B.C.'s Buck Pierce, Edmonton's Mark Kilam to meet in their CFL head-coaching debuts
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Buck Pierce will make his CFL head-coaching debut in familiar surroundings.
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Pierce begins his tenure as B.C.'s head coach Saturday night when the Lions host the Edmonton Elks. Pierce, 43, began his CFL career as a quarterback with the Lions (2005-09) — winning a Grey Cup in 2006 — before finishing up as a player with the franchise in 2013.
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Saturday's contest will also be Mark Kilam's first as Edmonton's head coach.
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Pierce, 43, replaces Rick Campbell, who was fired following the Lions' 9-9 record and early playoff exit in a season Vancouver hosted the Grey Cup. Pierce arrived in B.C. following 10 seasons as an assistant with Winnipeg, helping the Blue Bombers make five straight Grey Cup appearances, winning in 2019 and 2021.
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'We've got to continue to grow, continue to teach and we've got to make sure we're able to finish,' Pierce said following B.C.'s 20-19 exhibition loss to Edmonton on Friday night.
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Kilam, 46, joined Edmonton after 20 seasons as an assistant with the Calgary, including three Grey Cup-winning teams. Kilam, of Lethbridge, Alta., played collegiately at Alberta (1997-2001) as a linebacker and was hired by the Elks after the Stampeders didn't retain him.
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Edmonton (7-11) finished fourth in the West Division last season and last made the CFL post-season in 2019.
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The '25 season will be one of change for Edmonton. Since Larry Thompson bought the franchise last August, it has added a new president/CEO (Chris Morris), vice-president of football operations/GM (Ed Hervey) and coaching staff.
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'This is a fresh new vibe here,' Kilam said. 'There was a lot of roster turnover, there's been a lot of turnover in the admin side, obviously the coaching staff has been turned over.
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'We're the new era of the Double E.'
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Winnipeg's Mike O'Shea remains the CFL's longest-tenured head coach. The 54-year-old North Bay, Ont., native — twice the league's coach of the year — enters his 11th campaign on the Blue Bombers sidelines and looks to lead the franchise to a sixth straight Grey Cup appearance as this year's championship contest will be held at Princess Auto Stadium in November.
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O'Shea, inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a player in 2017, has a 107-69-0 regular-season record.
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