OBIE BACK TO THE LIONS, GEROY TO CANADIAN SCOUTING
BC Lions VP of football operations, GM and head coach Wally Buono has announced that former Lions head coach and CFL Hall of Famer Bob O’Billovich along with former CFL offensive coordinator Bill Diedrick have been added as scouts while Geroy Simon has been named the club’s director of CIS scouting and player personnel assistant.
Both Neil McEvoy, the team’s director of football operations and player personnel, as well as Ryan Rigmaiden, the Lions’ director of U.S. scouting will continue to serve in their current capacities.
“Bob and Bill bring a vast amount of CFL experience and knowledge to their roles and they understand the kind of players who are best suited for our game, while Geroy’s work will be invaluable to our success,” said Buono. “Adding more expertise to our player personnel department well help us in both the short and long term and I’m looking forward to seeing our organization benefit from their contributions.”
Today’s announcement marks a return to the club for O’Billovich who was the Lions’ Director of Player Personnel under Buono from 2003 to 2007 before joining the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as GM in 2008. Also serving as Lions head coach for 43 games from 1990-1992, O’Billovich will scout CIS players in Ontario and Quebec and attend eastern-based NFL training camps.
Diedrick, who will focus his scouting efforts in California and the southwest United States returns to work in the CFL after serving as quarterbacks and receivers coach for the Toronto Argonauts in 2008 and in a similar capacity for the Calgary Stampeders in from 2005 to 2007. The veteran coach began his CFL days with the Edmonton Eskimos in 1991 before moving onto NCAA postings at Washington, Stanford and Notre Dame.
Simon, the CFL’s all-time leader in receiving yards and receptions will now focus his energies specifically on the evaluation of Canadian football talent in advance of this year’s CFL Draft which is slated for Tuesday, May 10, as well as during the CIS regular season.
The Lions have also added Michael Lionello, to the coaching staff in charge of quality control. Lionello joins the club after serving at Simon Fraser in a number of areas including director of football operations, recruiting coordinator, running backs coach and video coordinator.
BC Lions season tickets for 2016 start at just $250 all-in. View the 2016 BC Lions schedule here.
For more information email us at sales@bclions.com or call us at 604.589. ROAR.
Join the Lions and featured guest Cam Wake at the 2016 Orange Helmet Awards slated for Thursday, April 7 at the Westin Bayshore. Hosted by TSN’s Glen Suitor and now in its 13th year, the Orange Helmet Awards has raised more than $750,000 and celebrates last season’s championship teams at all levels of amateur football in British Columbia and recognizes outstanding coaches and pioneers of the sport in our province.
Was Roy Shivers not employed by the Lions last year?!? Or, did I miss a retirement notice somewhere along the way??
I believe he was, yes.
Great to see Geroy getting groomed to join the old boys club in the CFL in the not too distant future.
Roy Shivers was not employed by the Lions last year.
Repatriate Mr. Roy Shivers back to Saskatchewan Roughriders Football, astute phenominal oberservation of player talent and recruitment.
I'm almost speechless at the stupidity of the comment regarding bringing Shivers back to Regina.
How many of the players he brought to Regina are serving prison time for knowingly infecting women with HIV?
How many other incidents were there involving players and legal troubles?
All that and .500 every season? No thanks.
The players might still be idiots on occasion (Smith, Sheets) but at least they have won two Grey Cups.
Shivers couldn't win at roll up the rim, which is exactly why he hasn't been a GM in the CFL since he left Regina.
Bring back Roy!
Bring back Roy!
Bring back Roy!
Bring back Roy!
He brought the 2007 Grey Cup Championship team to Saskatchewan.
Your moronic cheering omits the fact that while he may have brought some of the players who eventually won the Grey Cup to Saskatchewan, he still couldn't finish higher than third in the west. While he could recruit talent, his clearly racist policies (Head Coach had to be black, QB had to be black, Jason Clermont wasn't good enough to be drafted by the Riders) prevented him from taking that next step. Shivers put his own personal agenda above winning, and that was one of many reasons why he was fired.
Jason who???? Didn't he play for the Riders and turned out to be a total flop? Roy got it right.
Mr. Roy Shivers brought in Darian Durant to the Roughriders, last I looked Darian a African American man. You got something against black American men in authorative position? Typical racist hillbillies from Saskatchewan, never changes for the better that province. Mr. Roy Shivers brought many a talanted player to the Roughriders team and wasnt hired to babysit.
Jason Clermont played for the Riders at the end of what was a Hall of Fame career that involved too many years playing for BC that he should have spent playing in Saskatchewan, idiot. Typical liberal a$$hole with a big mouth, I don't know why I will dignify your stupidity with a response but I will. Roy Shivers was quoted in the media as saying he himself was a racist who put his own agenda before winning. That is the problem, not his race or the race of any player he brought to Regina. The issue is that his personal… Read more »
Talk about an old boys club.
Yeh, lets bring Danny Barrett back, he can play QB or safety.
Better chance for the late, great Ron Lancaster to become Rider GM then having Roy back in Rider management!
It sure looks like Roy is still employed by the Lions: http://www.bclions.com/staff-roy-shivers/