Three-time Grey Cup champion Mike Benevides has joined the Edmonton Eskimos coaching staff as Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator.

Benevides brings 15 years of CFL coaching experience to the Green and Gold.

He first entered the league’s coaching ranks in 2000 with the Calgary Stampeders as a defensive assistant. The following year, he served as special teams coordinator and linebackers coach en route to the Stampeders 2001 Grey Cup championship. He also served as Calgary’s director of Canadian scouting where he was recognized as one of the league’s top talent evaluators.

In 2003, he went to BC where he would go on to win two more championships as part of the Lions coaching staff (2006, 2011). Benevides spent five seasons as the Lions’ special teams coordinator and linebackers coach before his promotion to defensive coordinator in 2008. Following the team’s 2011 Grey Cup championship, he was named head coach. He went on to set a team record for most wins by a first year head coach in club history with 13. That year, the Lions led the CFL in overall defensive and offensive categories for the first time in club history.

A native of Toronto, Ontario, he continued to play a key role in scouting for the CFL Canadian Draft with the Lions.

Benevides spent last season with the CFL’s exclusive television broadcaster TSN, contributing to the network’s comprehensive coverage as an analyst.

Prior to his CFL career, Benevides played nose tackle for Bakersfield College in California. He was a member of the school’s 1988 national championship team.

Coaching History

2016 Defensive Coordinator, Edmonton Eskimos

2012-14 Head Coach, BC Lions

2008-11 Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach, BC Lions

2003-07 Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers Coach, BC Lions

2001-02 Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers, Calgary Stampeders

2000 Defensive Assistant, Calgary Stampeders