Football Operations: GM Ed Hervey, HC Wally Buono and the Coaching Staff

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JohnnyMusso
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According to Lowell Ulrich from a new article printed today:

Buono is not apparently prepared to stand pat on his end, especially if Mark Washington makes it past being a finalist for the head coaching job with the Montreal Alouettes this time; even if all his 2017 staff of assistants is still available. That might be the biggest positive of the entire off-season if that comes to fruition, if you subscribe to the notion that coaching, not talent, held this team back last season.

If this is true that is great news. There needs to be change in the coaching staff too.
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DanoT
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Because Wally now has less than a year left as a Lion he can almost be considered a lame duck HC. What I am thinking is that if say Ed wants to "Go in another direction" (regardless of whatever that means) Wally may not agree but given Ed's long term Lions involvement, Wally might just acquiesce and accept Ed's plans or ideas.

Another thing, Wally hasn't had a colleague or peer to bounce ideas off since Bob Ackles died. Ed provides that resource.

I also think that Wally sees himself as a mentor that can show Ed some things and this is not bad. IMO Lulay benefited from mentoring Jennings in the nuances of the CFL and being a pro as it acted as a review for Lulay and perhaps brought some football things from the back of his mind to the forefront. Perhaps something similar can happen to Wally and Ed.

The bottom line for me is that hiring Ed Hervey is a score as he is the best candidate around. They were and still are really pissed over at Esksfans that Ed got fired and they should be. So regardless of how Wally orchestrated the signing and Lions hierarchy, Wally did good; he did very good. :beauty:

LU's article from 3DownNation:
http://3downnation.com/2017/12/02/analy ... ions-hope/
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Sir Purrcival
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You know, for someone who is supposed to be a catch, he seems to have been a loose ends for awhile. I really don't know how good he is but you might think that if he has that much of a cachet around the league, he would have been snapped up far more quickly. I mean who knows. He might be a better version of himself than when he was a first time GM in Edmonton. I think that the unwieldy nature of the situation around here is going to make it challenging to prove himself. Hard enough building a team with stable ownership and coaching. Now we have a HC who is on his way out. An Owner who has been selling for what 5 years. A VP who is also the coach and who is also on his way out. Can it get anymore stupid?
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Sir Purrcival wrote:
Sat Dec 02, 2017 6:23 pm
You know, for someone who is supposed to be a catch, he seems to have been a loose ends for awhile. I really don't know how good he is but you might think that if he has that much of a cachet around the league, he would have been snapped up far more quickly.
He was let go by Edmonton less than 8 months ago. Since that time there have been a grand total of zero GM vacancies in the league.
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This does kind of count as being snapped up Sir P. This is the first GM job that has opened up since Edmonton parted ways with Hervey. He would've garnered serious interest in both Montreal and Toronto but he was gainfully employed by the Eskimos at the time. No doubt teams did reach out to him after Edmonton let him go. He probably wasn't ready to jump at the first junior position that came along and teams weren't about to fire somebody to create the sort of vacancy that would pique his interest. I know if I was in his position I'd sit back for a while and wait to see what opened up down the road unless I desperately needed the money. Mid-April has to be absolutely the worst time of year for football executives to find themselves suddenly unemployed be it CFL, NFL or college football. Everybody has their staff set by then.
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WestCoastJoe
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In the right situation, I expect Wally would have been happy enough to give up the HC gig also. He has nothing to prove. I suppose he is coaching one more year out of loyalty to Braley.

This year might not be a case of going out with glory either. Lame duck status is not the best for any leader, IMO. At least now, Wally can see his ''free at last'' date.

Re Ed Hervey ... This CFL fan likes his hiring, and likes his life story. He can learn a thing or two from Wally about long term survival in a football organization and dealing with the media. Wally is on the poster for those aptitudes.
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Sir Purrcival wrote:
Sat Dec 02, 2017 6:23 pm
You know, for someone who is supposed to be a catch, he seems to have been a loose ends for awhile. I really don't know how good he is but you might think that if he has that much of a cachet around the league, he would have been snapped up far more quickly. I mean who knows. He might be a better version of himself than when he was a first time GM in Edmonton.

