This article contains a list of Canadian Football League head coaches by regular season wins. This list is current through the close of the 2023 regular season.
This list also includes coaches who coached in the CFL's predecessor leagues, the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (CFL East Division) and the Western Interprovincial Football Union (CFL West Division).
Wally Buono is the all-time leader in both wins and losses with 282 wins, 165 losses, and three ties. Ten coaches have more than 100 wins and only Buono and Don Matthews have more than 200.
As of the end of the 2023 CFL season, the active head coach with the most wins is Mike O'Shea, who has 96 wins and 62 losses.
Five head coaches share the record for Grey Cup championships at five: Wally Buono, Don Matthews, Frank Clair, Hugh Campbell, and Lew Hayman. [1]
† | Elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a builder |
---|---|
‡ | Elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a player |
* | Denotes active head coach |
Rank | Coach | Seasons | Teams | Team Wins | Team Losses | Team Ties | Career Wins | Career Losses | Ties | Pct | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wally Buono † | 1990–2002 | Calgary Stampeders | 153 | 79 | 2 | 282 | 165 | 3 | .630 | [2] |
2003–11, 2016–18 | BC Lions | 129 | 86 | 1 | |||||||
2 | Don Matthews † | 1983–1987 | BC Lions | 56 | 23 | 1 | 231 | 133 | 1 | .634 | [3] |
1990, 1996–98, 2008 | Toronto Argonauts | 49 | 31 | 0 | |||||||
1991–93 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 25 | 22 | 0 | |||||||
1994–95 | Baltimore Stallions | 27 | 9 | 0 | |||||||
1999–2000 | Edmonton Eskimos | 16 | 20 | 0 | |||||||
2002–06 | Montreal Alouettes | 58 | 28 | 0 | |||||||
3 | Frank Clair † | 1950–54 | Toronto Argonauts | 31 | 31 | 2 | 147 | 106 | 7 | .579 | [4] |
1956–69 | Ottawa Rough Riders | 116 | 75 | 5 | |||||||
4 | Ron Lancaster ‡ | 1979–80 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 4 | 28 | 0 | 142 | 137 | 1 | .509 | [5] |
1991–97 | Edmonton Eskimos | 83 | 43 | 0 | |||||||
1998–2003, 2006 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 55 | 66 | 1 | |||||||
5 | Eagle Keys † | 1959–63 | Edmonton Eskimos | 38 | 40 | 2 | 131 | 107 | 8 | .549 | [6] |
1965–70 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 68 | 25 | 3 | |||||||
1971–75 | BC Lions | 25 | 42 | 3 | |||||||
6 | Ray Jauch † | 1970–76 | Edmonton Eskimos | 65 | 43 | 4 | 127 | 94 | 4 | .573 | [7] |
1978–82 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 45 | 35 | 0 | |||||||
1994–95 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 17 | 19 | 0 | |||||||
7 | Dave Ritchie † | 1993–95 | BC Lions | 31 | 22 | 1 | 108 | 76 | 3 | .586 | [8] |
1997–98 | Montreal Alouettes | 25 | 10 | 1 | |||||||
1999–2004 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 52 | 44 | 1 | |||||||
8 | Bob O'Billovich † | 1982–89, 1993–95 | Toronto Argonauts | 89 | 79 | 3 | 107 | 104 | 3 | .507 | [9] |
1990–92 | BC Lions | 18 | 25 | 0 | |||||||
9 | John Hufnagel † | 2008–15 | Calgary Stampeders | 102 | 41 | 1 | 102 | 41 | 1 | .712 | [10] |
10 | Bud Grant † | 1957–66 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 102 | 56 | 2 | 102 | 56 | 2 | .644 | [11] |
11 | Cal Murphy † | 1975–76 | BC Lions | 10 | 14 | 2 | 99 | 80 | 3 | .552 | [12] |
1983–86, 1993–96 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 86 | 51 | 1 | |||||||
1999 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 3 | 15 | 0 | |||||||
12 | Mike O'Shea ‡* | 2014–present | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 96 | 62 | 0 | 96 | 62 | 0 | .608 | [13] |
13 | Tom Higgins | 2001–04 | Edmonton Eskimos | 44 | 28 | 0 | 84 | 67 | 1 | .552 | [14] |
2005–07 | Calgary Stampeders | 28 | 25 | 1 | |||||||
2014–15 | Montreal Alouettes | 12 | 14 | 0 | |||||||
14 | Jack Gotta | 1970–73 | Ottawa Rough Riders | 30 | 26 | 0 | 83 | 82 | 5 | .503 | [15] |
1977–79, 1982–83 | Calgary Stampeders | 42 | 34 | 4 | |||||||
1985–86 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 11 | 22 | 1 | |||||||
15 | George Brancato | 1974–84 | Ottawa Rough Riders | 82 | 90 | 4 | 82 | 90 | 4 | .477 | [16] |
16 | Dave Dickenson ‡* | 2016–present | Calgary Stampeders | 79 | 41 | 2 | 79 | 41 | 2 | .656 | [17] |
17 | Jim Trimble | 1957–65 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 60 | 36 | 2 | 77 | 61 | 2 | .557 | [18] |
1963–65 | Montreal Alouettes | 17 | 25 | 0 | |||||||
18 | Rick Campbell * | 2014–19 | Ottawa Redblacks | 44 | 52 | 2 | 73 | 83 | 2 | .468 | [19] |
2021–present | BC Lions | 29 | 21 | 0 | |||||||
19 | Marc Trestman | 2008–12 | Montreal Alouettes | 59 | 31 | 0 | 72 | 54 | 0 | .571 | [20] |
2017–18 | Toronto Argonauts | 13 | 23 | 0 | |||||||
20 | Jerry Williams | 1965–68, 1981 | Calgary Stampeders | 41 | 26 | 1 | 71 | 55 | 2 | .563 | [21] |
1972–75 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 30 | 29 | 1 |
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1873, the team is the oldest existing professional sports team in North America still using its original name, as well as the oldest-surviving team in both the modern-day CFL and East Division. The team's origins date back to a modified version of rugby football that emerged in North America in the latter half of the 19th century. The Argonauts played their home games at Rogers Centre from 1989 until 2016, when the team moved to BMO Field, the fifth stadium site to host the team.
