When Will the Purge Begin

[JohnnyMusso]

I think no announcements will be made until after the Grey Cup, except maybe a few player signings.

On Postgame show on 1040 it said Lions have 35 free agents. That is almost their whole team.

[JohnnyMusso]

Will Dorazio announce his retirement though. That would be welcome news before the Grey Cup.

[B.C.FAN]

The team was built to win for Wally in his last year. The talent level is high and most veterans seem to still have a few good years left but we know there will be tough choices to make. I hope the new coach is in place before major decisions are made on free agents.

[Lion Guy]

I would think the plane needs to land first.

[TheLionKing]

I would think the plane needs to land first.

The purge couldn't begin soon enough for this fan.

[Hambone]

The team was built to win for Wally in his last year. The talent level is high and most veterans seem to still have a few good years left but we know there will be tough choices to make. I hope the new coach is in place before major decisions are made on free agents.

Hervey's first order of business will be addressing the coaching staff. Outside of possible coach retirements or coaches on expiring contracts advising Hervey they won't be coming back I wouldn't expect any coaching staff announcements to be made until after Grey Cup. Only other possibilities of announcements before then would be if Hervey wants to totally wipe the slate clean or if he's already set on the new guy coming from the ranks of those no longer involved with playoff teams. There's pretty slim pickings there.

There's no urgency to make any player decisions until the key pieces of the new coaching staff are in place. Only player decisions I see forthcoming would be those made by individual players themselves i.e. retirements or key guys Hervey does want to extend as he did recently with Coleman.

[Hambone]

I would think the plane needs to land first.

Lol. Here's your road map, apple and parachute. Good luck!

[Lion Guy]

I would think the plane needs to land first.

The purge couldn't begin soon enough for this fan.

Oh ya. Me too. Resignations, retirements, whatever; just get rid of this deadwood coaching staff. Jarious Jackson made Khari Jones look competent. Mark Washington? Lost.

[CardiacKid]

I am personally hoping the next coach is someone with a background on the offensive side of the ball. The one exception would be to hire Steinhauer from Hamilton

Say June Jones....he would be closer to Hawaii.

My hunch is Washington gets hired elsewhere. As for the current coaching staff, I hope Reinbold and Melvin stay.

[The_Pauser]

I would be surprised if we heard anything before Grey Cup. I think Hervey definitely has his list, but I don't think we'll see a new coach hired until the end of November/early December at the earliest. Once that's done I figure we'll hear more about the other coaching staff, as any new coach will want his guys.

[Sir Purrcival]

There is no reason to rush anything now. There maybe a few like Dorazio who will simply announce that he is retiring. No need to fire someone under circumstances like that. In deference to a new coach as well, it might be better to find out who is going to be in the running for the position. We have bandied about some names but some of those may not want to be considered (Lapolice for example). A new coach will want some say in personnel and who knows, there maybe someone in the mix that a new coach might want. The goal here is not only to effect regime change but to make the change look attractive. If you go wholesale on the dismissals without any apparent sensitivity, that might not look too attractive to potential new hires.

[yukonlion]

I would think the plane needs to land first.

The purge couldn't begin soon enough for this fan.

like the Argos firing trestman by phone on the team bus!!!

[Blitz]

Hopefully the new era will begin as soon as is wise in the off-season so I can get the bad taste out of my mouth of our most recent Buono debacle.

Ugly End to Wally Buono’s CFL Coaching Career as Hamilton Tiger-Cats Thump B.C. Lions

National Post

The B.C. Lions were, technically, present at Tim Hortons Field on Sunday, in the sense that there were men in white and orange on the field for the Eastern semifinal.

Figuratively speaking, though, the visitors were utterly absent.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats, despite coming into the game off an 8-10 regular season and on a three-game losing streak, rolled like they were a powerhouse, not a team that had stumbled and swooned into the playoffs.

With the 48-8 win, an outcome that was uncertain for only about 10 minutes of game action, Hamilton moves to the Eastern final next week in Ottawa.

The Lions send Wally Buono into retirement on a desultory and ignominious note, their most lopsided playoff loss in history.

It was as comprehensive a thumping as a football team can manage.

On the opening drive, Hamilton quarterback Jeremiah Masoli scrambled on second-and-12 and found Bralon Addison for a 38-yard catch. It was a play that would prove to be the theme of the day: Masoli finding open receivers and tearing off huge chunks of yardage.

Over and over, Masoli was able to find receivers running in open space, as though the Lions had collectively spent the week dutifully avoiding film study.

The 30-year-old QB, who has been trying to prove himself in Hamilton for three-plus years and had to fight for his job against the much-ballyhooed Johnny Manziel in training camp, finished the first half with 13 completions on 16 attempts for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

Hamilton was the first CFL team to score touchdowns on its opening three drives in a playoff game since 1985.

The score was 28-0 at the half and it could have been worse: Hamilton’s final drive stalled and it missed a 40-yard field goal attempt before the gun sounded.

West teams coming to the East have not performed tremendously well in the post-season — 4-6 since the CFL implemented its crossover rule in 2006.

But the Lions spent Sunday finding spectacular new ways to look like they didn’t belong in a playoff game.

In the third quarter, Lulay lofted a pass toward DeVier Posey on the far sideline, and everyone in the stadium could see the interception coming, up to and including Ric Flair. Frankie Williams stepped in front of Posey and scampered 39 yards into the end zone to stretch Hamilton’s lead to 37 points. It was Lulay’s last pass of the season.

Later in the quarter, with the Lions finally in a position to score, B.C. tried a direct snap to running back Tyrell Sutton, who handled the snap like someone who doesn’t handle a lot of snaps

.

The fumble was scooped up Hamilton’s Simoni Lawrence, who needed 93 yards for a touchdown but ran out of gas after about 80 of those yards.

B.C.’s Cody Fajardo chased him the full length of the field and pushed Lawrence out of bounds at the one-yard line.

It was a hilarious play in the way that broken plays often are, and Fajardo’s dash was, truly, the most impressive thing done by someone in a Lions uniform all day.

When it was over, and Buono was contemplating a future without football, he went back to that long conversion on the first series: Masoli’s bomb to Addison, which set the tone for a disastrous day.

The Lions defensive back covering Addison fell down, Buono said.
“Was that the beginning of a bad game, or just fate?,” he said.

Whatever role fate played, it was definitely the beginning of a bad game.

[B.C.FAN]

According to LU, the Lions have 34 pending free agents this offseason.

Offence (18) – Bryan Burnham, Ricky Collins, Cody Fajardo, Joel Figueroa, Chris Greaves, Cody Husband, Jon Jennings, Jeremiah Johnson, Travis Lulay, Wayne Moore, Jovan Olafioye, Chris Rainey, Hunter Steward, Cory Watson, Shaq Johnson, Manny Arceneaux, Brandon Rutley, Anthony Parker

Defence (13) – Micah Awe, Otha Foster, T.J. Lee, Shawn Lemon, Bo Lokombo, Ivan McLennan, Anthony Orange, Garry Peters, Winston Rose, Anthony Thompson, Odell Willis, Maxx Forde, Dominique Termansen

Special teams (3) – Mitch Barnett, Dyshawn Davis, Ty Long

Looking at the Lions’ long free agent list

[TheLionKing]

I expect a major overhaul in the roster in the off season. I suspect that a lot of the players were signed to a one year contract to give Buono an opportunity to go out as champion.