Buck Pierce is back where his CFL career began. 

It's been about 20 years since the quarterback from Crescent City, Calif., hopped into the car with his dad and took the long, winding drive up the West Coast to a B.C. Lions' free agent camp in Portland, Ore., hoping to land a role with the team. 

This week, Pierce was named the Lions' head coach. 

"From that free agent camp, I signed with the B.C. Lions about a week later," he told reporters Wednesday. "To think about 20 years later, for that to come full circle and for me to be sitting here today is truly a surreal experience. It feels like a dream come true for me."

Pierce's hiring comes after the Lions dismissed head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell last month. B.C. finished the 2024 regular season with a 9-9 record, ending their campaign with a loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West Division semifinal.

Choosing a new coach — the 28th in franchise history — was an "exhaustive process" where the Lions' front office went through eight candidates, said newly minted GM Ryan Rigmaiden. 

"We wanted somebody that had leadership skills, accountability for coaches and players and then somebody that could bring in the mental and physical toughness that we felt like we had to make a jump with," he said.

"Buck started his career as a quarterback here. He led from the huddle. And now he's going to lead us into a new era of B.C. Lions football." 

The Lions inked Pierce as a free agent in 2005, and he spent five seasons playing for B.C., winning a Grey Cup in 2006. 

The 43-year-old former QB grew emotional Wednesday reflecting on those memories. 

"To be back in this building, to see so many familiar faces around this room, reconnect with the community that I was so proud to be a part of, it's a very special feeling for me," he said.

"To come back here and have this opportunity with an organization that I believe has the right people and is being built the right way is surreal, humbling. And I'm filled with gratitude."

After leaving the Lions, Pierce played parts of four seasons for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before being dealt back to B.C. midway through 2013. He then announced his retirement and joined the Bombers' coaching staff. 

Pierce has spent the last decade on Winnipeg's sidelines and capped his fourth season as the team's offensive co-ordinator with a Grey Cup appearance last month. Pierce helped the Bombers hoist Grey Cups in 2019 and 2021 by guiding star quarterback Zach Collaros and 2024's most outstanding player, running back Brady Oliveira. 

The Bombers offence has been the envy of the CFL in recent years, said Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke, who was on hand for Pierce's introduction Wednesday. 

"They've proven that they can be an explosive offence. They can be a consistent offence, and that's ultimately what I want to be," he said. "I think that for the last couple of years, Winnipeg and Zach [Collaros] have set the standard for what the league is, especially in the West. And we're always chasing that. 

"We want to win the West. We want to win the Grey Cup. And I'm excited to learn and develop and get better within that offence."

Vision for the club, 'toughness, grit, integrity': Buck Pierce

Having a former quarterback as head coach is always great, added Rourke, who grew up watching the CFL and remembers seeing Pierce play.

Getting the most out of the offence, though, is all about communication, according to Rourke.

"In all the quarterback rooms that I've been in, the successful ones, it's a great dialogue, not just between the starter and the play caller, but with all the quarterbacks," he said. "And I think that that's something that he's striving for. And I think it's important."

Who will join Pierce's staff remains to be seen. The new head coach said Wednesday that he'll be the one calling plays, but he'll take his time to round out his coaching roster.

"Our vision for this club is an identity of toughness, grit, integrity and accountability," he said. "The standard will be set early, and we will hold ourselves and our players to that standard."

For now, Pierce's priority is reaching out to his new players and getting to know them. Some, including Rourke, are already locked up for next season, while others — including last season's leading receiver Justin McInnis — require new deals. 

The new head coach knows he'll face challenges in the weeks and months ahead, but wasn't about to speculate on what might be the toughest hurdle he'll face. 

"You don't know what you don't know as a first-time head coach," Pierce said. "But I do know this — I'm excited for the opportunity. What I know is adversity will show, and we're ready for that."