Buono prepares to write final chapter with Lions
Dean of CFL coaches says it’s time to do other things after 46 years in pro football
VANCOUVER The winningest head coach in Canadian Football League history doesn’t know what he’ll be doing next year — and, quite frankly, Wally Buono doesn’t care. He just knows someone else will occupy the corner office with the big windows that overlooks the B.C. Lions’ practice facility in suburban Surrey.
“It doesn’t matter. If I was 45, it would matter,” said Buono, 68, who is entering his 46th season in professional football.
“I have plenty of money in the bank. I have plenty of money in my RRSP. I have a beautiful home in Arizona. I have a beautiful family, (six) grandkids. It’s not important for me today to know I have to do X and Y.”
With 273 victories, nobody has won more games in the CFL. And, as Buono quickly adds, nobody has lost more, either. Nonetheless, he has a 273-156-3 career record and a .635 winning percentage.
His contract as Lions general manager and head coach expired after the 2017 season, which he insisted last fall would be his last. Now, he quips, it was all bluster. But not really.
Had David Braley sold the team, Buono would have retired. When he didn’t, and with the Lions coming off a 7-11 campaign, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2003, Buono felt he couldn’t abandon Braley — who believed in him 16 years ago, when Calgary’s ownership no longer did.
So Buono returned, but only after Ed Hervey was hired as GM. That meant Buono didn’t have to saddle himself with personnel matters and contract negotiations last winter. It also meant he could spend six weeks at his winter home in Arizona.
But this time, to ensure there was no ambiguity, Buono said 2018 would be his swan song.
“I have six grandkids that I never do anything with, other than (spend) maybe a week in Arizona or a week in Hawaii,” he said.
“I’ve done a lot in football. I’ve suffered a lot and I’ve succeeded a lot. My point is, after 46 years, I’d like to try to do other things.”
What those things are remain to be determined, but Buono said he won’t become a minority shareholder of the Lions, or any other team, despite his deep pockets. It also seems he won’t parachute in to resurrect the Alouettes as president, GM, coach or director of football operations.
Born in Potenza, Italy, but raised in Montreal, Buono was a linebacker and kicker for the Als from 1973-82. He retired to become an assistant coach with the old Concordes.
He said he was approached at one time by former GM Jim Popp during his 20-year tenure, but when the two couldn’t agree on who would have final say, the negotiations ended.
Buono tried to hire Hervey as his assistant before Edmonton appointed him GM. This time, Buono told Braley, the hiring of Hervey was paramount. Their roles have been clearly defined and, should anyone on the Lions regard Buono as a lame duck coach, they should know Hervey will still be around to hold them accountable.
“If the players are happy to see me go, I’m OK with that,” said Buono, a self-professed benevolent dictator. “That’s why I felt it was imperative to have a GM. That’s who they’re responsible to, because he’s going to be here next year. There has to be continuity beyond me, which there is.”
As Buono and the Lions prepare for their regular-season opener Saturday night against the Als, he said the finality of his last season has yet to hit home. But while he refuses to make it his team’s defining rallying cry, the players can’t help but discuss sending their coach off in grand style.
“We know what’s at stake,” said fullback Rolly Lumbala, who has spent his entire 11-year career with the Lions. “We don’t want to make the year about him, but it’s about him.”
“There’s not too much talk, but everyone has it in the back of their mind,” added offensive tackle Jovan Olafioye, who rejoined the Lions this season after spending 2017 with Montreal. “You want to send the old man out on a high note.”
If Buono had no idea about the success he would attain all those years ago, he credits former Als head coach Marv Levy with providing the veterans with ownership of those teams during the 1970s. The rest, Buono said, came from the work ethic his late mother instilled and the mental resilience he gained from his upbringing, part of which was spent at the Shawbridge reform school.
Through it all, Buono managed to check his ego at the door, surrounding himself with coaches who filled the void he could not.
“People that are better than me at certain things,” he said.
“You let them do what they’re good at. You do what your good at. I tell everybody, your job is to make me look good, and I’ll help you look good. And we’ve always tried to surround ourselves with great players.”
If the players are happy to see me go, I’m OK with that. That’s why I felt it was imperative to have a GM. That’s who they’re responsible to, because he’s going to be here next year.