Benevides Fired

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sj-roc
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Just confirmed by Sekeres on 1040 who says he heard it from MB himself.

Not unexpected to say the least.

EDIT: from LU: B.C. Lions to fire head coach Mike Benevides

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/footb ... story.html

Excerpt:
An uneven season coupled with two previous years of decline and growing fan unrest has prompted the B.C. Lions to make a change involving head coach Mike Benevides.

The Province has learned the club is making plans to announce the firing of the third-year coach after a 9-9 season in which quarterbacking and injuries played a key factor leading to a disastrous final month.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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almo89
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I wonder of Lapo gets a look.
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WestCoastJoe
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Well there it is.

Not a surprise.

And I would expect Wally to contact Dave Dickenson after the playoffs. Will Dave D take the HC job? Wally will have to give up a lot of control.

Such a hiring would give hope to this franchise.

Faint hope of the hiring? Dunno ...

.........

Best wishes to Mike Benevides. By all accounts a terrific guy. He was in a no win position. Following a legend. Wally never gave up control of the team, which has to be in the hands of the Head Coach.

.........

First and foremost, Wally Buono is a survivor. This move had to be made, or Wally was on the rocks too.
..........

Now, does Wally reinstate himself? Many of the fans do not want to go back in time.
..........

And, if John Hufnagel moves himself upstairs, in order to keep Dave Dickenson, then the future is less clear for the Lions.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

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Rammer
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sj-roc wrote:Just confirmed by Sekeres on 1040 who says he heard it from MB himself.

Not unexpected to say the least.

EDIT: from LU: B.C. Lions to fire head coach Mike Benevides

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/footb ... story.html

Excerpt:
An uneven season coupled with two previous years of decline and growing fan unrest has prompted the B.C. Lions to make a change involving head coach Mike Benevides.

The Province has learned the club is making plans to announce the firing of the third-year coach after a 9-9 season in which quarterbacking and injuries played a key factor leading to a disastrous final month.

Actually I would say I find it unexpected, he seemed to have the Wally safe net around him. That is the first thing that was needed for the off season and good on Wally for getting it done as quickly as he has. Best of luck to Benevides who served the Lions well in other capacities during his time here. I am sure he will land on his feet quickly.
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The_Pauser
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WestCoastJoe wrote:Well there it is.

Not a surprise.

And I would expect Wally to contact Dave Dickenson after the playoffs. Will Dave D take the HC job? Wally will have to give up a lot of control.

Such a hiring would give hope to this franchise.

Faint hope of the hiring? Dunno ...

.........

Best wishes to Mike Benevides. By all accounts a terrific guy. He was in a no win position. Following a legend. Wally never gave up control of the team, which has to be in the hands of the Head Coach.
I don't think DD is an option. Worth a shot for sure, but I just get the feeling that he's resorted to staying in Calgary and is just waiting for Hufnagel to make the move upstairs and will take over as HC of the Stamps. Granted, if we could get him here it would be a great hiring, I just think it's a long shot.

I also would seriously keep an eye on the Trestman situation in Chicago, though again, another long shot (if not an even bigger long shot than DD).

I hope that Buono takes some time and evaluates all possible candidates. I don't want a quick fix here.

I do feel bad for Benny though. I've had the chance to talk to him a few times and he is a really great human being. I wouldn't be surprised to see him resurface somewhere in the league as a DC, and then get a shot as a HC sometime down the road again. Hopefully the lessons learned from his time as the BC HC will make him that much better in the future.
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A letter from Wally to season ticketholders:
Today, we made the very difficult decision to relieve Mike Benevides of his duties as Head Coach of the BC Lions.

Our football team experienced a very tumultuous season in 2014. Still, we believe as an organization that the team was capable of more than what we accomplished in the regular season and in the playoffs. In short, we underperformed and failed to meet both our own expectations and the expectations of our fans.

Mike is a very good coach as well as an outstanding husband and father. His commitment and loyalty to our organization was endless and we wish him the very best in the future.

Success in football is measured each week however, and we cannot lose sight of the fact that we owe our fans, sponsors and partners nothing but the highest quality product on the field.

The 2014 football season ended for our club on the afternoon of Sunday, November 16th and our work to win a championship has begun.

On behalf of our owner David Braley, our President & CEO Dennis Skulsky, and the entire BC Lions organization, I thank you for your continued support of our organization and I look forward to our success in 2015.
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Ullrich: B.C. Lions to fire head coach Mike Benevides


By LOWELL ULLRICH, The Province November 20, 2014 11:01 AM

Ullrich: B.C. Lions to fire head coach Mike Benevides


B.C. Lions head coach Mike Benevides ponders a season gone wrong Monday in Surrey.

Photograph by: JONATHAN HAYWARD , THE CANADIAN PRESS

An uneven season coupled with two previous years of decline and growing fan unrest has prompted the B.C. Lions to make a change involving head coach Mike Benevides.

The Province has learned the club is making plans to announce the firing of the third-year coach after a 9-9 season in which quarterbacking and injuries played a key factor leading to a disastrous final month.

