Photo courtesy: Steven Chang/B.C. Lions
Heat radiated off the turf at B.C. Lions practice this week, but Mike Benevides required no assistance from the summer sun to hold his own feet to the fire.
The veteran coordinator knew what awaited him when he made his way over to a larger-than-normal group of assembled media on Tuesday. Benevides was the main attraction, and he made no attempt to deflect the attention away from himself when it came to the Lions’ recent defensive struggles.
“Basically, we’ve just got to play better football right now. The last two games are inexcusable. It’s not good enough; we’ve got to be better,” he insisted. “At the end of the day, the performance relies on me. It’s all about me; it’s my responsibility to make sure we perform, and we haven’t. That’s me, not the players.”
Benevides has been under the microscope before, but the magnification of the lens has intensified in light of B.C.’s 0-2 start. The preseason Grey Cup favourites haven’t just stumbled out of the gate; they’ve faceplanted spectacularly. Though some of that can be attributed to a rash of injuries in the receiving corps, most of the blame falls on a defence that has been eviscerated in back-to-back outings.
In their season opener against Saskatchewan, the Lions allowed Trevor Harris to throw for 417 yards and three touchdowns virtually unadulterated. Bo Levi Mitchell didn’t need nearly as much yardage to notch a decisive victory for Hamilton in Week 3, but tied a career-high with five passing touchdowns. B.C. forced a combined nine incompletions from the two veteran QBs, resulting in a league-worst completion percentage allowed of 83.3 and a total passer efficiency rating against of 175.1 — 45 points higher than the eighth-ranked team.
Along the way, Benevides’ unit has allowed an average of 8.8 yards per play, a second-down conversion rate of 63.2 percent, and six completions of over 30 yards — all at the bottom of the CFL. While the secondary has struggled to win its one-on-one matchups, the defensive line has generated a league-low 12 pressures. The sample size is admittedly small, but the situation is undeniably dire.
“We’ve had too many deep shots, too many receivers making plays on us,” second-year safety Jackson Findlay acknowledged. “That just comes down to being confident in our scheme and our abilities as a unit there. It’s a full defensive effort here, and we all need to be better.”
No member of the Lions’ defence has been without fault, including Findlay, who has struggled mightily after an all-star-calibre finish to his rookie year. With veteran Garry Peters on the shelf to begin the season, newcomer corners C.J. Coldon and Tyson Russell have both been victimized on occasion. Halfbacks Ronald Kent Jr. and T.J. Lee, the unit’s seasoned leader, have both allowed multiple touchdowns. Up front, a crew of stud pass rushers led by two-time Most Outstanding Defensive Player Mathieu Betts has hardly sniffed a quarterback.
However, Benevides was careful to shield his charges from individual or collective criticism. Instead, he believes success will come once he has properly communicated his systems and placed the athletes in the best position to excel.
“As I told them, I’ve been coaching in this league as long as some of them are alive. I’ve got to teach them and get them to the point where they can make some plays and feel confident and go about their business,” he explained. “You can’t give up explosives, you can’t give up scores that easily or quickly. You’ve got to make sure that you play collectively and give yourself a chance, and right now, last week, we certainly didn’t do that. That’s my responsibility.”
Secondary coach and pass game coordinator Ryan Phillips took a more nuanced viewpoint, believing that there is plenty of blame to spread around and that collective action is the only way to solve it.
“I think everybody has their mix of accountability. It’s never a deal of only the players, it’s not just only the coaches, but it’s up to both of us to figure it out,” he said. “Some of it has been some mishaps in the sense of us being in a position to make a play. Some of it has also been where we didn’t make the right call at the right time.”
“Trying to figure out exactly who we are and what’s the best position to put those guys in to be successful, I think some of that comes through trial and error, some of that comes through some aches and pains, and that’s what we have experienced in the first two weeks. The biggest thing for us is that we have to stay united and understand that we have the tools in place to be able to fix this. The minute that we start being divided puts us in a position not to be successful.”
Defensive issues are nothing new for the Lions. As competitive as the team has been over the last number of seasons, they have been plagued by accusations of passivity in the secondary at key moments, dating back to the end of Phillips’ tenure as defensive coordinator. When Benevides took over the role in 2025, there were significant challenges throughout the first half of the season, before the reacquisition of Lee and a resurgent pass rush prompted a significant turnaround.
