Wally Buono is to the Canadian Football League (CFL) what Don Shula is to the NFL — the winningest coach in the league’s history.
In a 23-year coaching career that has spanned two teams — the Calgary Stampeders and the BC Lions — Buono racked up five Grey Cup championships and 13 regular season division titles.
And now, 45 years after he first joined the CFL as a player, Buono is marking his final season as coach of the Lions.
WATCH: Wally Buono’s final season as coach of the BC Lions
This moment in his career has him reflecting on values such as respect, and what it takes to win it in the first place.
“We live in a world where respect is important,” he told Global News.
“In the sports world, they don’t have to like you, but they do have to respect you.”
There’s a coward in all of us, Buono added. And you can’t let yourself succumb to it, unless you want to lose the respect of the players around you.
When you look at Buono from afar, you don’t derive much indication of what he’s feeling, or what he’s like.
The people who work with him are happy to fill the gap.
“He’s honest, he’s loyal,” said BC Lions defensive coordinator Mark Washington.
“He expresses exactly what he feels and he’ll explain his expectations of you and he’ll hold you to them.”
From the sidelines, his emotions may appear as guarded as his playbook.
But he truly cares about the people who play for him, said Jeff Reinebould, the Lions’ special teams coordinator.
“He doesn’t come off that way, he’s a proud Italian guy, but he deeply cares about these kids,” he said.
READ MORE: BC Lions name Ed Hervey new GM, coach Buono to lead team for final season
Buono started in the CFL as a linebacker and punter with the Montreal Alouettes.
His first coaching job was an assistant gig with Montreal in 1983.
He later joined the Calgary Stampeders, becoming head coach in 1990.
Buono would become the Lions’ coach and general manager in 2003, leading the team to two Grey Cups before stepping down from coaching responsibilities in 2011.
He returned to coaching in 2016, stepping down from his GM role the following year.
Through it all, he’s managed to balance football with family life.
“When you’re in the season, your job is your priority,” Buono said.
“When you have time with your family, your family is your priority.”
“It’s hard to say they’re both your priorities because you’re cheating somebody. You can’t, I don’t think, be totally focused on what you’re doing if you don’t have that support at home.”
At home, he loves to cook. It’s a skill he has passed on to his son Mike, who has opened the Buono Osteria restaurant in Gibsons.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BeLwT–lOS5
“He says he got his cooking aspirations from me,” Buono said of his son.
So it looks like Buono will leave two legacies: one in football, and one in food.
- Video report by Squire Barnes
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