Shortly after his usual postgame review meeting with club president Dennis Skulsky, which ran decidedly longer than normal Sunday morning, Buono seemed to suggest he is running out of solutions that are within his grasp.
Yes, blaming it on the players, blaming it on execution is wearing thin. But he can't quite pin point yet that it is a coaching matter, that the league has evolved, and his team has not.
His Xs and Os guys are not up to the task.
His personnel work is showing lots of mis-judgments.
He has changed from a coach who liked to develop his own players, to a coach who desperately picks up discards from other teams.
“I’m as bewildered as you are. My problem is I can’t stay bewildered,” said Buono during an hour-long post-mortem, his face drained of expression and voice less combative with reporters relative to custom.
In truth, there’s nothing bewildering about the Lions at all, as after nearly three seasons of failure, the same results will continue to be posted without a substantial reworking of the team’s scouting operation and coaching staff, the only aspects of the team which have largely remained untouchable.
Bewildered? Yes. Dazed and confused? Yes.
The nasty thing, as I've said a number of times, is that the game has changed, and he has not been able to adapt.
New coaches such as Trestman and Hufnagel have raised the bar beyond what he and his assistants can match.
And for Skulsky, who has made it clear in recent weeks that he would definitely have a say in Buono’s future should the slide continue, it was also time Sunday to reinforce his concerns about the Lions and their impact on the market in a Grey Cup year.
That makes it seem that Skulsky has authority over Buono, and his position.
“Where we are is not acceptable,” Skulsky said. “It [was] the normal after-the-game meeting, but this one was obviously longer because of the magnitude of the game.”
In an interview two weeks ago, Skulsky made it clear that the status quo won’t last indefinitely with him or owner David Braley.
“David has publicly indicated that Wally has a job for as long as he wants a job. What does that mean? At the end of the day he may have a job in the organization but it could be a different job, whether that’s precipitated by him coming forward or him getting a tap on the shoulder. Wally knows nothing lasts forever. In our assessment today this is not about changing Wally. Changing a head coach is very drastic. Now is not the time and place.”
"not acceptable" ... True.
"status quo won't last indefinitely with him or owner David Braley" ... We'll see.
“David has publicly indicated that Wally has a job for as long as he wants a job. What does that mean? At the end of the day he may have a job in the organization but it could be a different job, whether that’s precipitated by him coming forward or him getting a tap on the shoulder. Wally knows nothing lasts forever. In our assessment today this is not about changing Wally. Changing a head coach is very drastic. Now is not the time and place.”
"a job for as long as he wants" "a different job" ... Well, that sounds like a change in the endorsement.
"a tap on the shoulder" ... Sad to say, it might come to that.
"Now is not the time and place" ... 6 teams make the playoffs. That could be a bit of a saving grace for Wally. But if we make the playoffs with a record of 5 and 13, that would be kind of sad.
