Courtesy Regina Leader Post:

Two years ago at New England Patriots camp, arguably the greatest quarterback in Canadian Football League history was sitting with one of the most accomplished passers in National Football League history.

John Hufnagel was the subject of their conversation.

“I asked Tom (Brady) what he thought of Huff and he said he was great,” recalls Doug Flutie, on his cellphone from Boston. “Anyone I’ve talked to in the NFL enjoyed working with him.”

That’s the type of respect earned by Hufnagel, who was spotted Saturday in Calgary and is expected to be named the Stampeders’ head coach/general manager early this week.

“He’s absolutely first-class, I love him,” says Flutie, who worked under Hufnagel’s tutelage in Calgary from 1990 to 1996. “In the CFL at the time I was playing, he was the cream of the crop as far as coaches, from an X’s and O’s standpoint.

“Now, with even more NFL experience, he’d be great.”

Eleven years have passed since Hufnagel left the Stamps for a job as head coach/general manager of the New Jersey Red Dogs in the Arena Football League. After two indoor seasons, the 56-year-old went on an eight-year tour of the NFL that included stops with the Patriots, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants.

During that spell, he worked with some of the best quarterbacks of this generation, including Brady and the Colts’ Peyton Manning.

Now, he’s stepping back into the CFL.

“We had him as a guest coach at training camp and he hasn’t lost anything,” says B.C. Lions head coach/GM Wally Buono, who made Hufnagel his offensive co-ordinator in 1990, when he ran the Stamps. “His mind is still as innovative as possible.

“His NFL experiences are going to be a tremendous source of benefit to him. He probably understands the complete game better today, so you’d hope he’d take that and bring it up here.”

After being fired by the Giants in 2006, Hufnagel took a year off from football.

Because of strong personal relationships with several members of the Stampeders’ ownership group, he always has topped the team’s list of dream coaching candidates. His availability was too good to pass up.

No one from the Stamps will comment on Hufnagel until an official deal is sealed, but the pairing is a perfect match.

“I think he’s still got that fire and hunger,” says free-agent quarterback Dave Dickenson, who worked with Hufnagel in 1996 and in Lions training camp this summer. “I think maybe he got tired of the politics of the NFL and wants to get back to what he really likes doing — coaching, implementing his own ideas, calling plays.

“When you get away from football for a year it can refocus you. You realize this is a cool game and you want to be a part of it.”

Dickenson, for one, believes Hufnagel will be a hit.

“I think he’s a player’s coach but he’ll have high expectations,” says the pivot. “He’ll demand accountability. Even though he’s a nice guy and likes to joke around, he expects certain things.”

The Stamps will ink Hufnagel to a long-term contract that potentially could take him to the end of his coaching career.

He’s been hand-picked for the job, he’s taking over a solid team and will be given resources needed to thrive.

Success is expected but, according to Buono, not a given.

“Success doesn’t come until you create it,” he says. “Just because I was successful in Calgary, that didn’t mean I would be successful in B.C.. Being a star on one team doesn’t mean you’ll be (a star) with another.

“You need to create an environment where success can happen. John can create that environment. He knows what to do, but he has to surround himself with people to fill in areas where he’s not strong. There are things I don’t do well but I try to build around my strengths.

“John won’t be full of himself and he realizes he can’t do it all himself.”

Even in the 1990s, when Hufnagel helped build some of the most prolific offences in CFL history, he was only part of the equation.

“A lot had to do with the great talent we had on the team,” says Flutie. “But John was a great game planner. He knew how to attack what (defensive co-ordinator Rich) Stubler was doing up in Edmonton. He knew how to attack teams.

“His track record speaks for itself. He had me going to the NFL, Jeff Garcia right after me and then Dave Dickenson.”

If there is a question surrounding Hufnagel and his pro coaching experience, it revolves around the fact he coached so many different teams in such a short period of time.

It wasn’t because he couldn’t hold down a regular job, but rather he wasn’t latched on to a head coach he could follow around. The fact he was a solo act and kept landing on his feet was a testament to the skills he offered.

“He’s not ingrained down there like the other guys were,” says Buono. “John was valued. He just aligned with some coaches who were fired.”

For example, when Chris Palmer’s staff was fired in Cleveland and didn’t resurface, Hufnagel was on his own to find another spot. This happened on a few occasions.

But now, that won’t be an issue as he’s about to hunker down in Calgary for a long time.

“He’ll be a great hire,” says Flutie.