List of BC Lions head coaches

Wally Buono is the Lions' all-time leader in wins and is the only head coach to win two Grey Cups with the Lions.

The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and are members of the West Division in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The franchise was founded as an expansion team of the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU) in 1954.[1] In their 56-year history, the team has appeared in nine Grey Cup finals, and has won five championships.[2] The Lions current head coach is Buck Pierce and the current owner is Amar Doman.[3]

The Lions' first head coach was Canadian Football Hall of Famer Annis Stukus, who coached the team for two WIFU seasons. The Annis Stukus Trophy—awarded annually to the CFL's best head coach—is named after Stukus.[4] In 1958, the team joined the CFL as one of their charter members.[1] Clem Crowe coached the Lions for its last two seasons in the WIFU and was their first head coach in the CFL. After coaching the first three games of the 1958 season, Crowe was replaced by a group of seven people who coached the Lions for the next two games. Dan Edwards was named head coach for the remaining 11 games.[1] Dave Skrien was the first head coach to coach the Lions for more than three seasons. In his seven years coaching the team he led the Lions to two consecutive Grey Cup finals, including the team's first championship in 1964.[5]

Vic Rapp coached the Lions from 1977 until the end of the 1982 season.[6][7] He coached 96 regular season games with the Lions, which ranks second among Lions head coaches. Rapp won the Annis Stukus Trophy in the 1977 season, the only Lions head coach to do so without winning a Grey Cup championship.[8] Hall of Famer Don Matthews took over the coaching position in the 1983 season and coached the Lions until midway through the 1987 season.[7] He led the Lions to a Grey Cup championship and was named the Annis Stukus Trophy winner in the 1985 season.[2][8] Matthews' .706 regular season winning percentage is the best among Lions head coaches.

From 1988 until 2002, no Lions head coach term lasted as long as four complete seasons. During this time, the Lions won the Grey Cup championship twice: under head coach Dave Ritchie in 1994 and under Steve Buratto in 2000.[2] Adam Rita and Wally Buono are the only head coach to have had multiple tenures with the Lions. As of the end of the 2011 season, Wally Buono is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached, regular-season games won, regular-season points, playoff games coached, and playoff games won. Buono coached the Lions to their fifth and sixth Grey Cup championships and was awarded the Annis Stukus Trophy in the 2006 and 2011 seasons.[2][8] He is the only Lions head coach to have won more than one Grey Cup. Excluding the group of seven, and counting Rita once, there have been 26 head coaches for the Lions franchise.

## Key

[edit]

General  | # | Number of coaches[a]

|

† | Elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in the builders category[9]
Achievements | Achievements during their Lions head coaching tenure
Regular season[10] | GC | Games coached  | T | Ties = 1 point

|
|
|

W | Wins = 2 points  | PTS | Points
L | Losses = 0 points  | W% | Winning percentage[b]
Playoffs and Grey Cup[11][12] | PGC | Games coached

|

PW | Wins
PL | Losses
PW% | Winning percentage

## Head coaches

[edit]

Adam Rita was the first head coach to have coached two stints with the Lions. Mike Benevides set a franchise record for most wins by a rookie head coach. Buck Pierce is the current head coach for the Lions.

Note: Statistics are current through the end of the 2024 CFL season.

