The 2021 BC Lions season was the 63rd season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 67th overall. The Lions failed to improve upon their 5–13 record from 2019 and were eliminated from playoff qualification on November 12, 2021, following a week 15 loss to the Calgary Stampeders.[1]
The 2021 CFL season was the first season with Rick Campbell as the team's head coach.[2] Campbell will also perform general manager duties alongside co-general manager Neil McEvoy following the resignation of former general manager Ed Hervey.[3]
The Lions held their training camp at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops, British Columbia for the 11th consecutive season.[4][5]
An 18-game season schedule was originally released on November 20, 2020, but it was announced on April 21, 2021 that the start of the season would likely be delayed until August and feature a 14-game schedule.[6][7] On June 15, 2021, the league released the revised 14-game schedule with regular season play beginning on August 5, 2021.[8]
Offseason
General manager
On October 16, 2020, the team's general manager, Ed Hervey, announced his resignation due to personal reasons.[9][10] There had been speculation that his departure from the organization was related to the grievance filed by starting quarterback Mike Reilly who was guaranteed $250,000 in 2020, despite the season being cancelled.[11] However, this was never confirmed and the Lions eventually reached an agreement to re-structure Reilly's contract.[11][12]
On December 7, 2020, it was announced that head coach Rick Campbell and director of football operations Neil McEvoy were promoted to co-general managers.[3]
CFL Global Draft
The 2021 CFL Global Draft took place on April 15, 2021.[13][14] The Lions won the draft lottery and selected first overall. With the format being a snake draft, the Lions selected first in the odd-numbered rounds and last in the even-numbered rounds.[13]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | University/Club Team | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Jake Ford | P | Ouachita Baptist |  Australia
|
| 2 | 18 | Bo Qiao Li | DL | Charleston |  China
|
| 3 | 19 | Takeru Yamasaki | K | Elecom Kobe Finies |  Japan
|
| 4 | 36 | Niklas Gustav | DL | Morningside |  Germany
|
CFL National Draft
The 2021 CFL Draft took place on May 4, 2021.[15] The Lions had five selections in the six-round snake draft and had the fourth pick in odd rounds and the sixth pick in even rounds.[16] The team traded its fourth-round selection to the Toronto Argonauts after trading Davon Coleman in exchange for Shawn Lemon.[16][17]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Daniel Joseph | DL | North Carolina State | Toronto, ON |
| 2 | 15 | Alaric Jackson | OL | Iowa | Windsor, ON |
| 3 | 22 | Ben Hladik | LB | British Columbia | Vernon, BC |
| 5 | 40 | Alfred Green | DL | Wilfrid Laurier | Ajax, ON |
| 6 | 51 | Tyler Packer | OL | Calgary | Calgary, AB |
Preseason
Due to the shortening of the season, the CFL confirmed that pre-season games would not be played in 2021.[8]
Planned schedule
| Week | Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | TV | Venue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | Sun, May 23 | 1:30 p.m. PDT | at Calgary Stampeders | NA | McMahon Stadium | ||||
| B | Bye | |||||||||
| C | 2 | Fri, June 4 | 7:00 p.m. PDT | vs. Edmonton Elks | NA | BC Place | ||||
Regular season
Standings
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 351 | 187 | 8–1 | L2 | Details |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 290 | 285 | 5–4 | L1 | Details |
| Calgary Stampeders | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 315 | 263 | 6–4 | W3 | Details |
| BC Lions | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 313 | 351 | 2–7 | W1 | Details |
| Edmonton Elks | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 246 | 377 | 2–7 | L1 | Details |
Schedule
The Lions initially had a schedule that featured 18 regular season games beginning on June 12 and ending on October 29.[6] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the Canadian Football League delayed the start of the regular season to August 5, 2021 and the Lions will begin their 14-game season on August 6, 2021.[8]
| Week | Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Fri, Aug 6 | 6:30 p.m. PDT | @ Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 29–33 | 0–1 | TSN | Mosaic Stadium | 33,350 | Recap |
| 2 | 2 | Thurs, Aug 12 | 6:30 p.m. PDT | @ Calgary Stampeders | W 15–9 | 1–1 | TSN/RDS2 | McMahon Stadium | 21,029 | Recap |
