Hall-of-Famer DesLauriers expected to run defence
By Lyndon Little,
Vancouver Sun
FOOTBALL – The Simon Fraser University Clan football team continues to reach out to its crosstown rivals for talent in assembling a new coaching staff.
Earlier this month, the Clan named Dave Johnson, a former UBC Thunderbird head coach, as the man to replace Frank Boehres at the helm of the struggling SFU grid program, which hasn’t won a game since the tail end of the 2004 season.
At the time of his hiring, Johnson named Shawn Olson, the No. 2 passer in UBC history, as one of his two full-time assistants.
Now Johnson has tabbed another former UBC head coach, Lou DesLauriers, to fill the second full-time assistant’s post. DesLauriers is a member of the UBC Sports Hall of Fame.
Neither DesLauriers or Johnson was unavailable for comment Friday. But it’s almost assured that Olson, given his background as a quarterback, will work with the Clan offence while DesLauriers will coordinate the SFU defence.
A former Thunderbird star player, DesLauriers took over as UBC head coach in 2002 from Jay Prepchuk and appeared to have the program headed in the right direction. Following a winless season in 2003, he led the T-Birds to back-to-back playoff berths in 2004 and 2005. However, following the 2005 season he ran into undisclosed conflicts with the UBC athletic department and was dismissed.
As a player, DesLauriers was a member of the 1982 T-Bird team that won the school’s first Vanier Cup national championship. A two-way star, in 1982 DesLauriers set several school records, including 719 yards in punt returns. That season he also established UBC marks for punt return yards in one game (170) and kickoff return yards in one game (215).
DesLauriers went on to enjoy a stellar pro career as a defensive back for four seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos and a fifth with the Toronto Argonauts before injuries forced him to retire. In 1984, he was named to the all-CFL team as well as being the Esks’ nominee for outstanding rookie.
DesLauriers later taught and coached at his alma mater, St. Thomas More high school in Burnaby, and in the 1990s served as an assistant coach at UBC under both Frank Smith and Casey Smith.
