BC Lions Thread

[jerrym]

Buono rounded out his coaching staff today with only 2 coaches in the same position as last year and several new ones.

GM Wally Buono, back as head coach of the Lions for the first time since 2011, has his entire coaching staff in place now. Adam Blasetti (RB coach) and other new hires were officially introduced at a news conference Tuesday in the team’s locker-room.
Defensive coordinator Mark Washington and defensive line coach Robin Ross are the only holdovers returning to last year’s positions. Khari Jones has been promoted from receivers coach to offensive coordinator while Dan Dorazio is back after a one-year stint with the Saskatchewan Roughriders as offensive line coach. He replaces Doug Malone, who has moved on to become the offensive coordinator at Western Illinois. Marcel Bellefeuille, let go as offensive coordinator of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, takes over as the receivers coach, Marcello Simmons is the special teams coordinator and Chris Tormey takes over from Johnny Holland as linebackers coach. Holland, who expressed a desire to look for NFL opportunities at the end of last season, was hired Monday by the Cleveland Browns and will coach the inside linebackers on the staff of new head coach Hue Jackson.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/b...266/story.html

[jerrym]

Like every other general manager in the Canadian Football League, Wally Buono builds through the draft, finds overlooked or under-appreciated talent at free-agent camps and takes calculated risks on the occasional castoff. He has never been one to take the elastic band off the cheque book for a sign-anyone approach when free agency starts. Indeed, with the off-season signings of receiver Manny Arceneaux, right tackle Jovan Olafioye, defensive back Ryan Phillips, starting guard Kirby Fabien, wide receiver Shawn Gore and others, he already feels he’s locked up starters and impact players who would have been premium free agents had they gone on the open market. The official stampede begins Tuesday at 9 a.m.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/f...ons/index.html

[jerrym]

Although Buono lost arguably the most important free agent in Andrew Harris, as well as Pascal Lochard and Alex Hoffman-Ellis, overall IMO he gained or kept more than he lost with the resigning of Chris Rainey and the addition of Mike Edem, Nick Moore and Brandon Stewart.

Lions defensive coordinator Mark Washington was a big promoter of University of Calgary safety Mike Edem in the 2013 Canadian Football League draft. He never got a chance to coach Edem, however, when the Montreal Alouettes selected the now 26-year-old from Brampton, Ont., third overall, three spots ahead of the Lions.

But Washington’s faith never wavered in Edem, even though his career did. An East Division all-star in his rookie season in Montreal, Edem’s play slipped with the Alouettes and he was traded to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last October.On Tuesday, the first day of Canadian Football League free agency, Edem came to terms with the Lions, who also added receiver Nick Moore from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and cornerback Brandon Stewart, another Tiger-Cat. Both Edem and Stewart signed two-year deals. Moore, who started his CFL career in 2011 with the Lions, signed for a single season. ...


“We’ve improved our team,” Buono said. “Have we made a big splash? That’s not the issue. We made a splash earlier by signing Travis (Lulay) and Chris Rainey. Today was about making our team better and stronger. We had bigger needs than in years past. Because of the loss of (nickelback) Josh Johnson and (cornerback) Steven Clarke (both to the NFL), that resulted in more openings. Trying to improve your Canadian content, with Mike Edem, is another part of it. I still believe his best is yet to come.”

Moore, 29, had his only 1,000-yard season with the Lions in 2013, when he had 73 catches, 1,105 yards and six touchdowns before he bolted for Winnipeg in free agency. He is back — at a reduced ticket from the $185,000-a-year deal he signed with the Blue Bombers.
“The thing I was sensitive to is the coaches went to bat for Nick,” Buono said. “It wasn’t strictly me. When we sat down, we talked about what we wanted to do in free agency, and see how we were going to build our team. The consensus was, over and over again, if we had this kind of receiver, he would definitely help us.”
Moore’s signing received a push from Marcel Bellefeuille, the Lions’ new receivers coach, who was the offensive coordinator last season in Winnipeg.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/L...493/story.html