The hope was that those challenges would be left in the rearview entering 2026, as B.C. touted the addition of a pair of former all-stars in linebacker Darnell Sankey and defensive tackle Casey Sayles. While little was done to upgrade the secondary, the mood throughout training camp was optimistic, and the general sense was that the group was collectively further ahead then thay had been at the same point of the previous season.
That has not manifested yet, but Benevides is not ready to write off any of his players.
“The optimism hasn’t changed. What’s changed is you’re playing some very, very good players, and they’ve made some big plays on us. That’s what the difference is,” he stated. “We haven’t been able to make enough plays, but it’s two weeks in. We have to improve right away, because it’s unacceptable, but the optimism hasn’t changed, because what you saw in camp is real. We’ve just got to translate that to a game. I think when it starts falling our way, the kids are going to get a lot more confidence quicker.”
Unfortunately, not everyone will be afforded the opportunity to bounce back, as the Lions have already made one significant change heading into their Week 4 matchup with the Calgary Stampeders. Veteran defensive end Sione Teuhema was released early in the week, providing an opportunity for rookie Matthew Spatny to step into the lineup as a designated pass rusher.
Further tweaks could follow as B.C. looks to find the right combination on defence, but the looming question is how much longer the problems can persist before members of the coaching staff are placed in jeopardy. Head coach Buck Pierce predictably obfuscated when asked how much patience he has remaining, serving up a word salad response that won’t tie tough decisions to any timeline.
“I think you have to trust what you see on film, and you have to look at the reasons why certain things are happening. You don’t just assume and look at a big picture, but you also don’t look at it and say, ‘Something needs to change,’” he said. “We look at all those things. We evaluate it on a weekly basis, no matter what the result is. We’re going to continue to work, and we need to take strides; that’s the reality of it.”
That’s unlikely to satisfy the baying mob already calling for Benevides’ job, many of whom have made such complaints a personal pastime since last season. No one would claim that their concerns about the defence are invalid given the recent performances, but the criticism lobbed in Twitter posts, Facebook comments, and post-game call-in shows often has little interest in nuance or respect for the person behind the headset.
“I think it’s a reality in today’s world. I’ve been doing this long enough as a head coach and coordinator that you understand the business and understand the pressures that are on the game,” Benevides remarked. “The way you take it personally, you try not to. You can’t feed it, you can’t pay too much mind to it. You’ve got to deal with the task at hand. It’s harder for the families and the people around you to have to hear it all the time. That’s the tough part.”
The 58-year-old has been through this before. Over a decade ago, he was ousted as the Lions’ head coach, despite having a winning record over three seasons at the helm. Subsequent defensive coordinator roles with Edmonton and Ottawa ended the same way.
Critics are quick to point to that history as evidence that the coach is past his prime; nothing but a CFL retread coasting on reputation and relationships. However, experience counts for something much more than that, especially in the eyes of his players.
“I think it’s hard for a fan to take into account how big of an impact he makes on us and what he does for us, because he’s a great defensive coordinator. I trust what he does, and he trusts in our abilities,” Findlay said. “By the end of last year, I think we were one of the best, if not the best, defences in the league. That’s going to show up once we start clicking, and we start playing more as a unit.”
Phillips, whose relationship with Benevides dates back over two decades to when he played on his defence in B.C., also cautioned patience, believing the focus on the three-time Grey Cup champion to be misguided.
“To think that you’re not gonna have any bumps in an 18-game season, I think that is just an unprofessional approach,” he stressed.
“I get what it looks like from the outside looking in. You just see points being scored and things like that from that aspect, but I know the time and the effort that he puts in. I know the dedication he has to the players, and at the end of the day, it comes in full circle. Coaches coach, and players play, and we all have a responsibility. That’s even as assistants, as far as that goes. It’s not a Mike Benevides deal; it’s a B.C. Lions defence deal, and that’s for us to fix it. He’s not in it by itself. We all have to take our own responsibility.”
In the end, no amount of rousing endorsements or added context will be able to save Benevides if the defence continues to falter. Like any good teacher, he won’t pass the buck onto his struggling students in the meantime.
The B.C. Lions (0-2) will host the Calgary Stampeders (0-2) at the Apple Bowl in Kelowna, B.C., on Saturday, June 27, with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on 770 CHQR in Calgary or 730 CKNW (English) or Sher-E-Punjab Radio AM 600 (Punjabi) in B.C.
