Head Coach - Lions announce Jeff Tedford as 2015 HC

[JohnHenry]

Question on Tedford...do you take him on as HC if he wants Cortez as his OC?

Absolutely! Is there a reason you wouldn't want Cortez as OC? All the man knows how to do is move the football, as long as he has a competent QB which every OC needs. Saskatchewan was crazy to get rid of him IMO.

Cortez was good enough to coach the Riders offence to the 2013 Grey Cup championship...but I guess he got stupid this season which coincided with having to start Sunseri, Doege and Joseph at QB.

Cortez is a proven winning OC, the Lions would be lucky to get him regardless of who the head coach is.

A couple of tidbits about Tedford, he spent nearly 10 years in the CFL as QB and coach. So he knows the league and it's not like he'd be coming in as a "Bart Andrus" type. He's also married to a Canadian-girl from Alberta, so that might help tip the scales in our favour.

I'd have thought Tedford would command at least a $500,000 salary here. While that's a Trestman-like number, the Lions should open their bank account if necessary and "overpay" to sign him. Tedford brings the credibility to help lead this franchise into a promising future.

[cromartie]

.US College football is UNBELIEVABLY GOOD in every aspect of its game, especially coaching.

Have a seat. Let's watch this Michigan vs. Northwestern game film and see if we can't get you to change your mind on this one.

[cromartie]

Tedford and Cortez?

Sign. Me. Up. Now.

[Sir Purrcival]

So, I guess the million dollar question is "how realistic" are the rumours? There is a lot of time being devoted to some speculation about this man but is there really anything substantive about the likelihood of him actually coming at this point?

[MexicoLionFan]

.US College football is UNBELIEVABLY GOOD in every aspect of its game, especially coaching.

Have a seat. Let's watch this Michigan vs. Northwestern game film and see if we can't get you to change your mind on this one.

Cro, US College football is an outstanding product where the coaching staffs are very well schooled...its a product where the tolerance for losing no longer exists.

[The_Pauser]

So, I guess the million dollar question is "how realistic" are the rumours? There is a lot of time being devoted to some speculation about this man but is there really anything substantive about the likelihood of him actually coming at this point?

Well he's in town, he took a tour of the practice facility, he had dinner with Buono, and reportedly he is using today to look into real estate opportunities in Vancouver. Sounds like a guy who's about to make a move up here.

I'd be shocked if hes not our next head coach. It also sounds as if Khari Jones is done here as an OC. I think Cortez will be our next OC given his past working relationship with Tedford, and I'd be thrilled about that. As others also have noted, Cortez gave LeFevour his start in the CFL. LeFevour is a pending free agent, and we have a huge question mark at our QB spot (bigger than any elsewhere in the league). It makes sense that shortly after Tedford is hired we see Cortez brought in as OC, and either on or shortly after February 15 we see Dan LeFevour signed to a contract.

[pennw]

and reportedly he is using today to look into real estate opportunities in Vancouver.

And it sounds like with what he has already earned in his career he should be able to afford Vancouver real estate no problem .

[TheLionKing]

Question on Tedford...do you take him on as HC if he wants Cortez as his OC?

YES. Yes Cortez can be an obstinate SOB but he knows how to run an offence.

[TheLionKing]

Question on Tedford...do you take him on as HC if he wants Cortez as his OC?

Yeah, I think so. Agree with Ravi. I think they'd make an excellent offensive coaching pair.

Re DC, I think MLF is right in wondering whether Mark Washington is up to the task of building and running a truly suffocating defense.

When he was hired, Washington publicly stated that he wanted an aggressive defence. Right from game 1, Lions did not exhibit any resemblance of an aggressive defence that we were promised which leads me to believe that someone higher up wanted him to run a conservative defence. I personally don't think it was his defence, although he was in charge of it.

[TheLionKing]

.US College football is UNBELIEVABLY GOOD in every aspect of its game, especially coaching.

Have a seat. Let's watch this Michigan vs. Northwestern game film and see if we can't get you to change your mind on this one.

[WestCoastJoe]

News1130 ...

[DanoT]

Question on Tedford...do you take him on as HC if he wants Cortez as his OC?

Absolutely! Is there a reason you wouldn't want Cortez as OC? All the man knows how to do is move the football, as long as he has a competent QB which every OC needs. Saskatchewan was crazy to get rid of him IMO.

