COOKIE'S COMMENT - Defend And Attack

That means new ideas about how to defend--two of the new guys were defensive co-ordinatiors--and attack, because the other two are offensive minds. It's a lot of change, but should be welcomed and embraced. It's not like the pass-happy CFL has been suffering from a lack of imagination only that the NFL has become more exciting, especially now that the playoffs are here.

I didn't count the number of times in the Saturday wild card games how many times the offences threw on first down, but it certainly seemed like a lot for the stifling run between the tackles on first AND second down once favoured by the American game's offensive co-ordinators.

New head coaches naturally translate to new ideas. And you don't become a head coach without working your way up through the ranks, so there's unlikely to be anything really crazy tried by the new CFL quartet.

The CFL's winningest coach, Wally Buono (left), has groomed defensive co-ordinator Mike Benevides (right), for a decade. Buono stepped aside after the Lions beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in last November's Grey Cup game, but will retain his general manager's title and be there with the safety net if Benevides has questions.

Neither new Saskatchewan Roughriders head man Corey Chamblin nor Scott Milanovich, who accepted the formidable task of turning the Toronto Argonauts into chicken salad from that other stuff, will have that kind of support, but Milanovich was with classy Marc Trestman where he couldn't help to learn plenty.

It is unlikely all four of them can be successful in the short term and because the Lions are defending champions and have a young, still improving quarterback in Travis Lulay it would appear Benevides has the most to work with right away. That being said, there will be an added expectation for the Lions and their new coach to produce immediately while the other three will be given time if things don't go smoothly right away.

Looking at the other three, at least the Argos and Tiger-Cats have done things to improve their quarterbacking, the most important position in football. The Argos acquired veteran Ricky Ray from Edmonton Eskimos and the Ticats got Henry Burris from the Calgary Stampeders. Cortez was Burris's coach before going to the Buffalo Bills.

So, neither he nor Milanovich are starting bereft of a competent quarterback, which is a good thing for their potential longevity as head coaches.

But Benevides has a stacked hand compared to any of the other three newcomers.

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Kent Gilchrist, originally from Souris, Man., was a former Vancouver Province Sports Editor and Columnist who covered Olympic Games, Stanley Cup finals, the Kentucky Derby, The Masters, U.S. and Canadian Opens, PGA Championships and many Grey Cups. For more than a decade Gilchrist was the Province beat reporter with the BC Lions. In 2005 he was inducted into the CFL's Football Reporters of Canada Hall of Fame. Now semi-retired, Cookie is a freelance journalist for a variety of major publications and a globe trotting commentator for BC Golf News.

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Tweet Cookie: @cookiefore or Email him at: hkgilchrist@yahoo.com