THE CANADIAN PRESS

John Hufnagel and the Calgary Stampeders will have a tough act to follow in 2009.

In his first year as head coach and GM, Hufnagel led the Stamps to a stellar 13-5 regular-season record and the 2008 Grey Cup championship.

Now, Calgary faces the daunting task of not only trying to repeat as the CFL champion, but also doing it at home. This year's Grey Cup game will be played Nov. 29 at McMahon Stadium.

Only four teams since 1960 have managed to repeat as Grey Cup champions, the last being the Toronto Argonauts in 1996-'97. And not since 1994 has the home team captured a CFL title when the B.C. Lions edged Baltimore 27-24 at B.C. Place.

None of which is lost on Hufnagel.

"Each year it's anyone's ballgame," he said. "Due to the competition and parity within the league it's very very difficult.

"Our approach this year is we're not thinking about anything differently than what we thought at this time last year."

Calgary opens its season Wednesday night (TSN, 10 p.m. ET), hosting the Montreal Alouettes in a Grey Cup rematch. The season officially kicks off earlier in the night with the Toronto Argonauts visiting the arch-rival Hamilton Tiger-Cats (TSN, 7 p.m.).

A big key to Calgary's success will again be quarterback Henry Burris, who signed a four-year contract extension last week. The former Temple star posted career highs in passing yards (5,039) and touchdowns (39) and capped his season by being named the Grey Cup MVP in Calgary's 22-14 win over the Als at Olympic Stadium.

Once again, Burris's supporting cast will be a stellar one. A solid receiving corps will again be anchored by Ken-Yon Rambo (100 catches, league-high 1,473 yards, eight TDs) while the ground game is capably manned by CFL rushing leader Joffrey Reynolds (1,310 yards, 5.8-yard average) and Burris (595 yards, 6.8-yard average).

But it all starts with Burris and offensive co-ordinator George Cortez, who is generally regarded as one of the CFL's top football minds.

"This will now be Henry's third year with George . . . and I believe, hope and expect an improvement this year," Hufnagel said. "Being in the system one year longer, having another year of experience with George and the communication between the two can only help.

"And then there's (Burris's) ability to play on the field and make the decisions that are necessary to make."

CFL referees will have one less decision to make this season with the league adopting a command centre at its head office to review coaching challenges. Instead of an on-field official going under the hood to review a play, a replay official in Toronto will make the final call based on video review using high-definition technology.

CFL commissioner Mark Cohon said the new process is designed to be quicker. A replay official at the command centre can immediately start reviewing a play from various angles instead of fans and teams having to wait for the on-field referee to reach a video booth on the sideline before examining the replay.

The lead replay official at the command centre will be Jake Ireland, who retired last year after working 30 years - 557 games and 15 Grey Cups - as a CFL referee.

"I'm excited about it because I think it does a couple of different things," Cohon said. "It speeds up the game, which I think is very important.

"It also gives our officials access to a higher quality view of the field, which they really didn't have when they were under the hood. Anything that improves the product on the field is the right thing for the game and league."

The CFL enters the '09 season without any major problems domestically as talks continue in its quest to return to Ottawa.

Cohon also said the league is looking at possibly staging a regular-season game in Moncton in the future as it continues to grow its product nationwide.

Again this year, the CFL will have to deal with the issue of the NFL in Canada. In December, the Buffalo Bills will host the New York Jets at Rogers Centre, the third of eight games the club will play in Toronto (five regular season, three exhibition) through the 2012 season.

But on Sunday, Bills owner Ralph Wilson said he'd prefer to wait "two or three years," before deciding whether to play more regular-season contests in southern Ontario.

"The important message we've been delivering and consistent with is we have to build our league," Cohon said. "We can't focus on things we can't control.

"There's a lot of speculation in the media about will there be more games and I think because Mr. Wilson has indicated he's going to wait and see, that sort of says everyone should calm down. What we're here to do is build CFL football and that's what we're doing."

Once the season begins, one CFL head coach will be looking to make league history.

Wally Buono, the B.C. Lions' head coach and GM, needs just five regular-season victories to surpass the CFL record of 231 held by Don Matthews. Buono, 59, is entering his 20th season and seventh with the Lions.

"The record matters, it's very prestigious," Buono said. "But right not it's not relevant.

"What's more important in my mind is putting together a good football team that's capable of winning the Grey Cup in Calgary in November."

Capturing a fifth career Grey Cup coaching victory would certainly be sweet for Buono, who spent 13 seasons as the Stampeders coach before joining the Lions in 2003.

And B.C. enters the season with a huge advantage in CFL head-coaching experience.

Four teams - Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg and Edmonton - will have rookie CFL head coaches on the sidelines in 2008.

Mike Kelly begins his first stint as a CFL head coach in Winnipeg (8-10 last year, second in East) after serving as an offensive co-ordinator with the Bombers and Edmonton's receivers coach last season. And in Hamilton, Marcel Bellefeuille embarks on his first full campaign as head coach of the Ticats (league-worst 3-15 record last year) after serving on an interim basis last season when Charlie Taaffe was fired.

In Edmonton, Richie Hall begins his first season as a CFL head coach but has extensive Canadian football experience both as a former player (Calgary and Saskatchewan) and coach (15 years as an assistant with the Riders, including the last eight as defensive co-ordinator).

The Eskimos will certainly benefit from Hall's defensive acumen, but the club's pass-happy offence - led by quarterback Ricky Ray - should become more balanced with the off-season addition of running back Jesse Lumsden. Over four seasons in Hamilton, the six-foot-two, 226-pound Lumsden averaged more than six yards a carry but also battled injuries over that span. If he can stay healthy, Lumsden should give Edmonton more offensive balance.

But the most intriguing situation is in Toronto, where Bart Andrus patrols the sidelines for the Argonauts (4-14 to miss CFL playoffs for first time since '01). Andrus has an extensive coaching resume - including two World Bowl titles and a Super Bowl appearance with the Tennessee Titans - but enters this season with no previous CFL coaching experience.

Hufnagel, Saskatchewan's Ken Miller and Montreal's Marc Trestman all enter their second season with their respective teams.

For the first time in 15 years, CFL fans won't be treated to the pass-catching brilliance of slotback Milt Stegall. The colourful Stegall retired in the off-season following 14 seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, leaving as the league's career leader in touchdowns (147), touchdown catches (144), receiving yards (15,165), most TDs (23 in 2002) and yards per catch in a season (26.5-yard average in '97).

This season, Stegall will serve as a football commentator with TSN.

And CFL quarterbacks will be breathing a little easier with Cameron Wake no longer in the league.

The former Penn State linebacker quietly joined the B.C. Lions two years ago as a free agent. But he quickly took the league by storm, twice being named the CFL's outstanding defensive player while compiling 137 tackles with 39 sacks.

In the off-season, the six-foot-three, 260-pound Wake signed a four-year deal with Miami Dolphins that included a US$1-million bonus.

"His two years up here were nothing short of spectacular," Buono said. "I know he's going to be missed.

"The CFL is losing a tremendous player, but the NFL is gaining a great player and a very good person."