do so in 2011, as he incorporated the pro set but he didn't incorporate a true tight end who could catch as well as block. The plain truth is we should have went out and got one but instead we used a fullback or an offensive lineman in the tight end spots when we went single or double tights. The H back also allows us to use this player as a tight end, as a slot, and as a lead blocker in motion.
-The hiring of Cortez, a spread offence coordinator who liked to use the run out of the spread, will be viewed as a key to our offensive success this season if we are improved offensively. But to me the key is Tedford and Mike Gibson on offence. Cortez will not be running his usual spread set but instead Tedford will have him using more pro set with a tight end/H back hybrid and that's not something Cortez has used in the CFL in the past. Even more important was the hiring of Doug Malone, who replaces Dorazio. Improved offensive line play will make a big difference this season.
-It may take some time but I believe there will be more `sizzle`this season...and after last year`s `fizzle`, like Buono, I`m excited about 2015. If Wally can G.M. and let Tedford coach, which I believe will happen, there is hope again in Leo Land
