Bert Faibish
Ticats.ca
The year is 1980, and it’s a time for firsts in the world of sports.
The United States has just won it’s first gold medal in hockey in Lake Placid, the Philadelphia Phillies have won their first World Series in six games and Steve Buratto has been given his first professional football job as Offensive Line coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Now 30 years, five CFL teams and six coaching positions later, Buratto is in a new city working an old job.
“I remember a few years ago my wife asked me what I’d like to do going forward in my career and I told her I’d just like to be an offensive line coach,” said Buratto.
Buratto, an offensive lineman at Idaho University, has been an offensive and defensive coordinator, head coach, receivers coach, running backs coach and special teams coordinator in the CFL.
“It’s enjoyable to finally go back and work with a group you’re comfortable with,” he said.
Hamilton was a perfect fit for Buratto, who has known many of the team’s coaches for years and is optimistic about the core of young, talented players that the Tiger-Cats will have this year.
“It’s a good a very good outlook for the team and I can see that Marcel does a great job with leadership and he’s provided a foundation from which great things can come,” said Buratto.
Coming to a team that will return most of the previous year’s offensive line intact is a major advantage for a coach coming into a new situation.
“It’s always easier to work with a group of guys that have experience and understanding, particularly with one another,” said Buratto.
“With the offensive line especially, the understanding and the trust of the guys that play next to you is paramount to your success,” he added.
Coaching a group of seasoned veterans will involve more work on details than teaching technique.
“There’s not a whole lot of things that you have to talk to them about because they’ve all played and they all see the things you want them to see,” said Buratto.
Having played along the offensive line in college, Steve recognizes the thanklessness that is inherent with the position and the vital importance it plays in a team’s success.
“They’re an unheralded group, the offensive line, but you cant play well without them,” said Buratto. “Regardless of how skilled everybody else is, if they don’t function you cant do anything on the field.”
