Benevides again within the B.C. Lions' home he helped construct

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Mike Benevides swapped pancake make-up and fancy fits for a hoodie and a headset.

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So lengthy — or a minimum of see ya later — to the studio lights and status of a TSN gig, howdy to being a substitute trainer.

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“I really like the hoodie and the headset, man. Give me that any time of the day,” stated the 55-year-old Toronto native. “I don’t understand how they put on all that make-up — it will get itchy.”

Benevides by no means misplaced his itch for soccer since moving into the TV limelight, and at last scratched it by returning to the B.C. Lions’ fold on Could 30 — almost 9 years after he departed. He was the pinnacle coach then; he’s the particular groups’ marketing consultant now.

It wasn’t a deliberate reunion, however certainly one of circumstance. Particular groups coach Don Yanowsky needed to return house to Memphis for an indefinite interval to take care of a household emergency, and Benevides was top-of-mind for Lions director of operations Neil McEvoy.

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Benevides nonetheless lived right here; his household had by no means left, even when he moved on to assistant gigs in Edmonton and Ottawa. He’d been content material to do analyst work with the TSN panels, however a name from McEvoy modified his plans.

“Twenty years in the past, I walked into this constructing for the primary time, and right here I’m once more,” he stated on the group’s observe facility Tuesday. “It feels superior. It feels acquainted, and likewise feels very unusual … Soccer is, as , a cyclical enterprise. I used to be in right here for 13 seasons and yeah, it’s fairly wild.

“Principally, what I did was ask my daughters — and my spouse too — ‘OK ladies, daddy both wears a go well with and make-up, or wears orange. What do you guys suppose?’ … There’s much more orange within the family now.”

NEXT GAME

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Thursday

B.C. Lions vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers 

5:30 p.m. PT, IG Area

TV: TSN. Radio: AM730

McEvoy was working in soccer operations when Benevides arrived from the Calgary Stampeders together with Wally Buono. He would up as his assistant when Benevides took over particular groups.

“I simply knew that this may be an excellent match. Not solely on the sphere, however off the sphere too,” stated McEvoy. “We now have a decent knit group of individuals, a household, and we would have liked somebody to come back in that was not going to disrupt that. I simply felt Mike can be our first name to determine if he can be a match on the sphere to assist us out. And he was.

“He’s an outstanding soccer coach … He’s an excellent chief of males. And he’s a man that basically will get that group collectively. It’s simply unlucky that we’ve needed to get him again the best way we did.

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“We needed to have somebody who had expertise, he was capable of choose up the reins and go. That place is essential to Canadian soccer; particular groups is a 3rd of the entire, if no more, and so simply having somebody with a scarcity of expertise run that group wouldn’t lower it. He’s been a head coach, defensive coordinator on this league and a positional coach. I actually suppose he’s particular.”

The hallways on the membership’s constructing in Surrey are lined with photos of Benevides. There have been two Gray Cup wins — 2006 and 2011 — roles as linebackers coach, particular groups, defensive coordinator and head coach.

Earlier than Could’s return, the final time he’d been inside was in November 2014, when he packed up his workplace after being let go. He’s received McEvoy’s outdated workplace now. Strolling again into the constructing was a visit; he noticed Bo Lokombo, Sean Whyte, David Menard — all gamers who had began in B.C., moved elsewhere within the CFL earlier than migrating again. The ever-present T.J. Lee was nonetheless there in uniform, whereas Kelly Bates and Ryan Phillips had transitioned from being his gamers to his fellow coaches.

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“The partitions are plagued by photos and recollections,” he stated. “Neil laughs at me on a regular basis … He goes, ‘I used to simply have a look at the images of you on the corridor. Now you’re really right here.’

“If you consider it, 20 years in the past, I walked in via the door. It’s … wow.

“However on the core of it, I simply love educating. That’s what coaches are — academics who love the sport. I really feel actually lucky, blessed, as a result of I really like this league, I really like what we do. And I’m a lucky Canadian child who’s been teaching on this league for nearly 25 years.

“I’m the elder statesman. I present my knowledge anyplace that (head coach) Rick (Campbell) and the blokes need. And I assume that’s what you do as a marketing consultant — you assist out the place you’ll be able to, when you’ll be able to.”

This isn’t a visit down reminiscence lane, a nostalgic break in his punditry. There have been severe flaws within the particular groups’ unit final yr, from kick protection to the return sport. His job is easy: Repair it.

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Step one was to study the gamers’ names; coming in simply the day earlier than the Lions’ last pre-season sport didn’t give him a lot time. He knew Terry Williams from his time in Ottawa, and McEvoy remembered sufficient from his time as Benevides’ assistant to know particular groups have been on lock for B.C. in 2003-07.

The Lions kick-return averages are mid-pack and led to a CFL-low 28.7 yard line common begin line however two lengthy missed discipline objective runbacks have them tied with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for many large play returns (three), they usually’ve been capable of churn out yards and mitigate that with a league finest TOP (34:55).

Benevides has had simply three brief weeks to work with the group, and face their largest problem of the yr: containing Janarion Grant.

The Bombers’ returner gashed the Lions final yr, ripping out their coronary heart with two return touchdowns — together with one within the Western last — and pulled off top-of-the-line landing runbacks of all time final week towards Saskatchewan. There will probably be lots of strain on Lions’ punter Stefan Flintoft to pin Grant deep and on the sidelines, with out kicking it out of bounds, however that didn’t work for the ‘Riders.

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On Grant’s rating, the ball was kicked deep, on the bottom, and towards the sideline, however it didn’t matter.

“That (play) was ridiculous. I’ve been round a very long time, and hadn’t seen too many like (that),” stated Benevides. “I counted eight missed tackles, I counted 5 stiff-arms … whoooof. Lethal play.

“He’s enemy No. 1 … Very, very proficient particular person, great quantity of respect for him. We want 12 warmth searching for missiles going after him and hopefully we are able to corral him and reduce his positive aspects.

“He’s very proficient … however he’s only one man. If the 12 of us do what we have to do, we hold him in verify. If we don’t, then he’s gonna get some yardage or get an enormous play.”

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