Well-travelled coach lands with Lions
Nomadic coach is now challenging B.C. Lions linebackers to be their best
After he was dismissed as defensive co-ordinator at the University of Wyoming in 2013, Chris Tormey publicly issued a thank you to head coach Dave Christensen, the man who had given him the opportunity to put his head on the firing line.
“I am ultimately responsible for what happens on the field,” Tormey said. “I have accepted coach Christensen’s decision and thanked him for the opportunity. I will miss the players I have coached. They are a tremendous group of young men.”
In view of the nomadic life of a football coach, understanding the precarious conditions of employ- ment is vital. In Tormey’s case, accept blame, issue a mea culpa, then move on.
At 61, the first-year linebackers coach of the B.C. Lions has always been a winner, even if his teams haven’t, by constantly finding work in the game he loves.
Among numerous entries in his resume are head coaching jobs at Nevada and Idaho, the latter where he is regarded as a “legend” by former Vandal Rolly Lumbala, now the veteran fullback of the Lions.
Tormey, who grew up in Spokane, Wash., played college football at Idaho and was recruited by Don Matthews, who went on to become the second winningest coach in the Canadian Football League behind Tormey’s current boss, Wally Buono.
He began his coaching career at his high school, Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, then moved on to become a graduate assistant at the University of Washington in 1980 — a Rose Bowl season for the Huskies — the first of three separate stints for Tormey in Seattle.
“It may have helped that coach (Don) James knew me and liked me,” said Pete Tormey, Chris’ younger brother, a linebacker for the Huskies in the late ’ 70s when Warren Moon was the team’s quarterback.
An English lit major and journalist by training, Pete Tormey later wrote a doctoral dissertation on the coaching methods of James and turned it into a book, Thursday Speeches. It’s a motivational tome of pre-game talks, inspiring stories and life lessons James used to transform the Huskies to top dogs and national champions.
Part of James’ philosophy came with Chris Tormey, his former assistant, when he joined the Lions.
“Tormey’s really helping us approach the game from the psychological standpoint,” said Lions linebacker Adam Bighill. “He’s got passion for this stuff. He helps us to stay sharp. Tormey challenges us to be better than we are.”
Solomon Elimimian, the first defender to win the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player Award when he set a league record for tackles in 2014, credits Tormey’s predecessor, Johnny Holland, as a “big, big part” of his success two years ago. A member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, Holland moved on to the Cleveland Browns as inside
linebackers coach after last year’s 7-11 season under Jeff Tedford.
In Tormey, the Lions hired a replacement with only one season of professional experience — with the Montreal Alouettes in 2015. Yet he came highly recommended, from the same man who recruited him to play linebacker and defensive end at Idaho 43 years ago.
“I know Don (Matthews) called me about Chris, and we had a long conversation,” said Lions head coach Wally Buono. “When I looked into his background, when I looked at where he came from, when I looked at the people who were speaking on his behalf, we thought it would be a good fit.”
“I have great respect for coach Matthews,” Tormey said. “When he was head coach in Edmonton, I used to go up there and just talk football philosophy with him.”
Tormey and his wife Kellie call their place on South Whidbey Island, west of Everett, Wash., home, a major reason why the move to the only CFL team based on the West Coast was so appealing.
“This is an unbelievable opportunity for me and my family, just because we live 100 miles from the (Lions) facility,” Tormey said. “I used to drive to Vancouver to fly to Montreal. Now, I can just skip the drive. Working with this group has just been a very satisfying experience so far.”
Knowing the unpredictability of the coaching business, and the repeated job-switching, no position is unworthy of consideration, in Tormey’s mind.
Two years ago, after his Wyoming firing, he stunned the athletic director at South Whidbey by applying for and accepting the headcoaching job at the 1A high school, which has only 500 students.
The longtime Washington assistant, a head coach at Idaho and Nevada for nine years, was going back to the high school level for the first time since 1979-80.
Never mind optics, he wanted to work.
“You have to be on high school players 24/7 that football is a good thing, worthwhile, and you have to make it fun for them,” Tormey said. “When you coach at this (pro) level, these guys already know football is important.
“They’re highly motivated. It’s their livelihood.”
It’s Tormey’s, too. As for being here, or there, or anywhere, for a long time, it’s too soon to tell.
But when coaching is in your blood, and the world you inhabit is forever young, no matter how impermanent, it beats selling insurance.
When I looked into his background, when I looked at where he came from, when I looked at the people who were speaking on his behalf, we thought it would be a good fit. — Lions head coach Wally Buono, on hiring linebackers coach Chris Tormey