“How do I explain this year?”
Wally Buono repeated the first question he was asked at the B.C. Lions end-of-season media availability. Then he said, “It was a year of optimism that turned into a year of disappointment.”
As the Lions cleaned out their lockers at the Surrey training facility today, Buono said the final chore of every season — win or lose — made the day one of his least favourite of the year.
“I have never enjoyed exit day. Even after you’ve won the Grey Cup, it’s a difficult day because when you look out there, you know there will always be players in that room that won’t be back, you always know there is staff out there that won’t be back,” he said.
In this case, it’s him who may not be back. But who can say? Buono didn’t.
The Lions ended the season fifth in the West and out of the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. Today, they cleaned out their lockers and tried to sweep away memory of the terrible season.
The GM and head coach confirmed owner David Braley intended to hang on to the club through 2018. Braley bought the bankrupt franchise in 1996, and it’s no secret he’s been looking to sell for some time. In fact, the 76-year-old said in an interview posted on the Lions’ website back in the spring that the franchise “has to be sold” but indicated the transaction might not happen before the 2018 campaign.
On his own future, Buono couldn’t be as definitive. “Do I want to coach next year? I’m not even sure I want to stand here today,” he said.
“That is something I have to come to grips with myself. I don’t want to say yes or no. As of today, I can say to myself I might never coach again and I would be OK with that. I’ve got to come to a decision after talking to David about what we both feel is best for this football club.”
The 67-year-old, all-time CFL leader in coaching wins returned to the sidelines in 2016 and led B.C. to a 12-6 record, but the Lions were just 7-11 this season to miss the playoffs.
He said he wouldn’t procrastinate with a decision in order to provide both direction and hope to the club he first served as head coach in 2003. “We need to move on for everyone’s sake.”
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In his first start for B.C. this campaign and his last year on contract with the Lions, Travis Lulay tore his ACL and didn’t return for the rest of the season.
After a “roller coaster” of a year that left him on crutches and without a certain future in Vancouver, the quarterback said, “I’m preparing like I’m going to play next year. That gives me the intensity of rehab that I want and then make decisions and go from there.”
The pivot who stepped in for Lulay in September, Jonathon Jennings couldn’t pinpoint how the season fell apart but didn’t hold back on expressing his dismay.
“I want to say it’s because we didn’t work hard enough or I want to say it’s because we didn’t have a good group of guys in the locker room, but all those things things aren’t true,” said Jennings.
“I want to take away this feeling, this feeling of being embarrassed and disappointed in what we accomplished. We know we had the talent, we had more talent than we displayed on the field and I want to figure out why some of those inconsistencies kept cropping up.”
Marco Iannuzzi stood in front of his locker for the last time. The 30-year-old Canadian and sixth-overall draft pick in 2011 said he played to win.
“It’s a terrible feeling when you’re out of the playoffs. For me the only reason I play this game, as far as goals go, it was to win a Grey Cup. The moment you hear you no longer have the chance to win a Grey Cup, you have to change your mindset and why are you coming in every day. It’s pride, it’s for the fans.”
He retires after 115 games in the CFL but his last one could have gone differently.
“I wish I would have done more for this locker room as a veteran,” he said. “The one thing I learned from this game is you can never ever, ever die easy. This year we had a slow death, man. At least we fought ’til the very end.”
With files from Jesse McGowan and The Canadian Press.
