List of Canadian Football League head coaches by wins

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Wally Buono, the all-time winningest coach in the Canadian Football League Wally Buono (March 2009).jpg
Wally Buono, the all-time winningest coach in the Canadian Football League

This article contains a list of Canadian Football League head coaches by regular season wins. This list is current through the close of the 2024 regular season.

Contents

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. Eleven coaches have more than 100 wins and only Buono and Don Matthews have more than 200.

As of the end of the 2024 CFL season, the active head coach with the most wins is Mike O'Shea, who has 107 wins and 69 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]

Top 20 head coaches by regular season wins

Key
†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
Coaches ranked by regular-season wins, then winning percentage
RankCoachSeasonsTeamsTeam
Wins		Team
Losses		Team
Ties		Career
Wins		Career
Losses		TiesPctRef.
1 Wally Buono †1990–2002 Calgary Stampeders 1537922821653.630 [2]
2003–11, 2016–18 BC Lions 129861
2 Don Matthews †1983–1987 BC Lions 562312311331.634 [3]
1990, 1996–98, 2008 Toronto Argonauts 49310
1991–93 Saskatchewan Roughriders 25220
1994–95 Baltimore Stallions 2790
1999–2000 Edmonton Eskimos 16200
2002–06 Montreal Alouettes 58280
3 Frank Clair †1950–54 Toronto Argonauts 313121471067.579 [4]
1956–69 Ottawa Rough Riders 116755
4 Ron Lancaster ‡1979–80 Saskatchewan Roughriders 42801421371.509 [5]
1991–97 Edmonton Eskimos 83430
1998–2003, 2006 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 55661
5 Eagle Keys †1959–63 Edmonton Eskimos 384021311078.549 [6]
1965–70 Saskatchewan Roughriders 68253
1971–75 BC Lions 25423
6 Ray Jauch †1970–76 Edmonton Eskimos 65434127944.573 [7]
1978–82 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 45350
1994–95 Saskatchewan Roughriders 17190
7 Dave Ritchie †1993–95 BC Lions 31221108763.586 [8]
1997–98 Montreal Alouettes 25101
1999–2004 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 52441
8 Bob O'Billovich †1982–89, 1993–95 Toronto Argonauts 897931071043.507 [9]
1990–92 BC Lions 18250
9 Mike O'Shea ‡*2014–present Winnipeg Blue Bombers 107690107690.608 [10]
10 John Hufnagel †2008–15 Calgary Stampeders 102411102411.712 [11]
11 Bud Grant †1957–66 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 102562102562.644 [12]
12 Cal Murphy †1975–76 BC Lions 1014299803.552 [13]
1983–86, 1993–96 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 86511
1999 Saskatchewan Roughriders 3150
13 Tom Higgins 2001–04 Edmonton Eskimos 4428084671.552 [14]
2005–07 Calgary Stampeders 28251
2014–15 Montreal Alouettes 12140
14 Dave Dickenson ‡*2016–present Calgary Stampeders 8453384533.611 [15]
15 Jack Gotta 1970–73 Ottawa Rough Riders 3026083825.503 [16]
1977–79, 1982–83 Calgary Stampeders 42344
1985–86 Saskatchewan Roughriders 11221
16 George Brancato 1974–84 Ottawa Rough Riders 8290482904.477 [17]
17 Rick Campbell *2014–19 Ottawa Redblacks 4462282922.472 [18]
2020–present BC Lions 38300
18 Jim Trimble 1957–65 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 6036277612.557 [19]
1963–65 Montreal Alouettes 17250
19 Marc Trestman 2008–12 Montreal Alouettes 5931072540.571 [20]
2017–18 Toronto Argonauts 13230
20 Jerry Williams 1965–68, 1981 Calgary Stampeders 4126171552.563 [21]
1972–75 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 30291

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "CFL Guide and Record Book, 2017 Edition" (PDF). Canadian Football League. p. 19. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Wally Buono coaching record". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Don Matthews coaching record". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Frank Clair search results". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Ron Lancaster search results". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Eagle Keys search results". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Ray Jauch coaching record". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Dave Ritchie search results". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Bob O'Billovich search results". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Mike O'Shea". statscrew.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  11. ↑ "John Hufnagel search results". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Bud Grant search results". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Cal Murphy". statscrew.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Tom Higgins". statscrew.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Dave Dickenson". statscrew.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Jack Gotta". statscrew.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  17. ↑ "George Brancato". statscrew.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Rick Campbell". statscrew.com. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Jim Trimble". statscrew.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Marc Trestman". statscrew.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Jerry Williams". statscrew.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
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