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He is etched in Calgary football lore as one of the greatest coaches of all time, and this summer his name will be hammered into McMahon Stadium for all of Calgary faithful to admire.
On July 21, Wally Buono will officially become the 50th member to be added to the Stampeders Wall of Fame when he is honoured at halftime during a home contest against the BC Lions.
Buono fostered a winning culture in Calgary that has virtually lasted to the present day, sharing his knowledge and leadership qualities with John Hufnagel and Dave Dickenson who would both eventually become head coaches and general managers of the club.
Under all three leaders, the Red and White have played in 50 playoff games, made 12 Grey Cup appearances, and have claimed Grey Cup championship glory on six occasions.
Before Buono’s reign as head coach, the Red and White had endured some of their toughest years as an organization.
Over the 1980s, the team accumulated a disappointing 78-94-1 record and were the only CFL club to never win a playoff game during that span. All five of their post-season appearances resulted in a Western Semi-Final loss.
But with the turn of the decade came the turn of a new era in the Stampede city.
Buono took on the reins as head coach in 1990 and marshalled the team to their first playoff victory since 1971. From 1992-2002, the future Canadian Football Hall-of-Famer led the Stamps to six Grey Cup appearances, three Grey Cup championships, and received CFL Coach of the Year honours twice.
John Hufnagel and Wally Buono (Calgary Herald)
A key to Buono’s success included hiring the right staff around him.
“He gave me a great opportunity when he became the head coach in ’90,” said Hufnagel, who has currently transitioned into an advisor role to general manager and head coach Dave Dickenson and team president Jay McNeil.
“(Wally) was already the defensive coordinator on the team and then they promoted him to head coach and he did want to add another person to the staff, so he called me up for an interview because I was living in Calgary at the time. So, I went in and interviewed and fortunately he hired me (as the offensive coordinator).”
Hufnagel stayed by Buono’s side for seven seasons and added the title of assistant head coach from 1994-1996 before heading south of the border to take on the head coaching role for the Arena Football League’s New Jersey Red Dogs. After two seasons in The Garden State, the Pennsylvania native served as quarterbacks coach for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, and subsequently as offensive coordinator for the New York Giants before finally making his return to Calgary in 2008.
The list of accolades for Buono and Hufnagel is nearly endless. Their football genius is unrivaled by most, and both Stampeder greats have entrenched themselves as ‘follow-through-the-fire’ type leaders.
Hufnagel chalks up Buono’s record-setting achievements to those two qualities.
“He was a leader of men,” he said. “Not only to the players but also to his staff and what helped him be able to do that was his extensive knowledge of the game.
“He was a player for so many years (as a linebacker and punter for 10 years with the Montreal Alouettes) and he was a defensive coordinator which prepared him but that doesn’t automatically transcend to being successful as a head coach.
“Not only did he have great knowledge about the game, but he was also able to help his coaches become better. He didn’t meddle with the coaches. He would have conversations to share his ideas and sometimes they’d stick.
“Honestly, he had a vision and he made sure everybody shared the same vision.
“He was also a great talent evaluator. He made some excellent picks in the draft, and his very first pick was Dave Sapunjis. Maybe he knew he was going to be an owner of the team one day,” he added with a laugh.
“He had a lot of qualities that was a big part of his success and he’s probably a big part of what success I’ve had.”
Hufnagel recalls Buono’s appreciation for his coaches being a contributing factor to the organization’s accomplishments.
“He was very complimentary to the staff,” he said.
“As an example, during the off-season it was the offensive staff’s job to look at the playbook or revise it, and every time we did projects, he would call me up at night and say thank you. Just the little things like that. But that’s all part of being a great leader.”
In addition to Buono’s nice manner, Hufnagel credits a pair of headphones to the duo’s great working relationship.
“Wally liked to talk on the sideline during the game,” he informed.
“Fortunately, Wally didn’t wear a headset, so he’d be there I guess talking to me and then after the game he’d apologize saying, ‘John, I probably shouldn’t be talking to you as much as I do,’ and finally he figured out that with me wearing headphones and him not, and with my bad hearing, I never heard a word he said,” laughed Hufnagel.