| 3 | 3 | Thurs, Aug 19 | 7:00 p.m. PDT | Edmonton Elks | L 16–21 | 1–2 | TSN/ESPN2 | BC Place | 12,500 | Recap |
| 4 | 4 | Sat, Aug 28 | 4:00 p.m. PDT | @ Ottawa Redblacks | W 24–12 | 2–2 | TSN/RDS | TD Place Stadium | 15,000 | Recap |
| 5 | Bye | |||||||||
| 6 | 5 | Sat, Sept 11 | 7:00 p.m. PDT | Ottawa Redblacks | W 45–13 | 3–2 | TSN/RDS | BC Place | 12,552 | Recap |
| 7 | 6 | Sat, Sept 18 | 4:00 p.m. PDT | @ Montreal Alouettes | W 27–18 | 4–2 | TSN/RDS | Molson Stadium | 13,591 | Recap |
| 8 | 7 | Fri, Sept 24 | 7:30 p.m. PDT | Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 24–31 | 4–3 | TSN/ESPN2 | BC Place | 12,500 | Recap |
| 9 | 8 | Fri, Oct 1 | 7:00 p.m. PDT | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 9–30 | 4–4 | TSN/ESPNews | BC Place | 12,500 | Recap |
| 10 | Bye | |||||||||
| 11 | 9 | Sat, Oct 16 | 4:00 p.m. PDT | Calgary Stampeders | L 10–39 | 4–5 | TSN | BC Place | 12,500 | Recap |
| 12 | 10 | Sat, Oct 23 | 4:00 p.m. PDT | @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 0–45 | 4–6 | TSN | IG Field | 23,750 | Recap |
| 13 | 11 | Sat, Oct 30 | 1:00 p.m. PDT | @ Toronto Argonauts | L 29–31 (OT) | 4–7 | TSN | BMO Field | 9,011 | Recap |
| 14 | 12 | Fri, Nov 5 | 4:00 p.m. PDT | @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 18–26 | 4–8 | TSN/RDS | Tim Hortons Field | 21,618 | Recap |
| 15 | 13 | Fri, Nov 12 | 7:30 p.m. PST | Calgary Stampeders | L 23–33 | 4–9 | TSN | BC Place | 12,500 | Recap |
| 16 | 14 | Fri, Nov 19 | 7:30 p.m. PST | Edmonton Elks | W 43–10 | 5–9 | TSN | BC Place | 12,500 | Recap |
- # Games played with colour uniforms.
- # Games played with white uniforms.
Team
Roster
Coaching staff
Front office and support staff
|
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
| |||||
References
- ^ "Stamps down Lions to clinch playoff berth". Canadian Football League. November 12, 2019.
- ^ "Lions officially name Rick Campbell head coach". Canadian Football League. December 2, 2019.
- ^ a b "B.C. Lions coach Rick Campbell, football ops director Neil McEvoy to share GM role". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. December 7, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ "Lions To Hold Training Camp In Kamloops Through 2020". BC Lions. July 26, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
- ^ "B.C. Lions, City of Kamloops roll training camp contract over to 2021; no camp in Kamloops this year". kamloopsthisweek.com. April 21, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ a b "Divisional games take centre stage in unique 2021 schedule". Canadian Football League. November 20, 2020.
- ^ "CFL Announces Plans To Return-to-play For 2021 Season". Canadian Football League. April 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Circle your calendars: CFL releases 2021 schedule". Canadian Football League. June 15, 2021.
- ^ "Ed Hervey steps down as Lions GM, cites personal reasons". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. October 16, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ "Hervey steps down as Lions' general manager". Canadian Football League. October 16, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ a b "Farhan Lalji: 'I absolutely believe this was tied to Ed (Hervey)'s departure from the club'". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. November 11, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ "Mike Reilly, Lions reach contract settlement as QB signs two-year deal". BC Lions. December 16, 2020.
- ^ a b "CFL calendar busy with free agency, virtual combines, drafts". Canadian Football League. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ "2021 Global Draft tracker". Canadian Football League. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "CFL announces date for 2021 CFL National Draft". cfl.ca. Canadian Football League. March 30, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ a b "Ti-Cats snag first selection as CFL reveals 2021 order". Canadian Football League. November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ "Lions acquire Shawn Lemon, Argos land all-star Davon Coleman in trade". Canadian Football League. August 12, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ "2021 BC Lions Schedule". BC Lions. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ "2021 Schedule". Canadian Football League. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ "Nos émissions" (in French). Réseau des sports. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ "ESPN, Upcoming". ESPN. Retrieved August 3, 2021.