Austin is Coach of The Year

[ilovetheriders]

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/news_story/?ID=230713&hubname=

Austin was named the CFL's coach of the year Wednesday, a month after leaving the Saskatchewan Roughriders to become the offensive co-ordinator at the University of Mississippi, his alma mater.

Austin had an outstanding rookie season as the Riders head coach. He led the team to a 12-6 record (second-best in the CFL) and secured the franchise's first home playoff game since '88. Then he guided Saskatchewan to just its third-ever Grey Cup crown and first since '89.

''I was just a small part of our success and got way too much credit for it,'' Austin said. ''It was a magical year.''

Voting was conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada.

Austin becomes the first Roughrider to be named coach of the year since John Gregory in '89. And Austin was instrumental in Gregory claiming the honour as Austin was Saskatchewan's starting quarterback and was named the Grey Cup MVP after the team's thrilling 43-40 win over Hamilton in the CFL's title game.

Buono led the B.C. Lions to a franchise-record 14 wins and a fourth straight first-place finish in the West Division. Buono is one of three coaches in CFL history to be named coach of the year at least three times, the last being in 2006 after leading B.C. to a Grey Cup title.

Clemons led the Argos to their sixth consecutive playoff berth this season. The Argos rebounded from a 2-6 start to finish in first place in the East Division with an 11-7 record.

He stepped down Dec. 4 and was named chief executive officer of the Argos.

[Dan Russell]

Tough call between Austin and Buono but since the lowly Roughriders won a cup you knew he would win it.

[wildthing]

Tough call between Austin and Buono but since the lowly Roughriders won a cup you knew he would win it.

votes were cast before the playoffs so the GC had nothing to do with it. That being said, congrats to Wally as he was as deserving and the voting basically reflected the top 2 coaches for 2007.

[WestCoastJoe]

Austin obviously deserves a lot of credit for the great season the Riders had. But was it also somewhat of a magical season? The progress made by Kerry Joseph. The contributions of Ken Miller. The rabid enthusiasm of the glory-starved, maniacal fans. Even the player acquisitions of Roy Shivers over the years. How much of the success is due to Austin? The ones who are in position to know best are the players, coaches and administrators.

In any case, Austin had lots to do with it.

It does seem kind of cheesy, though, to be awarding the Coach of the Year to someone who cuts and runs so soon after the great season (not saying he doesn't deserve it). Austin is not one of those guys who stays with a team for his entire career. Or even close to that. He goes his own way. His only true football loyalty seems to be to Ole Miss. Somewhere inside, Austin must be feeling just a bit guilty. It seems to me he was pretty much rescued from the coaching scrap heap when Tillman chose him to be Head Coach of the Riders. No doubt there are many coaches, who, for their own reasons, would have stayed and honoured the contract he was working under.

Austin was not the fair-haired boy to Rider fans after he left the first time. How long will it be before the halo wears off this time? Maybe winning the Grey Cup makes up for it all.

[ilovetheriders]

The huge majority of people in Riderville did not cut down Kent's decision to leave. According to Dominguez Kent played a huge role in keeping the team together and united. I on the other hand think he was one of many pieces to the puzzle. The thing that struck me about Austin though is he was never arrogant and never let his players get too high...unlike the previous regime. Now f only he could instill that into the couple hundred of crazy fans behind the keyboard who think this is the start of a dynasty that would be great. Cheers

[ziggy]

Too bad for Wally, he's a class act and in my eyes was and is the best coach in the CFL. I guess though Austin was also deserving so I can't knock the choice.

[ilovetheriders]

Too bad for Wally, he's a class act and in my eyes was and is the best coach in the CFL. I guess though Austin was also deserving so I can't knock the choice.

Not taking anything away from Wally...but I think part of why Austin got it was a home playoff game that The Riders hadn't hosted since 1988 and of course The Grey Cup victory.

[Gerry]

Too bad for Wally, he's a class act and in my eyes was and is the best coach in the CFL. I guess though Austin was also deserving so I can't knock the choice.

The award is not for the best coach in the league. That could mean too many things. It is for the coach of the year, meaning IMO, someone who has had the most dramatic effect as a coach, and I think Austin deserved that for what he accomplished the past year.

[Dan_Payne_fan!!]

Kent Austin COY?
*coughbscough*

[ziggy]

Perhaps you are right and its not for the Best coach. I agree Austin had a dramatic effect and I'm not knocking the choice as I said in my previous post. The award though is for the coach,who most displays excellent leadership, discipline and dedication to excellence in the regular season. I think thats pretty specific.