Wally Buono and John Hufnagel on the sideline (Stampeders.com)
Buono’s impact on the CFL transcends his time in Calgary.
Following the 2002 season, he headed to the west coast laying roots down in Vancouver for the next 15 seasons as a head coach and then general manager for the BC Lions. During that span, he won three Grey Cups with the Black and Orange, and eventually became the winningest coach in CFL history as he passed Don Matthew’s previous mark of 231 victories.
Hufnagel knows fans from both cities will be excited to show their admiration for Buono come Legacy Night this July.
“I know that the fans will be thrilled on the Wall of Fame game,” he said.
“They love Wally for good reason, and they love him over in BC, too. A man with that much success and all those awards, that many Grey Cup rings, he was just so consistent in what he was able to achieve in both organizations.
“It’s not like he took over Grey Cup-winning teams. He probably took over a better Calgary team than he did a BC team but still had the same results.
“Every compliment, and every nice thing that is said about Wally is so very well-deserved.”
Wally Buono and Dave Dickenson in Calgary (The Canadian Press)
Although the Stampeders current head boss missed the infancy stages of Buono’s reign, he played for the Wall of Fame inductee for 10 seasons, five with the Stamps (1996-2000) and five with the Leos (2003-2007).
From the start, Dickenson recognized the foundation that had been laid in Calgary under the leadership of Buono and Hufnagel.
“Everyone felt grounded with Wally and felt like you knew where you stood,” said Dickenson. “As a league, I think integrity matters, and I think Wally’s always stood for that.
“He kind of became the voice of the league, and I believe if you look back even 10 or 15 years, with Huff back here, those two coming from where they did and working together, they had a sense of the league that the rest of us didn’t because they had been in multiple generations.
“Huff and Wally had a lot to do with how the league was shaped and where the league went.
“It’s one of those things where time marches on but if you look back a little more you realize he put the Stampeders on the right track, not only on the field but off. He was able to do that in BC as well with (former BC Lions President and CEO) Bob Ackles bringing him in there.
“To do it with multiple teams is a huge testament. I think all of us that believe we’re good at what we do, if you do it with multiple teams then you really believe that whatever you’re selling the guys are buying and you’re doing it the right way.
“For him to have that amazing success with two organizations, I really do think that shows a lot about who he is.”
Wally Buono and Dave Dickenson after a Stampeders-Lions game in Vancouver (The Canadian Press)
Winning doesn’t come easy, and Buono established that there is a business side to the game.
“Wally’s very genuine,” said Dickenson. “I think what you see is what you get. He’s faith-based, obviously that has multiple meanings to me. He believes in people, and he believes you are who you are, what you show him is what you’re going to get over and over and over. I liked all those types of things, and he definitely held us all accountable.
“Wally was a businessman as well,” he said. “He was trying to make money for the team and win games. Until I got away from him, I didn’t always see the human side of him.
“The best times for me and Wally were not during the season, it was the off-season when you could go out for dinner with his family and get to see him more away from the field and the game. You could tell he was a little more relaxed and those are some of the memories for me that stand out.
“Away from the field I can see a little bit more of the man and the person rather than the coach and general manager.”
There is a moment that sticks out for Dickenson during their time in BC when Buono had let his walls down.
“I remember Wally had a heart condition back in the mid-2000s, and Wally doesn’t want to show emotion or vulnerability, but he did in a meeting, and I’ll never forget that.
“He was really struggling talking and he just couldn’t speak. He’ll remember this, and the guys actually got up and gave him a hug.
“I’m weird because I sit with the o-line in the back, that’s who I was, and I was feeling like, ‘Go get the guy, somebody go give him a hug’ and that one memory of him trying to talk to the team and feeling I guess his mortality and understanding he still wanted to be strong for the guys but yet he was at a place where he needed the guys to step up for him and the guys did.
“I do think of that moment a lot.
“Wally could be tough on players, and he demanded a lot, but there was that mutual respect and I thought after that it helped, because it made Wally a little more human and it’s a moment that I’ll never forget.”