I think that the unwieldy nature of the situation around here is going to make it challenging to prove himself. Hard enough building a team with stable ownership and coaching. Now we have a HC who is on his way out. An Owner who has been selling for what 5 years. A VP who is also the coach and who is also on his way out. Can it get anymore stupid?
On one hand it makes me laugh. I knew this would not be straight forward. Most things are not straight forward when it comes to Buono.

Lets see. We missed the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. Buono's record in his last 5 seasons of coaching is 45-45. But Buono wanted to coach this season. Why?

Because our Leos needed him to coach? Lots of good candidates out there. Our Leos also needed a fresh face down on the sidelines. Fans wanted a fresh face.

So, our Leos (Braley, Buono) decided instead to hire a new GM. That decision gives us a fresh face in the GM role in Ed Hervey, who did a very good job in terms of gettting a winning product on the field in Edmonton. But why hire a GM that the owner can't trust?

Well, its simple. Buono will remain the Head Coach. Hervey will be the GM. But Buono will keep the big office and remain VP and be the one who discusses things with Braley. Of course, now we're being told that Buono will just attend CFL meetings. But it will still be the Buono/Braley show for one more season, with a different twist.

The reality is that Buono has Braley's ear, not Hervey. Its kinda like when Buono was the GM and Benevedes and Tedford were the HC. Who was really running the show. It was Buono, just as he still is now for 2018.

Buono is all about control and you knew he was not going to give that up. Buono could have retired as VP and that job could also have gone to Hervey but it didn't.

Of course, bringing Hervey in to sign some good free agents and hopefully also recruit some new talent for areas that we need makes sense. Buono wants to go out a winner and Hervey is a guy who has proven he can sign or recruit talent. Hervey, for 2018 has a role - bring in the talent Buono needs to win. If anyone thinks Hevey is really the boss of Buono in any manner at atll, they really need to give their head a shake.

If it all works out, Buono knows how to get most of the credit. If it doesn't, well he can blame it on the players again and also Hervey as well.

One thing I will not listen to is anything that has Buono being a mentor at anything. He has proven that he is completely useless in the role of mentor. If Hervey is better with the press and media this time, it will only be because he has learned the lesson himself.

Besides, the last thing I want from Hervey is to learn Buono's skill set with the media...which basically involves manipulation, deflection, scapegoating, avoiding responsibility, blaming, etc. I would rather just make sure that Hervey makes himself available and remains authentic.

What if Buono began this season 0-6. Think Hervey would fire him? Of course he wouldn't. Think Hervey would fire Buono if he went 0-12. Of course he wouldn't. Think he would fire him if he went 0-15? Of course he wouldn't.

Hervey wouldn't fire Buono if Buono used Hervey's office as his storage area and made Hervey work at a desk in a hallway or a cubicle.

Its all about getting fans to drink the Cool Aid. But I do think the Cool Aid will change. Why?

Because the 2018 season is Buono's last season. He is desparate to go out a winner. Wally contining to be the Head Coach is not about Wally wanting to be loyal to Braley. Wally made this decison on his own in his own best interests.

The Hervey decision, to me, is more than proof that Buono is willing to pull out all the stops to have a winning season for 2018. With only one season to go, I also believe Buono will make some changes to his coaching staff.

Its a short time horizon now, not a long one and Buono will be willing to forsake sychophancy for talent at the assistant coaching level. Hervey wil help shoulder some of the responsibiltity and serve as a buffer for any changes at the assistant coaching level.

What's good? Buono was willing to give up the GM's duties in order to win this season. He could have remained GM and let the next regime select the next GM. Buono remains in control but gives up some duties. We likley get a better GM than Wally in that position for 2018. We also get a coach who is so desperate to leave the game with a winning record and a successful season that he is even willing to make changes to his coaching staff.

That means this season will be less same old, same old.

What is the bad? We, the fans, get Buono back as Head Coach. The players get Buono back as Head Coach. That means we will get some of the the same dum things from him as we have in the past.

But the positive (and I'm trying hard here) is that Buono has proven he can win if he has both of the followiing and he needs both. They are 1) superior talent and 2) good assistant coaching underneath him.

Hervey can bring in the talent. Some changes in scheme at the assistant coaching level could be enough for a successful season. Buono would have to allow for those changes.

