Dec
Benevides on Eskimo radar
Courtesy Edmonton Journal:
Inside the organization? Outside the organization? American? Canadian? Defensive background? Offensive flair?
The options appear unlimited when it comes to the candidates lining up to fill Danny Maciocia’s former head coaching position with the Edmonton Eskimos.
Whispers persist that Maciocia, now the team’s general manager, might not take the chance of going outside the
organization. The boss isn’t confirming or denying anything, but if that is indeed the case, then the finger points straight to assistant coach Noel Thorpe.
But whether the whispers are true or not, or just a way for Maciocia to keep the info safely tucked inside the Eskimos’ offices, one can’t dispute the talent developing on his list of potential candidates.
On Monday, B.C. Lions defensive
co-ordinator Mike Benevides was added to the registry, as Wally Buono gave his paesano Maciocia permission to talk — just as he said he would in Saturday’s Journal.
“I’m looking forward to what they have to say and see what the fit is,” Benevides said Monday afternoon prior to any discussion with Maciocia. “Obviously, as an assistant, you feel confident when someone calls upon you. But I’m going to take it one step at a time.
“I’m on a contract with the Lions through the end of January. I’m thrilled to be here. Wally (Buono) is a friend and a mentor, has been for decades, and regardless of where things end up, I’m thankful that he’s in my corner.”
Benevides, who also interviewed in Toronto last Friday, made it clear that he wasn’t going to deal with hypotheticals.
“The opportunity is appealing, period,” said the 40-year-old, of the expected
Eskimos’ talk. “It’s like everything else, you have to go through the process and see if they even care for you.
The way I look at it today, everything has been positive. It’s a learning experience for me, obviously. It’s taught me something about myself.”
Benevides, who has worked under Buono since 2000 when he joined the Calgary Stampeders’ staff, then moved west with Wally, is said to be a head coach in waiting. But so, too, are others on the Eskimos list — defensive co-ordinators Richie Hall of Saskatchewan, Chris Jones of Calgary, Greg Marshall of Winnipeg, and you can throw Thorpe into the mix.
“I have not interviewed,” Thorpe said Monday. “You prepare to be a head coach and once you’re given the opportunity, you go with what you know.”
But that’s as far as Thorpe went, respectful to the wishes of Maciocia and Co. to keep this all hush-hush. The Firm has spoken, so no one will talk, if you catch their drift. But Thorpe — who first met Maciocia as a guest coach in Montreal in 1999 and is as tight to Maciocia as Doug Berry, also a candidate — fits. Plus he’s already an Eskimo, and he’s Canadian, which might go a long way with the new GM, who remains tight-lipped.
