List of Canadian Football League head coaches by wins

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.

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

Rank	Coach	Seasons	Teams	Team wins	Team losses	Team ties	Career wins	Career losses	Ties	Pct	Ref.
1	Wally Buono †	1990–2002	Calgary Stampeders	153	79	2	282	165	3	.630	[2]
		2003–11, 2016–18	BC Lions	129	86	1
2	Don Matthews †	1983–1987	BC Lions	56	23	1	231	133	1	.634	[3]
		1990, 1996–98, 2008	Toronto Argonauts	49	31	0
		1991–93	Saskatchewan Roughriders	25	22	0
		1994–95	Baltimore Stallions	27	9	0
		1999–2000	Edmonton Eskimos	16	20	0
		2002–06	Montreal Alouettes	58	28	0
3	Frank Clair †	1950–54	Toronto Argonauts	31	31	2	147	106	7	.579	[4]
		1956–69	Ottawa Rough Riders	116	75	5
4	Ron Lancaster ‡	1979–80	Saskatchewan Roughriders	4	28	0	142	137	1	.509	[5]
		1991–97	Edmonton Eskimos	83	43	0
		1998–2003, 2006	Hamilton Tiger-Cats	55	66	1
5	Eagle Keys †	1959–63	Edmonton Eskimos	38	40	2	131	107	8	.549	[6]
		1965–70	Saskatchewan Roughriders	68	25	3
		1971–75	BC Lions	25	42	3
6	Ray Jauch †	1970–76	Edmonton Eskimos	65	43	4	127	94	4	.573	[7]
		1978–82	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	45	35	0
		1994–95	Saskatchewan Roughriders	17	19	0
7	Mike O'Shea ‡*	2014–present	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	110	69	0	110	69	0	.615	[8]
8	Dave Ritchie †	1993–95	BC Lions	31	22	1	108	76	3	.586	[9]
		1997–98	Montreal Alouettes	25	10	1
		1999–2004	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	52	44	1
9	Bob O'Billovich †	1982–89, 1993–95	Toronto Argonauts	89	79	3	107	104	3	.507	[10]
		1990–92	BC Lions	18	25	0
10	John Hufnagel †	2008–15	Calgary Stampeders	102	41	1	102	41	1	.712	[11]
11	Bud Grant †	1957–66	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	102	56	2	102	56	2	.644	[12]
12	Cal Murphy †	1975–76	BC Lions	10	14	2	99	80	3	.552	[13]
		1983–86, 1993–96	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	86	51	1
		1999	Saskatchewan Roughriders	3	15	0
13	Dave Dickenson ‡*	2016–present	Calgary Stampeders	86	54	3	86	54	3	.612	[14]
14	Tom Higgins	2001–04	Edmonton Eskimos	44	28	0	84	67	1	.552	[15]
		2005–07	Calgary Stampeders	28	25	1
		2014–15	Montreal Alouettes	12	14	0
15	Jack Gotta	1970–73	Ottawa Rough Riders	30	26	0	83	82	5	.503	[16]
		1977–79, 1982–83	Calgary Stampeders	42	34	4
		1985–86	Saskatchewan Roughriders	11	22	1
16	George Brancato	1974–84	Ottawa Rough Riders	82	90	4	82	90	4	.477	[17]
17	Rick Campbell	2014–19	Ottawa Redblacks	44	62	2	82	92	2	.472	[18]
		2020–2024	BC Lions	38	30	0
18	Jim Trimble	1957–65	Hamilton Tiger-Cats	60	36	2	77	61	2	.557	[19]
		1963–65	Montreal Alouettes	17	25	0
19	Marc Trestman	2008–12	Montreal Alouettes	59	31	0	72	54	0	.571	[20]
		2017–18	Toronto Argonauts	13	23	0
20	Jerry Williams	1965–68, 1981	Calgary Stampeders	41	26	1	71	55	2	.563	[21]
		1972–75	Hamilton Tiger-Cats	30	29	1

See also

• List of professional gridiron football coaches with 200 wins

References

1. "CFL Guide and Record Book, 2017 Edition" (PDF). Canadian Football League. p. 19. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
2. "Wally Buono coaching record". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
3. "Don Matthews coaching record". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
4. "Frank Clair search results". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
5. "Ron Lancaster search results". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
6. "Eagle Keys search results". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
7. "Ray Jauch coaching record". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
8. "Mike O'Shea". statscrew.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
9. "Dave Ritchie search results". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
10. "Bob O'Billovich search results". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
11. "John Hufnagel search results". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
12. "Bud Grant search results". StatsCrew.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
13. "Cal Murphy". statscrew.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
14. "Dave Dickenson". statscrew.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
15. "Tom Higgins". statscrew.com. Retrieved October 16, 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.

External links

• 2024 CFL Guide & Record Book