Photo courtesy of the BC Lions/Steven Chang

By Ray Hamill — Several local athletes have gone on to have a big impact in pro sports, but few have achieved the heights of 2000 Del Norte graduate Buck Pierce.

On Wednesday, Pierce was named the new head coach of the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League.

In his first press conference as the team’s new head coach on Thursday, Pierce thanked his family and parents Tim and Connie Pierce for helping him to get to where he is.

“Me sitting here today is a testament to all that support and love that, you know, we received as kids,” the 43-year-old said.

After graduating from Del Norte High School, where he also was a star basketball player for the Warriors and a two-time offensive MVP in football, Pierce went on to play collegiately at New Mexico State as a quarterback.

He had an immediate impact with the Aggies, scoring a touchdown on a 75-yard run on his very first play from scrimmage.

After his college career ended, Pierce signed with the BC Lions.

“About 20 years ago, my dad and myself jumped in a car from Crescent City, California, and drove up to Portland, Oregon, there was a free agent camp for the BC Lions … from that free agent camp I signed with the BC Lions about a week later.

“To think 20 years later, for that to come full circle and me be sitting here today is truly an amazing surreal experience. It feels like a dream come true for me.”

During his time with the Lions, he led them to a Grey Cup championship in 2006 after taking over as starter midway through the season.

After four years with the Lions, Pierce went on to play four years with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL, before closing out a nine-year playing career with one final season playing for the Lions.

He began his coaching career with the Blue Bombers just three days after announcing his retirement as a player in March 2014.

He coached the team’s running backs for two years and quarterbacks for four years before he was named the team’s offensive coordinator in 2020.

He won two more Grey Cups as a coach with the Blue Bombers, in 2019 and 2021.

He becomes the 28th head coach in the Lions’ 70-year history.

Pierce was born in Hutchinson, Kansas and raised in Crescent City.

The Lions finished 9-9 this past season.