Cortez was good enough to coach the Riders offence to the 2013 Grey Cup championship...but I guess he got stupid this season which coincided with having to start Sunseri, Doege and Joseph at QB.

Cortez is a proven winning OC, the Lions would be lucky to get him regardless of who the head coach is.

A couple of tidbits about Tedford, he spent nearly 10 years in the CFL as QB and coach. So he knows the league and it's not like he'd be coming in as a "Bart Andrus" type. He's also married to a Canadian-girl from Alberta, so that might help tip the scales in our favour.

I'd have thought Tedford would command at least a $500,000 salary here. While that's a Trestman-like number, the Lions should open their bank account if necessary and "overpay" to sign him. Tedford brings the credibility to help lead this franchise into a promising future.

Tedford's wife being from Alberta could be a huge factor. It occurs to me that by the time a football coach is in his early 50s like Tedford, his wife might be inclined to step up and say something like, " I've made sacrifices for 30 years to help further your football career so now it is time to let your wife have a bigger say in the next career move".

We will never know for sure but Dickenson's wife, who is from Calgary is likely a big reason for his staying in Calgary.

In a perverse way I am kinda glad that most Rider fans have never gotten over Kent Austin leaving them not once but twice. It is quite likely that Austin's wife could not handle the extreme cold and high winds of the Sask 6 month winter and this could have been a big part of his career decisions.

[Rammer]

Question on Tedford...do you take him on as HC if he wants Cortez as his OC?

Absolutely! Is there a reason you wouldn't want Cortez as OC? All the man knows how to do is move the football, as long as he has a competent QB which every OC needs. Saskatchewan was crazy to get rid of him IMO.

Cortez was good enough to coach the Riders offence to the 2013 Grey Cup championship...but I guess he got stupid this season which coincided with having to start Sunseri, Doege and Joseph at QB.

Cortez is a proven winning OC, the Lions would be lucky to get him regardless of who the head coach is.

A couple of tidbits about Tedford, he spent nearly 10 years in the CFL as QB and coach. So he knows the league and it's not like he'd be coming in as a "Bart Andrus" type. He's also married to a Canadian-girl from Alberta, so that might help tip the scales in our favour.

I'd have thought Tedford would command at least a $500,000 salary here. While that's a Trestman-like number, the Lions should open their bank account if necessary and "overpay" to sign him. Tedford brings the credibility to help lead this franchise into a promising future.

Not sure that the GC was a real win, they played BC with Benevides in charge and should have lost IMO. Then Calgary without the middle of their DL, and that showed as the game went along. Finally, they played Hamilton, and Hamilton just wasn't in the same league as the West. The problem with Cortez's O IMO, is that it doesn't suggest to me that it is going to go out and win a game, just manage a game. That only works as long as your running game can help pull the O forward. Add to that the players not caring for Cortez and you have some difficulty selling that package to me.

[Lions4ever]

News1130

Jay "Coach Killer" Cutler. What a guy.

[cromartie]

I'm not sure where this "Wally isn't doing due diligence" is coming from. He talked to Dickenson, who wasn't coming. He talked to LaPolice. He asked Hamilton for permission to talk to Steinhauer, who denied him. He talked to Jeff Garcia. He talked to Danny Barrett. How many more candidates in two weeks would you have liked him to talk to?

And now that I've made that point, let me save you the response. Jeff Tedford was released from his contract a couple of months ago. One could argue that Wally should have been aware of this already, or should have worked with a consultant that helped him vet candidates who would have known this.

I think those of you who have doubted Wally's capacity for change will be quite surprised. If nothing else, he's a survivor for a reason, and Tedford has the resume to stand up to Wally, whereas MB did not, you know?

That said, we'll see how that translates to assistant coaches as, at least in my mind, McMann and Dorazio are well past their expiry date.

And now that I've made that point, I'll remind you that when Wally walked in the door here, he didn't necessarily clean house right away. He brought some of his guys along, the ones we've come to know and, uh love, but Burratto was on that staff the first two years and Paul Arslanian stuck around to coach the defense in 2003. So I wouldn't assume the sky is falling if McMann and Dorazio aren't shown the door 30 seconds after Tedford is hired. I would be upset if they're still here after next season, however. Though, like the rest of you, I'm hoping they aren't.