FOOTBALL: LIONS STAFF ANNOUNCEMENT ON WAY
Head coach set to fly north later this month to announce hires
Who will replace Dan, who may succeed Joe and who will possibly follow Kelly?
Upheaval in the staff of the B.C. Lions will be evidenced at the end of the month when first-year head coach Jeff Tedford flies in from Tampa and finally reveals his staff.
But there will be significant changes, of that there is little doubt, according to general manager Wally Buono.
Offensive line coach Dan Dorazio, receivers coach Joe Paopao and running backs coach and CFL draft co-ordinator Kelly Bates appear to be headed elsewhere when their contracts expire on Jan. 31.
“I don’t want to be too specific about what has been reported,” Buono said Monday. “There are going to be some retained (from fired head coach Mike Benevides’ staff) and some who won’t be retained. The names that have been bandied around (leaving) are pretty much correct. Jeff has a pretty broad background with coaches, whether from the States or the CFL, and he’s determined who he wants. I think it’s a nice blend.”
Though Tedford has his men in place, Buono said it is too early to confirm where everyone sits after the game of musical chairs, with contracts still in the process of being delivered, signed and returned.
Tedford remains in Florida (he resigned as offensive co-ordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in December) and is in daily communication with Buono. The new coach will attend the East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Jan. 17 and the Senior Bowl a week later in Mobile, Ala., before returning to Vancouver to announce his staff.
Speculation is pervasive that George Cortez, the fired offensive co-ordinator of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, will be reunited with Tedford. Cortez was the OC and quarterbacks coach of the California Golden Bears from 2002 to 2005 when Tedford was the team’s head coach.
“There’s an extensive relationship there,” Buono said. “Jeff and John Hufnagel interviewed George (in 1992, with the Stampeders) and brought him in to Calgary.”
Tedford, who coached future Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers at Cal, gets an opportunity to do the same with his younger brother. Jordan Rodgers has signed with B.C. for the 2015 season.