STAMPEDERS CLASS OF CFL
But club has won only two Grey Cups in nine seasons
While it seems like a gaudy comparison, the numbers reveal the truth — the Calgary Stampeders are the New England Patriots of the CFL.
“We’ll take that as a compliment,” Stampeders general manager John Hufnagel said. “I don’t know whether it’s fair or unfair. I’m not complaining about the comparison.”
The Stampeders once again lead the CFL with a 10-1-1 record this season and are 25-3-2 over the last two regular years.
The team is now 127-44-3 since Hufnagel joined the organization in 2008. It compares with the record Bill Belichick has as head coach of the Patriots. Since 2000, New England is 201-71, for a winning percentage of .738. The Stampeders’ winning percentage since Hufnagel’s arrival is .730.
“Obviously I had the privilege to work for that organization for a year” said Hufnagel, who was quarterbacks coach with the Super Bowl champion Patriots in 2003. “I know what they promote and I honestly have tried to instil some of that in the program that I started back in 2008.”
Hufnagel handed the coaching reins to his protege Dave Dickenson in 2016 and all the new sideline boss has done is win 25 games while losing only three.
The Stampeders did, of course, lose the Grey Cup last season in overtime against Ottawa, despite going 15-2-1 in the regular season. If there’s any knock against the organization, it’s that it has only two championships in the nine seasons Hufnagel has been at the helm.
“It’s nice to win,” Hufnagel said. “It’s a lot, lot better to win a championship.
“We’ve been very fortunate. We have had good records and we have been up there in the dance. We’ve had fun at the dance and we’ve been disappointed at the dance. Each year is its own challenge and each year we work hard to try to win a championship.”
Since 2008, the most losses the Stamps had in a season were seven. The fewest wins they had were 10. They won 15 games twice, 14 games twice and 13 games twice.
The last time they lost two games in a row was in July of 2012. That span will reach 100 games Sunday when the Stampeders travel to Saskatchewan.
The Stampeders haven’t lost three games in a row since Hufnagel started.
“We really haven’t stubbed our toes for a while as far as not being prepared to play,” Hufnagel said.
In the case of the Stampeders, winning breeds more winning. Success allows management to recruit some of the best available talent — coaches and players — and hold onto them.
“I would think that has been a part of it,” Hufnagel said. “The players come here and they expect to be very, very competitive. The players we bring in from other teams, I’ll ask them, ‘What’s the difference of playing in our organization or the other one you came from,’ not thinking they’ll praise us but just trying to find out what the other organizations do to help me make this program better. They say ‘There’s not a lot, it’s just the expectations are a lot greater.’ So, it goes with the territory.”
Continuity is a huge part of success. There have been many coaches hired and fired in the CFL since Hufnagel arrived in Calgary.
Just look at where the teams that fired coaches recently are in the standings this year (Hamilton is 2-9, Montreal is 3-9).
Meanwhile, Calgary is purring along again, looking primed to host the West final and make it back to the Grey Cup for a second straight year.
“I’ve been fortunate,” Hufnagel said. “I’ve had a lot of loyalty on my staff. Obviously some people have left because of better opportunities, as they should. I’ve lost some players because the gap between the offers was just too much for them to not take. But I have a lot of players who understand how we try to do things and maybe they accept a little bit less from us instead of moving on.”
The coaching transition from Hufnagel to Dickenson has been seamless. The Stampeders haven’t missed a beat and players like quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, running back Jerome Messam and linebacker Alex Singleton are thriving under Dickenson.
“It has worked out well,” Hufnagel said. “It was a decision that I thought would allow us to continue to have a great chance to be successful, also knowing that we were a better organization with Dave and I in the building than with only one of us.
“Dave was on the fringe of being a hot head-coach candidate. I made a decision that in my mind was best for the organization and I had no doubt that Dave would do a great job.”