Montour, Penn State grad John Hufnagel continues to build winning legacy in CFL

The Canadian Football League will hold its draft Thursday, and, like he has for the past decade-plus, John Hufnagel will be in the middle of the action.

The Montour and Penn State graduate is president and general manager of the Calgary Stampeders, a position he has held since 2016. From 2008-15, he was Calgary’s coach and GM.

Those are just pieces of his long, distinguished career in the CFL. Though he also can lay claim to helping Tom Brady win a Super Bowl — he was the Patriots quarterbacks coach when they won Super Bowl XXXVIII — as well as coaching Peyton (2001) and Eli Manning (2004-06) in the NFL, it is in Canada where Hufnagel has become a household name.

In 33 seasons north of the border, he has been a player, coach, innovator, administrator and, above all, a winner.

“John is a cornerstone, not only of our CFL family but also the city of Calgary,” CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement to the Tribune-Review. “His leadership and vision have shaped the Stampeders into champions, creating a legacy of success that very few coaches or executives have experienced.”

In addition to winning a Grey Cup during his 12-year playing career, he won one as an assistant coach, two as a head coach and one (2018) in his current post.

Hufnagel, 68, said he caught the coaching bug in high school while attending a quarterbacks camp at Penn State. Former Montour coach Bob Phillips was an assistant there after being Joe Paterno’s first hire in 1966.

“I had a really nice relationship with the Penn State staff,” said Hufnagel, who was sixth in the 1972 Heisman voting after becoming the first PSU quarterback to throw for 2,000 yards in a season. “I got to know them on a very personal-type basis, and I enjoyed how hard they worked and how well we were prepared. That’s the first time I realized the importance of being prepared.”

Still, he seemed an unlikely candidate to become an instant success as a coach. He spent one season as a player/coach for Saskatchewan (1987) and had been out of the CFL for a two years when Wally Buono hired him as his offensive coordinator in Calgary in 1990.

He was recommended to Buono by Cal Murphy, who was Winnipeg’s coach and GM when Hufnagel was the backup QB for the 1984 Grey Cup champion. Buono, who played against Hufnagel in the CFL, admired the former quarterback’s “cerebral” approach to the game.

“I really liked how he talked about football and how he wanted to build his team and his offense,” said Buono, the CFL’s all-time leader in coaching wins (282). “So we hired him, and, from there, John has done a tremendous job of changing and revolutionizing football.”

As far as Buono is concerned, Hufnagel has done as much as anyone to shape how football is played on both sides of the border.

In 1991, Hufnagel sat down with Calgary’s then-little-known receivers coach, Jeff Tedford, and, in Buono’s words, “changed football.” Hufnagel installed the shotgun formation and ditched the fullback and tight end in favor of five- and six-receiver sets. (The CFL plays with 12 on a side, making six-receiver sets possible.)

Initially, it was a ploy to offset the Stampeders’ porous offensive line. But when Calgary signed free agent quarterback Doug Flutie the next season, Hufnagel went almost exclusively to five- and six-receiver sets.

Flutie won three consecutive CFL Most Outstanding Player awards (1992-94), and Calgary won the ’92 Grey Cup.

“So when you look at football today, this is done by everybody: NFL, CFL, college,” Buono said, “and I believe John was the pioneer that changed how football and how offenses and the quarterback play.”

There might be varying opinions on Hufnagel’s role in forever changing football, but his role in the Stampeders’ success is undisputed.

After spending a decade back in the U.S. as a head coach and GM in the Arena League (1997-98) and an NFL assistant (1999-2006), he was lured back to Canada to revive the Stampeders.

After Buono left for the BC Lions following the 2002 season, Calgary fell on hard times. Between 2003 and ’07, the Stampeders had three losing records and failed to win a playoff game.

Hufnagel was hired as coach and GM in 2008, and the Stampeders won the Grey Cup that year. Current Stamps coach Dave Dickenson was a quarterback on that team and then served as offensive coordinator under Hufnagel.

He was promoted when Hufnagel (102-41-1 in eight seasons) was made team president and GM and decided to focus exclusively on his front-office duties. Dickenson led Calgary to the 2018 Grey Cup title, and he said Hufnagel’s influence played no small part.

“As a young coach … it was good for me to watch and see he doesn’t leave any stone unturned,” Dickenson said. “He is willing to delegate the work, but he still wants his opinion … and to make sure it’s up to the standard he thinks it should be.”

That standard, Buono said, is what keeps the Stampeders winning. In the 12 seasons in which Hufnagel has been Calgary’s coach, GM and/or president, the team is 155-58-3 with three Grey Cup titles.

Second-year Stampeders defensive back Lorenzo Jerome quickly has come to understand the Hufnagel way. He said Hufnagel remains very involved with day-to-day activities.

“When he steps into our room, our DB room, it’s silence,” the former St. Francis (Pa.) standout said. “It’s just respect. He’s (at practice) every day. He is making sure everybody is doing the right thing.”

While Hufnagel allowed that football remains second fiddle to hockey in Canada, he said he can see a growing appreciation for the sport, especially in Calgary. He is working diligently to make sure Thursday’s draft can help continue his team’s record of winning.

Though the covid-19 pandemic has changed his preparation methods, Hufnagel has been undeterred. He has kept forging ahead, with little time to dwell on his legacy.

“One thing I think I have been very fortunate with is I have been able to surround myself with good people, smart people, good at what they do,” he said. “When you have all that help, just don’t screw it up.

“I’m still working, and I’m glad that I am working. I love what I do. I have a few more years, and then maybe I will sit back and reminisce some.”

Buono, though, is more than happy to sing the praises of his longtime friend. While terms such as “legend” and “icon” are thrown around loosely, Buono believes they apply to Hufnagel.

“I have been around (pro) football 46 years. John is one of the few people I would say I could trust with anything,” he said. “If I was an owner, and I had to pick one person to start my organization, it would be John Hufnagel.

“Why have the Stampeders been good since 2008? There is one reason. It’s John Hufnagel.”