But Buono has allowed for changes in certain situations in the past. He allowed Dave Ritchie to use an, aggressive, complex defense from 2005-2007. He allowed Hufnagel, in the role of consultant, to make changes to the offence in 2007 and implement a run first offence.

In 2011, he allowed Chap to make changes to the offence after going 1-6 and he allowed Benevedes to go with a defensive line rotation at the same time, something he had been reluctant to do before.

Change doesn't happen for Buono easily. In terms of flexibility, he is like a 2x4. But a 2x4 will bend, even if not easily. Buono wants to win badly this season. Whether a winning season or a losing season again would have much impact on Buono;s legacy is not important. Its how Buono sees it and not how we see it or others see it, that is important.

Buono, by making the move to Hervey and being willing to make changes to his coaching staff, shows me how desperately he wants to win this season in order to go out on top.

That is what gives me hope for 2018. Nothing was going to change unless Buono was willing to be the change. That either meant he retired as Head Coach/GM or did things differently. It looks like he wants to do things differently. If this was a long term decison to remain as Head Coach I would be much more against it. Buono always reverts to norm, to his default mindset.

But he can change for short periods of time. This will be a better season than last. We have a lot of talent. Hervey will shore up our weak areas, such as the offensive and defensive line.
As Lowell Ullrich wrote: "Its Hervey's eye for talent that is most appetizing and gives the Lions their best reason to think an on-field turnaround is possible".
So, with a new year just around the corner there are things to look forward to - a new GM and the Buono era finally coming to an end after one more season.... and the 2018 season may even turn out to be a good one.
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In an article by JJ Adams in today's The Province he indicates Wally reached out to Hervey to gauge his interest in coming to BC as GM a few months ago. http://theprovince.com/sports/football/ ... cfl-jungle Unless one wants to take Hervey's word as being questionable it appears Buono remaining as HC was Ed's idea. Hervey says he wanted Buono to stay as HC one more year and may not have come to BC had Wally declined. Those comments tell a couple of things. First off Wally knew change had to happen with the results being in the works well before the season ended. Second he had determined that a change at GM was the first necessary move. Thirdly Hervey wanted Buono to coach the club in 2018. It's hard to say if Hervey really would have declined the opportunity without Wally staying on as coach but suffice it to say it appears it was Ed who made that a condition of him coming to BC, not Wally. Personally I had thought if Wally was to shuck hats he would've started with HC then worked his way up. So I'm somewhat surprised that it was the middle hat that went. Perhaps it was his original intention to just be VP until Hervey asked him to stay as coach.

As for why would Wally want to accept the HC job Blitz perhaps there are similarities to Pat Quinn. Quinn originally came to the Canucks as President and GM after successful coaching stints with Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Because of the way Quinn had departed the Kings the NHL had banned him from coaching for 4 years. Once the ban was lifted he went back behind the bench where he'd remain for another 6 years. After Vancouver he went on to a mostly successful 8 year run as coach and GM in Toronto. Along the way Quinn would coach Team Canada in 2 Olympics, a World Cup, Spengler Cup, World U18 & World U20 Championships before finishing with one disappointing year with the Edmonton Oilers. Quinn no doubt like being in charge of all aspects of hockey ops, as Buono has enjoyed since early in his Calgary days. Through it all however it was widely known Quinn's real passion was coaching. He loved being behind the bench far more than being behind his desk. Career coaches love coaching. Maybe Wally is hanging on for one last hurrah doing what he's enjoyed most and for the first time since 1991 getting to do it without the added pressures and commitment of also being the GM.

One other interesting little comment slipped into Adams' article:
“I believe in both quarterbacks,” he added of Jon Jennings and Travis Lulay, both of whom are returning.
“Both have had success in this league, and we want to make sure that whoever our quarterback is, we’re able to protect him. We have to keep our quarterbacks upright and healthy, and that starts up front.
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Sir Purrcival
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maxlion wrote:
Sat Dec 02, 2017 7:17 pm
Sir Purrcival wrote:
Sat Dec 02, 2017 6:23 pm
You know, for someone who is supposed to be a catch, he seems to have been a loose ends for awhile. I really don't know how good he is but you might think that if he has that much of a cachet around the league, he would have been snapped up far more quickly.
He was let go by Edmonton less than 8 months ago. Since that time there have been a grand total of zero GM vacancies in the league.
Has it only been that long? I thought he had been gone from them far longer than that. Oh well, time flies....
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Hervey certainly has a good, if not excellent, track record with getting talented guys into the league and on the Eskimos roster. Guys like Walker, Zylstra, Reilly, etc.

