Courtesy Vancouver Province:

Wally Buono didn’t win the CFL Coach of the Year award again this year, which will come as no surprise to anyone close to the voting. But it should.

Since 1990, Buono has coached his teams to a first-place finish 12 times; eight when he was in Calgary coaching the Stampeders and the last four straight with the B.C. Lions.

Somehow, instead of owning the Annis Stukus trophy, awarded to the best coach in the league, Buono has won it only three times.

This for an award that is supposed to be based on regular-season performance. You can question — even knock — some of his game-day decisions, you can question his Grey Cup record (four wins in eight attempts), but he is several football field lengths ahead of his rivals in constructing, maintaining and finishing the regular season.

Simply take last season as an example. He lost starting quarterback Dave Dickenson and his No. 2 Buck Pierce to injuries, and his best receiver Geroy Simon was hobbled for the first two-thirds of the campaign. With Jarious Jackson at quarterback, all Buono was able to do was coax his team to a 14-win season, a franchise best.

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Courtesy Regina Leader Post:

Kent Austin, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ one-year wonder, was recognized Wednesday as the CFL’s outstanding coach for 2007.

“It was a magical year; it was the funnest year I’ve ever had in football,” Austin said during a luncheon at which he was presented with the Annis Stukus Trophy. “I love all the guys I worked with and I really do appreciate the opportunity I had.”

Austin won a Grey Cup in his only season as a CFL head coach, after which he was recruited to return to his alma mater, the University of Mississippi, as its offensive co-ordinator. Austin took a three-day break from his new job to appear at the CFL Congress along with the B.C. Lions’ Wally Buono and Toronto Argonauts’ Mike Clemons, the other finalists selected in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada.

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Courtesy TSN.ca:

He’s gone, but Kent Austin is certainly not forgotten.

Austin was named the CFL’s coach of the year Wednesday, a month after leaving the Saskatchewan Roughriders to become the offensive co-ordinator at the University of Mississippi, his alma mater.

Austin had an outstanding rookie season as the Riders head coach. He led the team to a 12-6 record (second-best in the CFL) and secured the franchise’s first home playoff game since ’88. Then he guided Saskatchewan to just its third-ever Grey Cup crown and first since ’89.

”I was just a small part of our success and got way too much credit for it,” Austin said. ”It was a magical year.”

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Courtesy Regina Leader Post:

Former Saskatchewan Roughriders field boss Kent Austin doesn’t know if he’s going to be named the CFL’s coach-of-the-year for 2007 at today’s luncheon, but he’s coming to the event anyway.

“No, I haven’t been told who the winner is,” Austin said Tuesday from Memphis, where he was waiting to board a flight that was supposed to help get him here late last night.

“I think it’s the right thing to do, coming up there. The league was good to me, the organization was good to me. I tried to give back everything I could. It’s right, and I agree with Houston (Nutt) — to honour not only the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but the league as well, I should come to the event.”

Austin, B.C. Lions head coach Wally Buono and Toronto Argonauts head coach Mike (Pinball) Clemons are the finalists for the Annis Stukus Trophy. Balloting is done by the Football Reporters of Canada; Austin is the odds-on favourite, but it should be noted that the voting was conducted after the regular season and before the Roughriders marched to the third Grey cup victory in the team’s 98-year history.

“Wally and Pinball,” said Austin with a laugh. “Tough crowd I’m in. Two legendary coaches, two of the best who have ever coached.”

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Courtesy CFL.ca:

The Canadian Football League (CFL) announced today the finalists for the 2007 Coach of the Year as selected by the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC). This year’s finalists are Kent Austin (Saskatchewan Roughriders), Wally Buono (B.C. Lions) and Michael Clemons (Toronto Argonauts).

The CFL Coach of the Year award recognizes the commitment and efforts of head coaches across the league, with special honours going to the coach who most demonstrates exceptional leadership, dedication and excellence during the regular season. The winner is awarded the Annis Stukus Trophy in honour of the Edmonton Eskimos and BC Lions’ head coach and great CFL ambassador, Annis Stukus. This year’s recipient will be announced at the 2008 CFL Coach of the Year Luncheon in Calgary, Alberta at the Hyatt Regency during the CFL Congress.

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