Jeff Tedford resigns to pursue NCAA jobs, Wally Buono returns as B.C. head coach

After one year, the Jeff Tedford experiment is over. The B.C. Lions announced Tuesday morning that Tedford was resigning as head coach to pursue NCAA opportunities, with general manager Wally Buono returning to the team's head-coaching role as well. That means Tedford's time as a CFL head coach has ended after just one season, a 7-11 mark, and a first-round playoff exit. That's a lot less than many had hoped for around his big, splashy hire last fall, and while Tedford did show some potential near the end of the season and quite likely would have kept his job for at least the coming year if he'd wanted it, this departure won't be mourned too heavily by many Lions' fans. Indeed, there's a good chance the team will be better off going forward with Buono as both general manager and head coach.

Tedford initially returned to the CFL (where he found some early success as a player and as a coach before heading to the NCAA) with a lot of fanfare last December as head coach of the B.C. Lions, but his results were mixed at best. The Lions were 9-9 with a first-round playoff exit in 2014, prompting them to fire Mike Benevides and bring in Tedford, but they regressed further to 7-11 with a first-round playoff exit this year. Both of those seasons were marred by quarterback injuries (Benevides had to use backup Kevin Glenn just about all year thanks to Travis Lulay being hurt, while another Lulay injury caused Tedford to go to John Beck and then rookie Jonathon Jennings, who eventually kept the starting job even after Lulay returned), and both had the potential to be better, but it's hard to say the Lions are further ahead now than they were at the end of 2014. That's not all necessarily on Tedford, as some of it is thanks to aging, attrition and Buono's personnel decisions, but he didn't do a ton to make this team better.

Rather, some of Tedford's coaching decisions may have played a role in the Lions' struggles. Particularly early in the season, he seemed to have a tough time adapting to the CFL game, not surprising considering that he hadn't coached in the league since 1991. What was most unusual there was how Tedford's offensive strategies didn't look much like the famed "six-pack" receiver-focused offence he brought in to the CFL in collaboration with Buono and current Calgary GM John Hufnagel in the early 1990s, but rather a lot of pro sets with fullbacks and tight ends that seemed much more suited to the NCAA and NFL levels he'd coached at. There were also plenty of game-management challenges, which permitted other teams to pull off some remarkable comebacks, such as Toronto's 30-27 win after trailing 21-0 on July 24.

Over time, Tedford (and offensive coordinator George Cortez, a CFL veteran) seemed to figure things out a bit better, learning when it worked to throw in those kinds of wrinkles and when it didn't, and the Lions did show some potential down the stretch. Still, the slow start cost them; B.C. went 3-5 before Labour Day, with two wins over basement-dwelling Saskatchewan (and, weirdly enough, one over eventual Grey Cup champion Edmonton). The end of the season wasn't perfect, either; yes, the Lions played the Eskimos close again in Week 17 and clinched a playoff berth with wins over Hamilton and Toronto in Weeks 18 and 19, but they fell flat in both the regular-season finale and the playoff game against Calgary. It's possible that year two under Tedford might have gone much smoother, especially with Jennings starting to emerge as a capable CFL quarterback, but it's also possible that it would have carried as many or more struggles.

Having Buono return to the sidelines makes some sense; the head coach/GM role can be difficult to pull off well, but he's held it before (and won five Grey Cups in that role, in both Calgary and B.C.), and the advantage of it is that the team has a singular vision from the personnel and coaching sides. Buono also certainly knows the CFL, so there's less of a learning curve there than there was with Tedford. It's going to be interesting to see what he does with coordinators (Mark Washington seems likely to stay on as DC, but there are more questions about Cortez's future), and this could still be a difficult year as the Lions likely look to transition to Jennings as season-opening starter (Lulay is a free agent, and it's unclear if B.C. wants to bring him back, but if they do, it may be as a backup). Buono's own future, and that of the team, is also uncertain; his deal expires after 2016, and owner David Braley is trying to sell the team, so new ownership may want some changes. Still, while Tedford accomplished some things during his time with the Lions (and his development of Jennings in particular deserves plaudits; Tedford has always been known for developing quarterbacks, including Aaron Rodgers at Cal), B.C. may be in a better spot with Buono returning to the sidelines. A return to the NCAA (likely as a big program's OC, but perhaps as a smaller one's head coach) makes plenty of sense for Tedford, and probably will pay him more and carry less challenges, but it also could work out well for the Lions.

In other notable coaching moves around the league, there's lots of talk about the Saskatchewan Roughriders making Edmonton Eskimos' head coach (and Grey Cup champion) Chris Jones a big-money offer to be both head coach and general manager. That could present an interesting conundrum for Jones; does he stick with a championship team and a limited role where he's not in full charge of personnel, or does he take a big-money, big-role offer with a team that went 3-15 this year and likely needs a large-scale rebuild (and operates in a market where a former coach said "rebuilding seasons don't exist")? That's certainly going to be a story to watch. Calgary's changes are worth mentioning, too: John Hufnagel's decision to focus on the GM role and Dave Dickenson's ascension to HC has led to staff changes, with defensive coordinator Rich Stubler on the way out (and perhaps headed to Toronto). Keep an eye on Winnipeg, too, as they're pursuing some interesting offensive coordinators after firing Marcel Bellefeuille; TSN's Paul LaPolice has been discussed a lot, but another notable option is Saskatchewan's Jacques Chapdelaine, if whoever winds up as Riders' head coach doesn't want him to stick around. The coaching carousel's going to continue to spin for some time...