Coaching Change – Again!!

The hype prior to Christmas 2014 was that the BC Lions thought they had the  perfect fit for the struggling club who finished that season with a nine and nine record.

The announcement of the hiring of Jim Tedford was met with mixed feeling from fans and some members of the media alike, but everyone was willing to see it play out.

At the young age of 54 Tedford had a long and successful career south of the 49th with the U.S. college football in addition to a brief “cup of coffee” as an NFL assistant.

Tedford replaced Mike Benevides who was released or as some say fired after three seasons at the helm of the club.

Tedford was both a player (6 seasons as a QB) and an offensive assistant coach (Stampeders) in the CFL, but realistically had been away from the league for more than two decades when he took the job with the Lions.

He had promised to have an improved offence with the Lions, but at times looked like a sinking ship with no life-rafts to help save the day.

Clearly this only seem to add to any form of frustration level among players, but mostly the fans that were so supportive over the years as the Lions finished with a 7-11 record in his first and only season.

Tedford a former head coach of the University of California Golden Bears had mentioned when the season concluded getting a grasp on some of the CFL rules had been a challenge and that he wasn’t sure if he would be back for 2016.

In his closing remarks Tedford said in a statement “After much consideration, I have elected to exercise an option in my contract and will resign as head coach of the B.C. Lions in order to pursue other opportunities in college football, and the team displayed great fortitude in overcoming several obstacles this season and the future is very bright for these young Lions. I wish the Lions family the very best and long and continued success.”

Now we know the truth, he will not be returning for the upcoming 2016 version of the BC Lions, but rather we will be privy to another season of Wally world.

Buono, who also serves as vice-president of football operations and has 13 seasons as GM of the team and has 22 years of coaching experience with B.C. and Calgary.

He is a four-time “Coach of the Year” and most recently coached in 2011, when he led the Lions to a Grey Cup victory.

He has won five Grey Cups as a coach and owns a regular-season coaching record of 254-154-3 in addition to being inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame last year.

One of Tedford’s passions that he is involved in with his wife is that of being involved in shelter and animal welfare leadership as well as direct marketing and fundraising.

He has more than 20 years of leadership experience in local and national animal welfare organizations and seven years managing direct response marketing in the sector.

Tedford has led some of the nation’s top animal shelters and provided counsel to many others from strategic planning to capacity building as well as maximizing direct response fundraising.

He is a certified animal welfare administrator and a leading voice in the industry and along with his passion and commitment in addition to his ability to deliver exceptional strategic advice and fundraising.

We wish him all the best in his future ventures!!