Pasquale "Wally" Buono (born February 7, 1950) is the vice president of football operations, alternate governor and the former head coach of the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL), and one of the most successful head coaches in league history. He has spent 22 years as head coach of the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

and the Lions, which is tied for the most seasons coached all-time. On September 19, 2009, Buono became the CFL's all-time winningest coach when his Lions beat the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

23–17, giving him 232 regular-season victories, passing

Don Matthews Donald J. Matthews, a.k.a. "The Don", (June 22, 1939 – June 14, 2017) was a head coach of several professional football teams, mostly in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He won 231 games in the CFL, the second highest win total by a head ...

. He retired in 2011 with a CFL record 254 regular-season wins as head coach, to focus on duties as general manager for the Lions. In 2016, Buono came out of retirement to coach the Lions again through the 2018 season. In the final home game of the 2018 season, Buono was honored with the Bob Ackles Award as he was retiring from football with the most wins as a coach. Long before coaching Buono was a linebacker and punter for 10 seasons with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

, appearing in 152 consecutive games, not missing one, and in five Grey Cup games between 1972 and 1981, winning two in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

and

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

. Buono's post-season coaching record is 23–17, with five

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

victories in nine appearances. He won the Grey Cup championship in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

and

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

as head coach of the Stampeders and in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

as head coach of the Lions. He won the

Annis Stukus Trophy The Annis Stukus Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, which is presented annually by the Edmonton Eskimos Alumni Association to the Coach of the Year, as determined by the members of the Football Reporters of Canada. The Trophy is named afte ...

as the CFL's Coach of the Year four times, in 1992, 1993, 2006, and 2011, second only to Don Matthews, who had five.

Early years and playing career

Born in

Potenza Potenza (, also , ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania). Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 1950, Buono moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1953 with his family. He became interested in football after playing pick up games as a youth in Montréal-Nord, Quebec and being encouraged by CFL all-star

Al Phaneuf Al Phaneuf (born February 4, 1944) is a former defensive back in the Canadian Football League. College Al Phaneuf played college football at the University of Kentucky. During his second year at Kentucky, Phaneuf "became a Christian." After g ...

, a Christian who was coaching a youth football team at one of Montreal’s parks (who invited Buono to join the team.) Soon after, he began playing minor football in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

. Buono attended

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

and was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the ISU Bengals. He returned to Canada and played 10 seasons with the

as a linebacker and punter, appearing in 152 consecutive games, not missing one in his career. He appeared in five Grey Cups between 1974 and 1979, winning two in

and

Career regular season statistics

Coaching career

Calgary Stampeders

Shortly after his retirement, Buono landed an assistant coaching position with the

Montreal Concordes The Montreal Alouettes ( French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Cana ...

in 1983. In 1987, he moved to Calgary and worked with the Calgary Stampeders under

Lary Kuharich Joseph Lawrence "Lary" Kuharich Jr. (December 20, 1945 – November 13, 2016) was an American football Coach (sport), coach who was most recently the offensive coordinator of the Arena Football League's Columbus Destroyers. He was the son of form ...

until 1990, when he was hired as head coach by Stampeders president

Norman Kwong Norman Lim Kwong (born Kwong Lim Yew; ; October 24, 1929 – September 3, 2016) was a Canadian football player who played for the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was also an active businessman ...

. Buono served as head coach of the Stampeders for thirteen years (1990–2002), amassing a regular season record of 153–79–2, far and away the most wins in Stampeders history. He led the Stampeders to eight first-place finishes, including five straight from 1992 to 1996, and missing the playoffs only once, in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. The Stampeders went to six Grey Cup games under Buono, winning three in

, and

, and losing three in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. He left the franchise as its winningest coach in terms of victories and championships, allegedly only leaving because the Stampeders attempted to force him to play

Kevin Feterik Kevin Feterik (born September 14, 1977) is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. He played for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. He played college football at BYU. As a senior in college he was a finalist for ...

, the owner's son, as the starting quarterback, a charge both the Feteriks denied.

BC Lions

Buono left the Stampeders in 2003 and was hired as head coach and general manager of the BC Lions prior to the

2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

. In the first five seasons under Buono (2003–2007), the Lions went 62–27–1 in regular-season play, with five straight playoff appearances, four straight first-place finishes (2004–2007), and two Grey Cup appearances: a 27-19 loss to the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and a 25-14 victory over the

. His teams went through a slight downturn for the following three seasons, including two that were under .500. His team returned to prominence in

after they once again finished first in the west division and followed it with a 34-23 victory over the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

in the

99th Grey Cup The 99th Grey Cup was a Canadian football game between the East Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the West Division champion BC Lions to decide the champion of the Canadian Football League in the 2011 season. The Lions defeated the Bl ...

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

. He announced his resignation as head coach of the Lions on December 5, 2011 to focus on his duties as general manager. In 2014, he was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

. From 2012 through the

2015 CFL season The 2015 CFL season was the 62nd season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 58th Canadian Football League season. The Edmonton Eskimos won the 103rd Grey Cup on November 29, defeating the Ottawa Redblacks 26–20 in Winnipeg ...

the Lions failed to win any playoff games, despite making the playoffs all four seasons. On December 2, 2015, the Lions announced that Buono would resume his position as head coach for the

2016 CFL season The 2016 CFL season was the 63rd season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 59th Canadian Football League season. Toronto hosted the 104th Grey Cup on November 27. The regular season began on June 23 and ended on November 5. ...

after head coach

Jeff Tedford Jeffrey Raye Tedford (born November 2, 1961) is an American football coach and former player who is currently serving as the head coach at Fresno State, a position which he also previously held from 2017 to 2019. From 2002 to 2012, Tedford was th ...

announced his resignation following a disappointing 7-11 season. On March 2, 2016, the Lions announced that they had extended Wally Buono's contract (as a head-coach/GM) through the 2017 CFL season. Following the 2017 season, Buono announced he was relinquishing the General Manager position in order to focus on his head coaching duties.

Ed Hervey Edward Hervey (born May 4, 1973) is a former professional Canadian football wide receiver and currently an assistant general manager for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played in the CFL for the Edmonton Eskimos ...

was hired as the new GM of the Lions. Buono retains his position as the Vice President of Football Operations. Buono also stated that 2018 will be his final year as head coach. With 129 wins over two stints, he is the winningest coach in Lions history, and one of the few coaches to top the all-time wins list with two CFL teams.

Style

Buono is often credited with developing some of the best CFL

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

s of his era, such as

Doug Flutie Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former football quarterback whose professional career spanned 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CF ...

Jeff Garcia Jeffrey Jason Garcia (born February 24, 1970) is a former American football quarterback. After attending high school and junior college in Gilroy, California, Garcia played college football at San Jose State University. A four-time CFL All-St ...

Dave Dickenson David Dickenson (born January 11, 1973) is a Canadian football head coach with the Calgary Stampeders and former professional player with the Stampeders and the BC Lions where he won the 2006 Grey Cup and was named the game's MVP. Dickenson als ...

Travis Lulay Travis may refer to: People and fictional characters *Travis (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Travis (surname), a list of people Places in the United States *Travis, Staten Island, a neighborhood *Travis Air Force Base, a ...

and Jonathon Jennings. He is considered one of the best offensive minds in league history.

CFL coaching record

Wally Buono Award

The Wally Buono Award was established in 2003 by The Saint Bernard Pass Charitable Foundation for the purpose of recognizing Canada's top junior football player. The award is a national award. Recipients must prove their athletic and leadership ability on the field as well as a high level of leadership within their community. The Saint Bernard Pass Charitable Foundation is the Swiss-based foundation of Christina Saint Marche. The winners of the award are as follows: * 2014 – LB Dylan Chapdelaine, Vancouver Island Raiders (BCFC/CJFL) * 2013 – QB Asher Hastings, Regina Thunder (PCF/CJFL) * 2012 – QB Jordan Yantz, Vancouver Island Raiders (BCFC/CJFL) * 2011 – SB Michael Schaper, Vancouver Island Raiders (BCFC/CJFL) * 2010 – DL Kleevens Jean-Louis, Châteauguay Raiders (QJFL) * 2009 – RB Andrew Harris, Vancouver Island Raiders (BCFC/CJFL) * 2008 – WR Cassidy Doneff, Calgary Colts (PFC/CJFL) * 2007 – RB Tristan Jones, Edmonton Wildcats (PFC/CJFL) * 2006 – QB Nate Friesen, Winnipeg Rifles (PFC/CJFL) * 2005 – RB Jeff Halvorson, Posthumous, Okanagan Sun (BCFC/CJFL) * 2004 – RB Chris Ciezki, Edmonton Huskies (PFC/CJFL) * 2003 – RB Alan Giacalone, Calgary Colts (PFC/CJFL)http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Calgary/2006/06/08/1620687-sun.html

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buono, Wally 1950 births Living people American football linebackers Canadian football linebackers Canadian football punters BC Lions coaches BC Lions general managers Calgary Stampeders coaches Calgary Stampeders general managers Idaho State Bengals football players Montreal Alouettes players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Potenza Players of Canadian football from Quebec Members of the Order of Canada Anglophone Quebec people Italian emigrants to Canada Sportspeople from Montreal People from Montréal-Nord Montreal Alouettes coaches