[Sir Purrcival]

He deserves the award. It is pretty impressive for any coach in his rookie season with a team to lead that team to a solid regular season record, let alone take the brass ring. As much as I hate to say it, the Lions kind of lurched along for most of the season and didn't really manage to shake that trend all the way along. That showed itself in glaring technicolour in the post season with what can only be considered a dismal performance in the Western Final. The coaching didn't seem that impactful or they would have found a way to correct this near floundering trend. Whether Austin or the fates contributed more to the Rider's success doesn't really matter. Austin was an important part of the recipe and is full measure for the tribute.

[notahomer]

Just where are the goalposts here?
Austin beats Buono despite time frame
Kent Gilchrist, The Province
Published: Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wally Buono didn't win the CFL Coach of the Year award again this year, which will come as no surprise to anyone close to the voting. But it should.

Since 1990, Buono has coached his teams to a first-place finish 12 times; eight when he was in Calgary coaching the Stampeders and the last four straight with the B.C. Lions.

Somehow, instead of owning the Annis Stukus trophy, awarded to the best coach in the league, Buono has won it only three times.

This for an award that is supposed to be based on regular-season performance. You can question -- even knock -- some of his game-day decisions, you can question his Grey Cup record (four wins in eight attempts), but he is several football field lengths ahead of his rivals in constructing, maintaining and finishing the regular season.

Simply take last season as an example. He lost starting quarterback Dave Dickenson and his No. 2 Buck Pierce to injuries, and his best receiver Geroy Simon was hobbled for the first two-thirds of the campaign. With Jarious Jackson at quarterback, all Buono was able to do was coax his team to a 14-win season, a franchise best.

It is interesting that the Football Reporters of Canada, a loosely-run association in which yours truly is a member but not a voter, has requested that the league change the time frame from the end of the regular season until after the Grey Cup game. It makes sense, since voters often look a little foolish when the coach of the year is announced.

Buono last won the award in 2006, the year of the Lions' last Grey Cup win. He also won in 1992 and '93. He won the Grey Cup in 1992 but lost the West final in 1993, which only shows the FRC voters probably got it right that time.

But to the layman, it would seem clear that you have to win the Grey Cup game, even though the voting is supposed to be based strictly on the regular season.

Kent Austin, who directed the Saskatchewan Roughriders to their first Grey Cup win since 1989, got 21 of the 42 first-place votes to win the Coach of the Year. Buono was runner-up with 15 votes. Michael Pinball Clemons was third and Grey Cup-game finalist Doug Berry of Winnipeg got one vote.

Everyone thought Austin was going to win and it's a deserving award and something he should have ... if it was based on the entire season, including playoffs.

The question is, how come Buono hasn't won it more often? Besides all those first-place finishes, his teams have won the Grey Cup game four times, and seven more times they've reached the West final.

Only once since he became a head coach has one of his teams missed the playoffs in 18 years. It's truly a remarkable record.

He has achieved it by understanding the individual talent on his roster. He knows when key players need to be changed.

Since the salary cap came in, it has just given him a bigger advantage. While teams are dumping big salaries and scrambling wildly to pay for some free agents at the risk of losing others, Buono has no loose ends. He dumps Mark Washington's player salary, but keeps his brain by making him a coach ... and the beat goes on.

He's so far ahead, he's negotiating contract extensions with players who still have a year left.

Ask team president Bob Ackles who his coach of the year might be.

hkgilchrist@yahoo.com




© The Vancouver Province 2008

[notahomer]

I wasn't at all surprised to see Austin voted Coach of the Year and if I had a vote he'd have probably gotten mine. That being said, I think Cookie makes some good points in this article.

[sj-roc]

I wasn't at all surprised to see Austin voted Coach of the Year and if I had a vote he'd have probably gotten mine. That being said, I think Cookie makes some good points in this article.

Yeah, if they're going to sit on the ballots for three months after they award the Grey Cup, then they might as well wait until AFTER the Grey Cup to cast them. The NHL player award ballots are also cast at/near the end of the regular season, despite not being awarded until after the playoffs, but then they don't delay the announcements very long once the playoffs end. Perhaps the League is concerned that the results of the three week playoff run might overshadow those of the much longer regular season on which the awards should also be based.

I wonder if the League has ever considered similar awards for assistant coaches. If they maintain their COTY announcement at this point of the off-season, then it would provide the League some added run if, say, they announced DC of the year on Monday, OC of the year on Wednesday, and finally COTY on Friday (not to mention that it would also provide some formal recognition for the achievements of some individuals who otherwise toil in relative obscurity). It might even be broadened to include the position coaches; e.g.,

Mon: ST & def pos'n coaches;
Tue: DC;
Wed: off pos'n coaches;
Thu: OC;
Fri: COTY.

I believe MLB does it this way with their AL/NL MVP and Cy Young winners; the announcements are stretched over several days to maximise positive media exposure of their product during a low point in their cycle.

If they have multiple awards for the players, why not for the coaches as well?

[Robbie]