Come Friday, in the unfriendly confines of Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, Calgary Stampeders general manager and head coach John Hufnagel will lead the Red and White for the 100th time in the regular season.
In Stampeders history, only one other man has coached more games — the legendary Wally Buono. That’s some pretty lofty company.
In the six years that Hufnagel has been at the helm for the Stamps, 21 head coaching changes have occurred among the seven other teams in the CFL.
That kind of longevity, while a rare achievement in an industry notorious for high turnover, comes as no surprise to the players in his charge.
“He understands what motivates players,” says the reigning Most Outstanding Canadian, Jon Cornish. “And he understands what it takes to create a winning football team. He’s put that together here, plain and simple.”
A winning football team is all the Stampeders have been since Hufnagel took over in December of 2007, boasting an overall record of 66-32-1.
In his first season as head coach, the Stampeders went from a mediocre 7-10-1 team to the top Western Division squad, boasting a 13-5 record en route to winning the Grey Cup in Montreal.
Since 2008, no other CFL team has a better road record (30-20), and they own the second best home record (35-12-1). Only Montreal has had a better mark on home turf at 38-12.
Elder statesman Randy Chevrier credits his head coach’s relentless pursuit to ensure his team is fully prepared to the success of the squad.
“He always gets us ready for games,” says Chevrier, an 11-year CFL vet, “and makes sure the backups are ready for games. Nothing has been more telling than the last two years, this year included. We’ve lost quarterbacks — which is arguably the key position in the CFL — and we’ve still been able to maintain a good pace and win games.”
That’s not to say that Hufnagel micromanages the team. In fact, Hufnagel would be quick to point out the strength in his coaching staff as one of the many reasons for the team’s success.
While attending weekly practices, it’s common to see the positional coaches running the drills and plays while Hufnagel observes.
That kind of trust allows the players to get the kind of one-on-one attention they need to improve in their individual areas.
“He’s one of the best coaches in the league as of right now,” says defensive line coach DeVone Claybrooks. “He does a good job of not micromanaging his staff and trusting what they believe in.
“That allows the players to come to their coaches if they have problems and the coaches have the freedom to actually answer the questions and give their opinions because they know what they’re talking about.”
While the positional coaches do much of the day-to-day work with the players, there is no doubt Hufnagel’s leadership is the reason the Stampeders have been a perennial contender every year.
A trademark of Hufnagel teams has been the depth and versatility of its players.
That means that when injuries come up — as they inevitably do during the grind of an 18-game season — there will be players who can step up and contribute right away.
Keon Raymond has been with the Stampeders his whole career, joining the team during Hufnagel’s first season as coach as one of those versatile players.
For Raymond, it is Coach Huff’s ability to build a good relationship with players while still maintaining a leadership role that is most impressive.
“He doesn’t confuse being a player’s coach with trying to hang out with the guys,” says Raymond. “A lot of players respect him as a coach and as a man and he shows that same respect back to us.”
With a 7-2 start to the 2013 campaign, the formula employed by Hufnagel continues to produce results.
Despite a second year of injuries taking their toll on both sides of the ball, the Stampeders continue to collect wins, displaying the type of depth other teams envy.
A toast to Coach Huff’s first 100 and here’s looking forward to the next 100!
Coach Huff by the numbers
66 — Regular-season wins by Coach Huff since he took charge of the Stamps. That’s three more than any other CFL club during that 99-game period
34 — Combined games over .500 for the Stamps under Coach Huff (66-32-1)
5 — Consecutive winning seasons under Coach Huff, with the Stamps (currently at 7-2) attempting to make it six in a row in 2013. Wally Buono (11 seasons) is the only Stamps coach to have accomplished that feat
21 — Coaching changes by the other CFL clubs since Coach Huff was hired by the Stamps
1 — Coach Huff’s first-regular season game was also his first regular-season win — a 28-18 decision over the BC Lions on June 26, 2008
6 — Calendar months (out of six) the Stamps have a winning record under Coach Huff. Calgary is 2-0 in June, 16-11 in July, 14-5 in August, 15-8 in September, 15-7-1 in October and (including playoffs) 9-5 in November
0 — Losing streaks of more than two games under Coach Huff’s tenure. Conversely, Calgary has won at least three in a row nine times since the start of the 2008 season and will make it 10 if the Stamps can emerge victorious in Huff’s 100th career game
5 — Playoff appearances and five playoff victories in Coach Huff’s first five seasons. In the previous six years, Calgary had three playoff appearances and zero post-season victories
5 — Consecutive seasons that Calgary has scored 500 points under Coach Huff (and they’re on pace to make it six in a row). No other team has accomplished that feat and two clubs haven’t managed to score 500 points even once during that period
3,079 — Points scored by Calgary since the start of the 2008 season, the league’s best total in that time
2,462 — Points allowed by Calgary since the start of the 2008 season. That’s only 47 points fewer than BC (a difference of less than a half-point per game) for the honour of being the CFL’s stingiest club in that period
617 — More points scored than allowed by the Stamps under Coach Huff. Montreal (plus-492) has the second best differential and BC (plus-267) is the only other club with a positive differential of more than 100