But a couple of aspects to his tenure as Eskimos GM were not on such a successful footing.

I think you can describe the Edmonton OLIne as an overall unit, not particularly awe-inspiring during his reign. Certainly there have been years where Reilly had to run for his life just to stay in one piece.

Also his record in building a solid roster of Canadian talent via the draft is not easily pigeon-holed. The 2015 draft the Esks only had 5 selections (3 of which are still with the team) and in 2016 only 2 of their 6 selections remain on the squad and one (Doug Corby) retired 2 days into his first camp. Maybe not so different than other CFL clubs but there seems to be a dearth of selections during his reign. Not certain if those limited numbers were due to Hervey trading away picks.
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Hambone wrote:
Sun Dec 03, 2017 11:09 am
Quinn no doubt like being in charge of all aspects of hockey ops, as Buono has enjoyed since early in his Calgary days. Through it all however it was widely known Quinn's real passion was coaching. He loved being behind the bench far more than being behind his desk. Career coaches love coaching. Maybe Wally is hanging on for one last hurrah doing what he's enjoyed most and for the first time since 1991 getting to do it without the added pressures and commitment of also being the GM.
This is my sense too, just reading between the lines.

I understand the concerns some have expressed about Buono not being able to let go of the reins. I also wasn't really in favour of Buono returning. I felt he deserved a break, and that the franchise needed a refresh. His previous attempts at transitioning didn't work out so well. But having Hervey in place gives me some confidence for the future. It will be an interesting year.
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Matt Sekeres (and Blake Price) conduct a wonderful 25-minute interview with Wally. It is really worth a listen to both understand the upcoming roles and hierarchy, and develop insight into Wally Buono's complex psyche.* Let's just say that even though Matt has a solid relationship with Wally, he does not lob him any softballs.

https://www.tsn.ca/radio/audio/buono-i- ... e-1.931164


* @4:14. After being conciliatory almost to the point of being deferential to Ed, comes this nugget:

BP: ...and the GM says we need so and so; I want "Steve Johnson" and you've seen "Steve Johnson" - not the biggest fan - do you guys end up with "Steve Johnson?"

WB: Well if we come out of the room after we have a slug fest....I'm going to say to you that Ed is going to win a lot of them, and I might win the occasional one...


:shock:

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Wally's motivations for returning as HC, but not GM?

I am sure Braley wanted him back.

I expect Hervey wanted him back.

This does make for a possibly smooth transition.

We speculate because the arrangement is odd, and because that is what some fans do. Analyze. Speculate. Predict.

Does Wally still love coaching? Could be. But I think his loyalty, to Braley and to the Lions, is his primary motivation. His health and his body are probably saying it is time to go. One more year? Not so bad. A good group of players. Good staff support. One more kick at the can, and then freedom. Having Hervey on board, not taking complete control at once, makes it easier to say no to Braley for 2019, if Braley is tempted to ask once again.

My speculation ...
.........

2018? More of the same systems? We hear some rumblings about change. Staff changes? Wally letting go? It would bring some excitement if we let 'er rip. Attacking defence. LOL Yeah, right. Detailed, fresh, creative game plans.

We will see ...
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As for why would Wally want to accept the HC job Blitz perhaps there are similarities to Pat Quinn. Hambone
Sorry and respectfully Hambone but I have a hard time seeing it as Buono hires Hervey who then asks Buono to coach this season. Of course, that would also have meant that if Hervey would have preferred a different Head Coach, Buono would have just remained as VP.

Buono was coming back as Head Coach this season. I don't question that at all. I also don't believe that Hervey would have been hired as GM if Hervey had not wanted Buono to coach this season. Hervey can say all the righ things but I just cannot buy the scenario that Buono hires Hervey and then Hervey asks Buono to be the Head Coach this season. That would have been part of the discussions before Hervey was hired.

