Mike Benevides enters his first season as head coach of the BC Lions, the 24th in club history. For Mike, his appointment in December 2011 was the culmination of more than 20 years of coaching experience including 13 CFL seasons, 10 in BC and the last four as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Benevides has tutored players at each level of football from high school to CIS to the professional ranks. He spent five seasons (‘03-’07) as the Lions’ special teams coordinator and linebackers coach before being promoted to the defensive coordinator position in 2008.
 
Under Benevides’ direction, the Lions’ defensive corps has excelled over the past four seasons, racking up more total sacks (211) and forcing more turnovers (203) than any other CFL team during that span.  In addition, the 5,725 net yards allowed by the Lions during the 2011 season was the club’s best total since 2006 and the second-lowest allowed over the past six years.  Ranked among the top three in 10 defensive categories in 2011, no CFL team allowed fewer points than the BC defence (362) which was a key component of the club’s dominance down the stretch en route to a sixth Grey Cup title.

With a reputation for big plays, the BC defence dominated the West Division All-Star vote in 2011, grabbing six of the 12 spots along with four All-CFL selections led by the Lions Most Outstanding Defensive Player nominee Keron Williams and 2010 CFL Most Outstanding Rookie Solomon Elimimian.

Mike, along with player personnel coordinator, Neil McEvoy also takes a lead role in scouting for the annual CFL Canadian Draft and has been lauded by many as one the league’s best evaluators of Canadian football talent.  Under Mike’s leadership, the Lions have added at least two players in each of the past six seasons who have become starters or have played significant roles in the CFL, including, Jon Hameister-Ries, Dean Valli, Rolly Lumbala, James Yurichuk, Jason Arakgi, Shawn Gore, Akeem Foster, Jamall Lee, Ricky Foley and Jason Pottinger.

Benevides originally joined the Lions in 2003, moving over from the Calgary Stampeders, where he looked after special teams from 2000-2003 and coached the club’s linebackers. He was also Calgary’s director of Canadian scouting.  In 2001, Benevides won his first Grey Cup as a member of the Stampeders’ staff.

Prior to beginning his coaching career, Benevides attended Bakersfield College in California on an athletic scholarship and played nosetackle on the school’s 1988 National Championship team.  After Bakersfield, Benevides attended York University in Toronto where his studies included Business Management and Marketing.

Mike, his wife Judy, and their daughters Ashley and Sarah reside year-round in south Surrey, BC.