Bryan Chiu fired, replaced by Kelly Bates

[SammyGreene]

Some smart poster on here predicted this might happen. Forget who it was

The BC Lions Football Club today announced that offensive line coach Bryan Chiu has been relieved of his coaching duties.

The club also announced that Kelly Bates has been added to the staff as offensive line coach.

Bates began his career with the Lions as a player in 2001 after being selected by the club in the 4th round of the CFL Draft. The former Vanier Cup champion from the University of Saskatchewan played seven seasons for the Lions before moving on to stints with Edmonton and Winnipeg in 2009 and 2010.

He returned to the Lions in 2011 as an offensive assistant and coached the team’s stable of running backs through the 2014 season before being named head coach at Simon Fraser University, a post he held through 2017. Bates most recently served as quality control coach with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2018.

[B.C.FAN]

Good move. Something had to be done. I don't know if the O-line play will improve under Bates but it can't get much worse, and the problem is not lack of talent.

Chiu is a nice guy and a fellow Vancouver College alum who was happy to come home and be close to family. I hope he finds another opportunity.

[SammyGreene]

And they hopefully go back to starting 4 nationals. Ridiculous to be starting only 2 when it was easily their best national depth. Insert Pierson again and get his career back on track. Hunter Steward too and give Knevel some game reps.

It just can't be any worse that it has been.

[TheLionKing]

Taylor Atillio couldn't be too far behind.

[David]

And they hopefully go back to starting 4 nationals. Ridiculous to be starting only 2 when it was easily their best national depth. Insert Pierson again and get his career back on track. Hunter Steward too and give Knevel some game reps.

It just can't be any worse that it has been.

Haven't seen enough from Norman or Renfroe (especially the latter) to make them more attractive than Nationals. Any word on when Godber will be ready?

Something had to be done. 10 different O-linemen have seen game action this year, including 2 All-Stars and 2 that have spent significant time on NFL rosters. Yes, Reilly has a tendency to hold onto the ball too long and Whyte has clearly missed some blocking assignments, but we should not be this bad! Not even close.


DH

[B.C.FAN]

Haven't seen enough from Norman or Renfroe (especially the latter) to make them more attractive than Nationals. Any word on when Godber will be ready?

Godber is eligible to come off the IR on Sept. 21 but I haven’t heard an update on his recovery.

[JohnnyMusso]

Following his team’s latest loss, head coach DeVone Claybrooks promised the Lions would undergo a full examination during the upcoming bye week and every coaching and playing position would be reviewed.

Does that mean changes are coming not only with the roster but with the coaching staff. Bryan Chiu may be in trouble. OL gives up another 7 sack game and over 40 on the season and could hit 100, if this trend continues.

I suggested that Bryan Chiu may be in trouble when news of full examination coming, but still surprised he was fired. I thought they would wait till the off season. But clearly with the coaching cap in place, Lions had the room to fire 1 guy and replace him and Chiu becomes the fall guy. Lions have invested big money on the OL and it has been a failure. Sorry to see a guy lose his job, but had to made a change for Reilly getting killed out there. Likely Bates just signed on for rest of year and is auditioning for next year.

I think Taylor A is safe for rest of year, for likely Lions cannot afford to fire 2 guys, but in the offseason, I expect more firings to come. This is just the beginning.

[RoDun]

Such a good player, I doubt he will ever coach again

[don corleone]

They had to do something. Chiu drew the short straw. I have his autographed jersey.

From a guy not watching as closely as most of you it seems not re-signing Jovan Olafioye may have been as much a miss as letting Elimimian go. Seemed like he was one of the leaders and complimented Jo El Figueroa nicely. Nice try with Boyko but a step back imo. Small plus with the N status.

Good luck getting it worked out. Hoping for a strong second half for the Lions.

[Belize City Lion]

Hopefully a road map and an apple are waiting for Atillio next.

[Dusty]

I don't know if firing Chiu will have an immediate impact on the performance of the O-line, but my goodness, it could hardly get worse. I was watching the coaches on the sidelines during the last home game and Chiu showed a lot of frustration as things unraveled. I also didn't see him spending a lot of time huddling up with his O-line as the game progressed. Granted that "huddling" or coaching up during the game could have happened when I wasn't looking at the sidelines, but he seemed to give the impression of being on an "island".... apart from the players and other coaches.

This year certainly can't have gone the way that Chiu envisioned prior to training camp. For whatever reason, the play of the O-line has not picked up.

Perhaps Bates will be able to bring some accountability and discipline to the group. And perhaps now some players who showed OK in the brief playing time that they had can get longer looks.

[Hambone]

They had to do something. Chiu drew the short straw. I have his autographed jersey.

From a guy not watching as closely as most of you it seems not re-signing Jovan Olafioye may have been as much a miss as letting Elimimian go. Seemed like he was one of the leaders and complimented Jo El Figueroa nicely. Nice try with Boyko but a step back imo. Small plus with the N status.

Good luck getting it worked out. Hoping for a strong second half for the Lions.

I like and respect JO a ton. I have his game worn jersey and helmet from 2016. For the most part he was pretty good last year but was clearly no longer the all-star calibre tackle he once was. Last year in BC and 2017 in Montreal he was showing that his best years were behind him. In the end it was probably a case of not being able to fit what it might have cost to keep him under the SMS. As it was he was a free agent for 2 months before finally announcing his retirement, perhaps a sign that all the other teams recognized he wasn't the player he used to be or at least was not going to provide value for what it would take to sign him.

[Gridiron Ernie]

Could it be that the frustration Chiu was reportedly showing on the sidelines last game was as much as anything to do with the handicap of trying to successfully operate his O-line within the offensive (looking at you--OC Jarious) scheme? There's gotta be a significant negative trickle-down effect to the position coaches. I feel for them.

So I will be keenly interested to see if plugging in Kelly Bates (who I'm quite pleased to have in the Lions' den again) can make a significant difference, given that nothing's changed above him. Although, Jarious has shown intermittent willingness to make adjustments and get creative, there's no indication of a consistent steady progress in that direction.

Just fleeting teasing glimpses that slightly get my hopes up only to come crashing down with the full weight of disappointment--and the 300 odd lbs of the opponent's defensive tackle on me (so to speak) and my QB. I really don't buy it that those 43-and-counting sacks were due to the now-departed Mr. Chiu. But that said, if Kelly can work some magic I'll be as happy as anyone.

[DanoT]

I have always been a big Kelly Bates fan, in part because he is well spoken (and sometimes outspoken as a player) and a very good communicator. I was thinking a short while ago that Chiu would not be back next year and was wondering what Bates was doing.

So we will find out sooner than later whether my faith in Kelly Bates is justified.

[KnightofCydonia]

Would have rather seen Jarious Jackon go.

Ahh well. Here's hoping that this will at least shake things up for the players. Something had to change.

Wish Chiu the best.