The Lions were three games over .500 at one point this year but couldn’t generate sufficient offence under quarterback Kevin Glenn, and their defence wore down during the latter stages of the year.

Benevides was the hand-picked protégé of general manager Wally Buono, who retired from coaching after winning the 2011 Grey Cup. The Lions went on to post a 13-5 season in Benevides’ inaugural year in 2012 after being elevated from defensive coordinator.

But the Lions, who went 11-7 last year, never won a playoff game under Benevides and the club this season couldn’t withstand injuries to key players like Travis Lulay, Andrew Harris and Courtney Taylor.

Benevides had two years remaining on an extension given to him by the club prior to the start of this season, but president Dennis Skulsky said earlier this week that the Lions would not allow finances to stand in the way.

Buono said earlier this week in a news conference he would be prepared to coach on an interim basis if needed, but by making the change during the off-season the Lions job will become attractive to a wider group of candidates, a good number of whom are still employed as assistants in this weekend’s CFL division finals.
Lullrich@theprovince.com
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Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

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Rammer
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almo89 wrote:I wonder of Lapo gets a look.
Well he turned down the OC position, he had to have legit reasons for that and I wonder if they have changed. Plus one concern could have been Wally himself, that doesn't appear to be changing. It is going to be an interesting period for speculation on who may become HC.

You have to wonder if it happening so quickly, that Wally has his eye on a specific candidate and wants to be first to the punch.
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Hambone
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So much for the theory that Buono would either somehow justify retaining Benevides or at minimum drag his feet until after Hawaii to make the call.
Last edited by Hambone on Thu Nov 20, 2014 11:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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MexicoLionFan
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sj-roc wrote:Just confirmed by Sekeres on 1040 who says he heard it from MB himself.

Not unexpected to say the least.
Thanks SJ...MB is a nice guy and was put into a VERY DIFFICULT situation by Wally, but he went along with it...he knew what he was getting into and wasn't able to thrive in this unusual set up. MB needed to go, ALONG WITH MOST OF THE STAFF...

Here's the kicker, if Wally thinks that he can just step back into it, hire a new OC and everything will be "ticket-boo" he's flat out WRONG! Benny failed because he wasn't an X's and O's coach leading a staff who also struggled with systems and strategies...while the rest of the CFL teams have become a collection of SMART Tacticians that come up with unique game plans for each opponent and their styles. They also adjust to what the opposition is doing, so its tough to "run away" on CFL teams now...Wally has no idea as to how to compete on this level, similar to Dorazio and McMann...whether Washington had his hands tied or not and ultimately knows better, I really can't say...his comments after Sunday's game suggest that he does know better but was forced into Vanilla systems BY SOMEONE??? Does this change is Wally is now the coach??? I doubt it...

Step One is complete, but Step Two is the all important moment for the Lions...if we don't go out and find the best possible staff to compete with the rest of the league, then we are going to get left behind, and be given front row seats to Wally's own version of Custer's Last Stand...

I wish the best to MB, but if he wants to become a good coach he now needs to start his journey by discovering the depths of football at all levels in all leagues...
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almo89
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Rammer wrote:
almo89 wrote:I wonder of Lapo gets a look.
Well he turned down the OC position, he had to have legit reasons for that and I wonder if they have changed. Plus one concern could have been Wally himself, that doesn't appear to be changing. It is going to be an interesting period for speculation on who may become HC.

You have to wonder if it happening so quickly, that Wally has his eye on a specific candidate and wants to be first to the punch.
Ya I was quite surprised how fast he made the decision. I was expecting him to go on his annual vacation first.
jmc24
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Please give up on the Dave Dickensen idea. He is simply NOT coming here. Having said that , I have no idea who is. Lapo? No thanks. Time to go off the board and get someone fresh. Surprise the hell out of us Wally
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SammyGreene
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Hallelujah

My hunch is Wally's first call is to Dave Dickenson forcing Hufnagel to promote him to head coach if that is what the Stamps plan is along.
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B.C.FAN
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It looks like there will be no further moves until a new coach is in place:
News1130 Sports ‏@News1130Sports ·
Been told the new coach will decide the fate of the rest of the coaching staff. No more firings.
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WestCoastJoe
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B.C.FAN wrote:It looks like there will be no further moves until a new coach is in place:
News1130 Sports ‏@News1130Sports ·
Been told the new coach will decide the fate of the rest of the coaching staff. No more firings.
New coach. I like the sound of that.

And a new coach means change of staff. With respect for the hard work of our coaches, we need new blood.
...............

I would not be surprised if Hufnagel does move himself upstairs. Allowing Dave Dickenson to come back to the Lions, or any other team, would just not make good football sense, it seems to me. You can't let a guy like that go.

If Hufnagel lets Dickenson go, then Hufnagel feels he himself is game for a few years yet.

Dickenson has already had offers. He can be a Head Coach pretty much any year he wants.

I would not be surprised, if the Stampeders were to win the Cup, to see Dickenson promoted to Head Coach of the Stampeders. Maybe even if they do not win the Cup. Calgary should not let him slip away.

(finished editing)
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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