Buono had numerous choices

1. Retire completely
2. Remain as GM and Head Coach and VP
3. Remain only as VP
4. Remain only as GM and Hire a Head Coach
5. Remain as Head Coach and retire as GM and VP
6. Remain as Head Coach and retire as GM and keep the VP position.

Buono chose option 6 - remain as Head Coach and VP but drop the GM job.

How many Head Coaches have you ever heard of that are the VP and hire the GM, and then remain as the VP?

The entire scenario is one in which Buono retains control while having a GM do the work that Buono does not want to do. Obviously he wants to focus on being the Head Coach.

When Pat Quinn decided to just go behind the bench and coach, he didn't have any other duties nor was he the boss of his GM and the conduit to the owner. Basically Wally wanted the best of both worlds - to focus solely on coaching in his last season, to have a GM with proven success bring in the talent, while Buono still really heads up the operation here in B.C. without the additional load of trying to upgrade the talent.

Obviously Buono has confidence in Hervey that he can do that for Buono's last season. Once the team is sold, the new owners can either keep Hervey or get rid of him.

Most GM's want to choose their own Head Coach. But Hervey knows its only for one season. Even if Hervey could have hired his own Head Coach, which I don't believe he ever had the power to for this season, it would have been lower risk for Hervey to keep Buono as the Head Coach for his last season.

The optics of dumping Buono and hiring his own Head Coach would have been a much risker proposition. So Hervey saying he wanted Buono to return as Head Coach probably wasn't a choice but even if the choice had been there, it wouldn't have been much of a choice for Hervey anyway. So, for Hervey, why not say he wanted Buono to coach.

I highly doubt that Hervey would have turned down a GM position if the Head Coach of the team would not remain for one last season. That doesn't make common sense to me.

Ask yourself, would you turn down a great opportunity (especially if they don't come along often) for a job, when you are presently out of work in the position, if your foreman would not remain in his job for one more year.

It would be very rare for anyone to do that. Most people would take the job and either hire a new foreman or keep the present foreman for one year, knowing that you could choose your own man one year later.

The concept that Buono is such a great coach, coming off a season in which we had a ton of talent and he didn't even make the playoffs and the new GM will only take the job if Buono remains sounds like something out of the Buono PR machine - in other words he is so 'legendary' that everyone in the organization is desperate to have him back for 2018.

Well they can count one person who was not desperate to have Buono back and for many good reasons. While I don't buy the b.s. I do think that the scenario for 2018 is a hell of a lot better than if Buono had remained as both GM and HC.

Hervey will bring in some quality free agents. Buono only got some supplental free agents last season and hardly one of them worked out. Hervey will fill the holes better than Buono, in terms of both free agency and his scouting system.

Our Leos players and management could be holding the 2018 Grey Cup next November. Wally could be returned to legendary status again, as he was in 2011. Still, I will be relieved to see him gone at the end of 2018.

Until then I will be cheering for our Leos, for Hervey, and even for Buono to be successful in 2018. But I look forward even more to 2019, when we have someone else other than Buono leading us on the sidelines.
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Thanks David, for recommending the link to the Matt/Wally radio interview. Much appreciated.

Both gentlemen (Matt & Wally) do a real good job of communicating throughout IMO, and it was nice to hear Wally's nod to the fans -- him knowing that we're hungry for an understanding of the new situation, and deserving of candid explanations.

I'm looking forward to the unfolding 'play-by-play' of 2018 both on-field and off-field. I think the Ed & Wally show will be newsworthy (not so much for "slug-fests" as for good solid team results) -- one way or another! I'm anticipating a happy outcome even if the dust gets kicked up now and again along the way -- and by that I mean a very highly competitive and much much more entertaining series of games through the season.

I anticipate a lot of thrills, and can't see why we can't be in the mix post-season. I say that because I believe these gentlemen (call me naive if you want) are not solely or even primarily ego-driven in this new venture--at least not at the expense of the football community -- us fans. I prefer to put an upbeat spin on the upcoming story. This from someone's whose never been that much of a Wally apologist, neither a past fan of Mr. Hervey who I perhaps mistook as a sour character. I'm fully prepared to be swayed! And if the sparks do fly -- well, that's entertainment too.
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