#  | Name  | Term[b] | GC  | W  | L  | T  | PTS  | W%  | PGC  | PW  | PL  | PW%  | Achievements[8][12]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Annis Stukus†  | 1954–1955 | 32  | 6  | 26  | 0  | 12  | .188  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
2  | Clem Crowe | 1956–1958 | 35  | 10  | 24  | 1  | 21  | .300  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
–  | —[c] | 1958 | 2  | 0  | 2  | 0  | 0  | .000  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
3  | Dan Edwards | 1958 | 11  | 3  | 8  | 0  | 6  | .273  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
4  | Wayne Robinson | 1959–1961 | 39  | 14  | 22  | 3  | 31  | .397  | 2  | 0  | 2  | .000  |
5  | Dave Skrien | 1961–1967 | 92  | 42  | 45  | 5  | 89  | .484  | 8  | 5  | 3  | .625  | 1963 Annis Stukus Trophy winner
52nd Grey Cup championship
6  | Ron Morris | 1967 | 1  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 0  | .000  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
7  | Jim Champion | 1967–1969 | 38  | 8  | 28  | 2  | 18  | .237  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
8  | Jackie Parker | 1969–1970 | 22  | 10  | 12  | 0  | 20  | .454  | 1  | 0  | 1  | .000  |
9  | Eagle Keys†  | 1971–1975 | 70  | 25  | 42  | 3  | 53  | .379  | 2  | 0  | 2  | .000  |
10  | Cal Murphy†  | 1975–1976 | 26  | 10  | 14  | 2  | 22  | .423  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
11  | Vic Rapp | 1977–1982 | 96  | 53  | 39  | 4  | 110  | .573  | 5  | 2  | 3  | .400  | 1977 Annis Stukus Trophy winner
12  | Don Matthews†  | 1983–1987 | 80  | 56  | 23  | 1  | 113  | .706  | 7  | 4  | 3  | .571  | 1985 Annis Stukus Trophy winner
73rd Grey Cup championship
13  | Larry Donovan | 1987–1989 | 26  | 14  | 12  | 0  | 28  | .538  | 4  | 2  | 2  | .500  |
14  | Joe Galat | 1989 | 14  | 7  | 7  | 0  | 14  | .500  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
15  | Lary Kuharich | 1990 | 10  | 2  | 7  | 1  | 5  | .250  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
16  | Jim Young | 1990 | 1  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 0  | .000  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
17  | Bob O'Billovich†  | 1990–1992 | 43  | 18  | 25  | 0  | 36  | .419  | 1  | 0  | 1  | .000  |
18  | Dave Ritchie | 1993–1995 | 54  | 31  | 22  | 1  | 63  | .583  | 5  | 3  | 2  | .600  | 82nd Grey Cup championship
19  | Joe Paopao | 1996 | 18  | 5  | 13  | 0  | 10  | .278  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
20  | Adam Rita | 1997–1998 | 27  | 11  | 16  | 0  | 22  | .407  | 1  | 0  | 1  | .000  |
21  | Greg Mohns | 1998–2000 | 34  | 22  | 12  | 0  | 44  | .647  | 2  | 0  | 2  | .000  |
22  | Steve Buratto | 2000–2002 | 35  | 14  | 21  | 1  | 29  | .414  | 4  | 3  | 1  | .750  | 88th Grey Cup championship
–  | Adam Rita | 2002 | 12  | 9  | 3  | 0  | 18  | .750  | 1  | 0  | 1  | .000  |
23  | Wally Buono†  | 2003–2011 | 162  | 101  | 60  | 1  | 203  | .627  | 14  | 7  | 7  | .500  | 94th Grey Cup championship
2006 Annis Stukus Trophy winner
99th Grey Cup championship
2011 Annis Stukus Trophy winner
24  | Mike Benevides | 2012–2014 | 54  | 33  | 21  | 0  | 66  | .611  | 3  | 0  | 3  | .000  |
25  | Jeff Tedford | 2015 | 18  | 7  | 11  | 0  | 14  | .389  | 1  | 0  | 1  | .000  |
\-  | Wally Buono†  | 2016–2018 | 54  | 28  | 26  | 0  | 56  | .519  | 3  | 1  | 2  | .333  |
26  | DeVone Claybrooks | 2019 | 18  | 5  | 13  | 0  | 10  | .278  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
27  | Rick Campbell | 2020–2024 | 68  | 38  | 30  | 0  | 58  | .559  | 5  | 2  | 3  | .400  |

## Notes

[edit]

* a A running total of the number of coaches of the Lions. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
* b Each year is linked to an article about that particular CFL season.
* c The Lions were coached by a group of players led by Chuck Quilter, Byron Bailey, and Paul Cameron, assistant coaches Vic Lindskog and Walt Schlinkman, training camp coach Fred Owens, and general manager Herb Capozzi during a two-game period in the 1958 CFL season.

## References

[edit]

General

* "BC Lions All-Time Coaches Record Since 1954" (PDF). BC Lions. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 19, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
* "BC Lions Year-by-Year History" (PDF). BC Lions. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.