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the fifth oldest active franchise in the CFL. The Stampeders were officially founded in 1945, although there were clubs operating in Calgary since the 1890s.
The Jacksonville Bulls were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were members of the United States Football League (USFL) during its final two seasons, 1984 and 1985. They played their home games in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.
Donald J. Matthews, a.k.a. "the Don", was a head coach of several professional football teams, mostly in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He won 231 games in the CFL, the second highest win total by a head coach in the league's history while leading four teams to Grey Cup victories. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in September 2011.
Michael O'Shea is the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a former Canadian football linebacker and former special teams coordinator of the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL from 2010 to 2013, winning the Grey Cup in 2012. O'Shea played 16 seasons in the CFL for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts from 1993 to 2008. He retired second all-time in career tackles with 1,154 and is one of only three players to record over 1,000 tackles. He won the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award in 1999 after recording 84 tackles, 13 special teams tackles and three interceptions that year. O'Shea is a three-time Grey Cup champion as a player, having won all three with the Argonauts in 1996, 1997, and 2004. He is also a two-time Grey Cup winning head coach, having won with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2019 and 2021; O'Shea also won the Grey Cup previously as a special teams coach with the Toronto Argonauts in the 100th Grey Cup.
David Dickenson is an American professional football head coach and general manager for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played as a quarterback with the Stampeders and the BC Lions, where he won the 2006 Grey Cup and was named the game's MVP. Dickenson played college football for the Montana Grizzlies, where he led the team to the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA college football championship.
The 1993 CFL season is considered to be the 40th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 36th Canadian Football League season.
Pasquale "Wally" Buono is a Canadian ex-football coach currently working as the vice president of football operations, alternate governor and the former head coach of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and one of the most successful head coaches in league history. He has spent 22 years as head coach of the Calgary Stampeders and the Lions, which is tied for the most seasons coached all-time. On September 19, 2009, Buono became the CFL's all-time winningest coach when his Lions beat the Toronto Argonauts 23–17, giving him 232 regular-season victories, passing Don Matthews. He retired in 2011 with a CFL record 254 regular-season wins as head coach, to focus on duties as general manager for the Lions. In 2016, Buono came out of retirement to coach the Lions again through the 2018 season. In the final home game of the 2018 season, Buono was honored with the Bob Ackles Award as he was retiring from football with the most wins as a coach.
The Annis Stukus Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, which is presented annually by the Edmonton Eskimos Alumni Association to the Coach of the Year, as determined by the members of the Football Reporters of Canada. The Trophy is named after former player, coach, and general manager Annis Stukus.
Jack Jacobs, nicknamed "Indian Jack", was an American and Canadian football player in the National Football League (NFL) and Western Interprovincial Football Union. He was a charter member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, inducted in 1963.
Roy Shivers is a former professional American football running back and Canadian football personnel administrator, most notably as the first black general manager in professional football. He was a general manager for eight seasons with the Birmingham Barracudas and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a four-time Grey Cup champion as a director of player personnel and assistant general manager with the BC Lions and Calgary Stampeders (CFL) and he is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He played for seven years in the National Football League (NFL) with the St. Louis Cardinals.
John Coleman Hufnagel is a special advisor for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has previously served as the Stampeders' President, General Manager, Head Coach, and Offensive Coordinator. He played quarterback for fifteen professional seasons in the CFL and National Football League (NFL). Prior to his hiring to the Stampeders on December 3, 2007, he was the offensive coordinator of the New York Giants of the NFL.
David F. Ritchie was an American gridiron football coach in college football, the Canadian Football League (CFL), the Italian Football League (IFL), and the Swiss National League. He is best known for his time as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach from 1999 to 2004. He was a three-time Grey Cup champion, having won in 1990, 1994, and 2006 and was named the CFL's Coach of the Year in 2001. He won 108 regular season games as a head coach in the CFL which is the seventh highest win total by a head coach in the league's history.
John Gregory was an American football head coach. He coached college football and at the professional level in the Canadian Football League (CFL), Arena Football League (AFL), and Indoor Football League (IFL).
Joe Galat is a former American football player, coach, general manager, broadcaster, and youth executive. He is best known as a former college and professional football coach who starred at Miami University (Ohio) as a player. In addition to an extensive college coaching career, Galat coached in the National Football League as a coach with the New York Giants and Houston Oilers, as well as in Canada. Galat also worked as a national color commentator for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Canada. He is the president of American Youth Football & Cheer. Established in 1996, the organization currently operates in 50 states and has more than 250,000 documented participants.
The 2008 Toronto Argonauts season was the 51st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and 136th season overall. The Argonauts attempted to win their 16th Grey Cup, but they failed to make the playoffs ending the season on a nine-game losing streak.
The 2019 BC Lions season was the 62nd season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 66th overall. The Lions were eliminated from post-season contention following a week 18 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos on October 12, 2019.