Dave Easley is a former award-winning

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

from 1969 to 1976. A native of Vancouver, Easley played junior football with the Vancouver Blue Bombers and graduated to the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

in 1969. His 4 interceptions and 50 punt returns for 359 yards won him the

Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy The Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy is a Canadian Football League award, given to the most outstanding Canadian player in the West Division. Each team nominates a player for this award, from which the winner is chosen. Either the winner of this trophy ...

as best Canadian rookie in the west. He played 4 seasons and 69 games with the Lions. He later played 4 seasons with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

and finished his playing career in 1976 with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

. He had 15 interceptions for 1 touchdown. After his playing days Easley took up coaching. Dave started coaching junior football and led the

Vancouver Trojans The Vancouver Trojans were a Canadian Junior Football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Trojans play in the eight-team B.C. Football Conference, which itself is part of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) and competes annually ...

to the National Championship in 1982. He later became defensive coach for the

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athl ...

from 1983 to 1987 and 1989 to 1990 (with time spent as head coach of the Adelaide Eagles in Australia in 1987 and 1988) including the

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion Canadian football team in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), pl ...

Championship in 1986. Dave joined the professional coaching ranks with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

for the 1991 and 1992 seasons as linebacker coach (where he earned his first

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

ring). He had gained CFL coaching experience as a guest coach with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1984 and with the Lions in 1985 and 1986. In 1993, he joined Lions as defensive line coach. In 1994 and 1995 he coached the linebackers as well as special teams, earning his second Grey Cup ring. In 1996 and 1998 to 1999 he coached the defensive backs and special teams and was defensive coordinator in 1997. He joined the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

as special teams coordinator in 2000–2001 and would make a stop in Ottawa in 2002 when he was named defensive coordinator of the

Ottawa Renegades The Ottawa Renegades were a Canadian Football League franchise based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, six years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded. After four seasons, the Renegades franchise was suspended indefinitely by the league d ...

. He spent another two seasons in Ottawa as the team's special teams coordinator before joining the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

as their defensive backs coach in 2005. Easley spent 2006 with the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

, serving as the Bisons’ advisor to the defensive backs coach and special teams coaches. Most recently he was special teams coordinator with the

, until 2010"CFL coaching carousel keeps spinning"
''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...

'', January 14, 2011 Easley is the only coach in Canadian football history to capture national championships at the junior, university and professional levels.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Easley, Dave 1947 births BC Lions players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Edmonton Elks players Living people Players of Canadian football from British Columbia Canadian football people from Vancouver Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners