Wally Buono has edge in experience

When it comes to the final four teams in the Canadian Football League playoffs, it is the old guard and the new guard.

B.C.'s Wally Buono, the top-winning coach in CFL history, is the greybeard of the group. Edmonton's Kavis Reed, Hamilton's Marcel Bellefeuille and Winnipeg's Paul LaPolice are greenhorns.

Buono, who also doubles as his team's general manager, is in familiar territory, entering his 18th division final when the Lions play host to the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday in Vancouver. Buono is eight-for-17 in division finals, which is a fairly good win percentage, all things considered. Although he has lost more than he's won, some coaches would be happy to make it to one final. Some have started out and never made it beyond their rookie season or even shorter than that (Greg Marshall, Rich Stubler, Gary Etcheverry and John Huard, to name a few).

Buono is a winner and has stood the test of time. As they say at the racetrack, there's a lot of ones beside his name. This may be his final year of coaching amid continuing whispers of retirement. If he wins tomorrow and then wins the Grey Cup, it would be a great way to hang up his whistle.

Reed is making his division final debut in his rookie season. Remembered as the special teams coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders when they were flagged for too many men on the field on a play that cost them a victory in the 2009 Grey Cup -- and for which he accepted full responsibility -- Reed has been impressive as a head coach. He has to be considered the choice for Coach of the Year. He took a team that failed to make the playoffs and led it to a second-place finish with an 11-7 record.

Reed's pre-game speeches have been full of fire and brimstone. On the sidelines, he can be stoic or stormy. Above all, he commands respect.

Reed said on Saturday he likes his team's "ignorance factor" because many of the players are rookies and facing unfamiliar territory. Indirectly, he could be speaking about himself, Bellefeuille and LaPolice. But as Reed also pointed out, the head coach's influence has no bearing on the plays made on the field because they don't pass, catch, run the ball or make tackles.

"Our jobs have pretty much been done now," he said. "Experience may count in preparation."

Reed noted that a key thing in leadership is having the pulse of the people. It could also be said the people take their cues from the leader. And perhaps that's where experience in previous division finals gives Buono the edge.

Bellefeuille and LaPolice have more experience than Reed, but not by much. Bellefeuille has been on the job three and a half years. He has had more defeats than triumphs, but is now known as the David who beat Goliath after his team toppled the Als in Montreal last Sunday and ended their run of two consecutive Cups. Bellefeuille is a nice guy -- the Richie Cunningham of coaches -- but his tenure might have been terminated had the Cats lost to the Als. Hamilton regressed this year and Bellefeuille's platooning of his quarterbacks came under criticism. But all is good now. The Cats are playing with house money going into Winnipeg tomorrow because they've already pulled off the upset of the year.

LaPolice is in his second year, and has gone from last in the league with a 4-14 record to first in the East with a 10-8 record. Some critics may argue that he has done more than Reed to merit Coach of the Year honours. LaPolice had his team flying out of the gates with a 7-1 start before injuries and inconsistency gave the Bombers a serious reality check. If the Bombers lose to the Cats, their haughty Swaggerville phrase, which hasn't been mentioned much during their skid, will be replaced by Stumbleville.

LaPolice, whom some people will remember as the Roughriders' offensive co-ordinator who went nuts after his team's untimely 13th man penalty in the 2009 Cup, has come a long way since he entered the CFL as a position coach for Huard in 2000 with the Argos. LaPolice survived one of the most chaotic seasons in Argo history.

It would be a great story line if Reed and LaPolice both won tomorrow, pitting two former members of the same staff against one another in their first time as head coaches in the Cup. In a year in which the unexpected has happened with regularity in the CFL, anything is possible.

The betting is Buono will win the West and go on to win the Cup if for no other reason than his experience, combined with his team's remarkable turnaround after a 0-5 start. They have the home field advantage for the division final and would enjoy it even more if they make it to the Grey Cup.

Perry Lefko keeps you connected to all the news in the CFL on Sportsnet.ca.