Lions gearing up for Buono’s final season
Wally Buono wants to go out a winner. The 2018 CFL season will be the last for the B.C. Lions’ veteran head coach. And Buono is willing to adopt the late Don Matthews’ high-risk, high-reward mantra to win games in his final campaign.
“This is my last year and I’m going to work harder to win,” Buono said during a recent conference call. “If that means I’ve got to take more risks, then what’s the worst that could happen?
“Are they going to fire me? If they do, God bless them. I’ll just have an earlier retirement than I already have . . . .
“To me, I want to win, Ed (GM Ed Hervey) wants to win, the coaches want to win and I think the players want to win. If that means I have to be a little bit more outside the box, hey, I’m going to do that.”
Matthews, who died in 2017 at age 77, was one of the most prolific coaches in CFL history with 231 wins and 10 Grey Cups on his resume.
Matthews never shied away from controversy and was always willing to roll the dice in pressure situations.
Buono, 68, has won more games than any CFL head coach (273 and counting) taking a much more conservative approach. But he’s won five Grey Cup titles and has been named the league’s top coach four times.
Buono has also been a model of consistency through his CFL career. He spent 13 seasons (winning three Grey Cups) as head coach/GM of the Calgary Stampeders before joining the Lions in 2003.
Buono was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2014 before being named to the Order of Canada in 2015.
He’s entering his 12th season as B.C.’s head coach and seventh as the vice-president of football operations. Buono stepped down as GM last November following 15 seasons in the role, and appointed Hervey as his replacement.
Buono isn’t feeling nostalgic heading into his final CFL season.
“I want to think of it as the next season with high expectations,” Buono said. “I’ve always approached it the same way.
“I don’t want to put pressure on the team . . . my job is to coach in 2018 and after that life goes on.”
Quarterback Jonathon Jennings said Lions players don’t feel any added pressure to send Buono out a winner.
“(Buono) preaches it all the time, our job is to come in and win,” Jennings said. “We have that expectation of ourselves and it would be icing on the cake to send Wally out on a good note.”
The Lions have work to do in order to achieve that goal. They missed the playoffs last year after posting a 7-11 record. The 2018 season kicks off on June 16 for B.C.