Specific

1. ^ a b c "History >> Year by Year >> 1950–59". BC Lions. Archived from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
2. ^ a b c d "Grey Cup Recap". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
3. ^ "Lions Staff". BC Lions. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
4. ^ "Annis Stukus". Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
5. ^ "History >> Year by Year >> 1960–69". BC Lions. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
6. ^ "History >> Year by Year >> 1970–79". BC Lions. Archived from the original on January 30, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
7. ^ a b "History >> Year by Year >> 1980–89". BC Lions. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
8. ^ a b c d "Coach of the Year". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on July 25, 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
9. ^ "BC Lions Canadian Football Hall of Fame Inductees" (PDF). BC Lions. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 11, 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
10. ^ "BC Lions Team Records (To 2008)" (PDF). BC Lions. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 4, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
11. ^ "BC Lions Playoff Records (To 2008)" (PDF). BC Lions. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 4, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
12. ^ a b "BC Lions Grey Cup Records (To 2008)" (PDF). BC Lions. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 4, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2009.

* v
* t
* e

BC Lions head coaches

* Annis Stukus (1954–1955)
* Clem Crowe (1956–1958)
* Dan Edwards (1958)
* Wayne Robinson (1959–1961)
* Dave Skrien (1961–1967)
* Ron Morris (1967)
* Jim Champion (1967–1969)
* Jackie Parker (1969–1970)
* Eagle Keys (1971–1975)
* Cal Murphy (1975–1976)
* Vic Rapp (1977–1982)
* Don Matthews (1983–1987)
* Larry Donovan (1987–1989)
* Joe Galat (1989)
* Lary Kuharich (1990)
* Jim Young (1990)
* Bob O'Billovich (1990–1992)
* Dave Ritchie (1993–1995)
* Joe Paopao (1996)
* Adam Rita (1997–1998)
* Greg Mohns (1998–2000)
* Steve Buratto (2000–2002)
* Adam Rita (2002)
* Wally Buono (2003–2011)
* Mike Benevides (2012–2014)
* Jeff Tedford (2015)
* Wally Buono (2016–2018)
* DeVone Claybrooks (2019)
* Rick Campbell (2020–2024)
* Buck Pierce (2025– )

* v
* t
* e

BC Lions

* Founded in 1954
* Based in Vancouver, British Columbia

Franchise|

* Franchise
* Records
* Players
* Seasons
* Head coaches
* Starting quarterbacks
* First-round draft picks

Stadiums|

* Empire Stadium
* Empire Field
* BC Place

Culture|

* The Lions
* Leo the Lion
* Nickname: The Leos
* Fight song: "Roar You Lions Roar" composed by Dal Richards and his Orchestra

Lore|

* Defeated Baltimore in the Grey Cup
* First Grey Cup of New Millennium
* Labour Day Classic

Important figures|

* David Braley
* Wally Buono
* Annis Stukus
* Bob Ackles
* By Bailey
* Herb Capozzi
* Tom Hinton
* Tom Brown
* Joe Kapp
* Willie "The Wisp" Fleming
* Dave Skrien
* Lonnie Dennis
* Ted Gerela
* Jim Evenson
* Al Wilson
* Lui Passaglia
* Jerry Tagge
* Roy Dewalt
* Matt Dunigan
* Doug Flutie
* Mervyn Fernandez
* Don Matthews
* Joe Paopao, The Throwin’ Samoan
* James "Quick" Parker
* Danny McManus
* Darren Flutie
* Damon Allen
* Robert Drummond
* Sean Millington
* Casey Printers
* Dave Dickenson
* Geroy Simon

Retired numbers|

* 5
* 15
* 22
* 30
* 38
* 52
* 60
* 75
* 81
* 97

Key personnel|

* Owner: Amar Doman
* General Manager: Ryan Rigmaiden
* Head Coach: Buck Pierce

Grey Cup
Championships (6)|

* 1964
* 1985
* 1994
* 2000
* 2006
* 2011

Western Division
Championships (10)|

* 1963
* 1964
* 1983
* 1985
* 1988
* 1994
* 2000
* 2004
* 2006
* 2011

Current league
affiliations|

* League: Canadian Football League
* Division: West

* v
* t
* e

Canadian Football League head coaches by team

West Division|

* Buck Pierce (BC)
* Dave Dickenson (Calgary)
* Mark Kilam (Edmonton)
* Corey Mace (Saskatchewan)
* Mike O'Shea (Winnipeg)

East Division|

* Scott Milanovich (Hamilton)
* Jason Maas (Montreal)
* Bob Dyce (Ottawa)
* Ryan Dinwiddie (Toronto)

See also|

* Historical list of head coaches by wins

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