Chris Schleuger BC Lions-4sept-Photo Scott Grant.
If you’re looking for praise and adulation in the game of football, you won’t find it as an offensive lineman.
The only time a lineman usually gets noticed is if he gets called for a holding penalty or the defender he’s trying to block sacks the quarterback.
Ask football fans who Nathan Rourke is and everyone will talk about the virtues of the BC Lions quarterback. The same holds true for the likes of receiver Keon Hatcher or running back James Butler.
Throw out the name of Michael Couture and most fans will be dumbfounded when trying to answer who the Lions’ starting centre is.
But that’s life for Couture and his fellow linemen, yet when you look at their play this year, they’ve been a huge part of the Lions’ success on offence.
What makes this story even more amazing is that it is a group that was heavily criticized at times last season, yet it has become one of the team’s best – and deepest – units this season.
The Lions’ offensive line didn’t play up to the level that was expected of them last year and newly-minted Lions general manager Ryan Rigmaiden made it a priority to improve the group in the off-season.
In fact, his prized off-season acquisition was offensive tackle Dejon Allen, who was acquired from the Toronto Argonauts. Allen had won the CFL’s Most Outstanding Lineman Award in 2023, only to be beaten out as the Argos nominee in 2024 by Ryan Hunter, who would go on to win the MOL award in 2025.
But when Allen went down after the third game with a triceps injury, it meant that some juggling was required. Then Couture injured his hand in Montreal and his five-week absence required even more shuffling. The end result is that the offensive line has featured 10 different players suit up at various parts of the season with nine different combinations starting through the first 14 games.
Yet the group has managed to anchor the offence, which is ranked first in the CFL in points per game (30.7), net offence (425.4 yards per game), passing yardage (321.6 yards per game), third in rushing (114.4 yards per game) and has allowed the least amount of quarterback sacks (14) in the process.
A lot of that success can be attributed to Lions head coach and offensive coordinator Buck Pierce’s offence, which keeps opposing defence guessing by utilizing motion and all parts of the field but the offensive line is the key to it all.
“They’re our heart and soul. You don’t get anywhere without the guys up front. I think that as a group, they’re communicating at a very high level. I’ve been in their meetings and it’s a very collaborative process, so they believe in what they’re doing. There are multiple people talking, lots of testing one another and trying to see where everyone’s at. They’re very productive and it’s showing in games where they’ve seen the look before. They’ve talked it through and that allows people who may not have had a lot of reps together to be able to play as a cohesive unit. I think it starts and ends with them,” stated Rourke.
A lot of the group’s success can be attributed to offensive line coach Paul Charbonneau.
“I don’t want to pump his tires too much,” chuckled Pierce. “O-line coaches like to stay in the shadows but the praise is deserved. He’s extremely hardworking. When you’re able to have guys step in and play at certain parts of the year, it speaks volumes to the culture of the room and the leadership of the room. Paul and (running backs) coach (Kristian) Matte are highly responsible for the standard that they’ve created and the ownership within that group. To watch them work closely together and to be genuinely excited for their teammates, it’s pretty awesome. He’s done a great job creating that culture for sure,” added Pierce.
The affable Charbonneau is a player’s coach in the sense that he gives his linemen ownership in what they do. Charbonneau will usually meet with Couture and veteran Andrew Pierson – the Lions’ backup centre – prior to the main group meeting and will go over all the blocking scheme calls that the centre will make based on the defensive front prior to snapping the ball.
When the group meets as a unit, it’s usually Couture or Peirson who will run the film session and makes the call on what blocking scheme will be utilized.
“He (Charbonneau) has been really good with leveling up my leadership when it’s in the room because now I’m essentially running the film session,” said Couture.
The rationale behind Couture running the room was a simple one.
“The first thing he said to me when he got here was that I’m not on the field with you. You’re the one who is going to be making the call on the field. So why should he be the one speaking the most in the meeting when he’s not on the field telling us what to do?” stated Couture.
The meeting room sessions involve everyone – not just the starters.
“I think the way we meet as a group is that it’s very much an open forum. The meeting is essentially player-led, so there’s a lot of communication that goes on in the room and it’s not just the five starters. It kind of forces everybody to be locked in on what everybody’s doing on any given play,” said Couture, the Centennial High School grad who is now in his 9th CFL season.
“The guys are so focused on understanding all the details when they go into the meeting room. We watch the film and they’re the ones who are communicating throughout. I’m wearing a headset on the sidelines, so it doesn’t matter what I’m thinking. It’s what they are thinking on the field. They have to make quick decisions, and whatever the centre says, we just do it that way. When we watch film, the centre makes his call. Then the guards and the tackles will say who they have to block. Then sometimes we’ll pick whether it’s a sixth man or seventh man or eighth man. We’ll ask ‘what do you see on this one?’ Then sometimes we’ll get somebody else to make the centre calls just so everyone’s dialed in on what the game plan is,” said Charbonneau.
According to Couture, this dynamic allows everyone to feel invested – and to be ready when called upon.
“In the past rooms that I’ve been in, it was just the five starters that talked about their positions. With our room, it’s really all encompassing and I feel that’s really been the difference. We’re a whole group. We’re not just five guys that are out on the field at any given time. Everybody is expected to prepare like a starter. As a result, our football IQ has continued to rise as the season progresses,” said Couture.
“We talk about what we’re going to do for our protection rules and then they (Couture and Peirson) bring it to the room and they’re the ones that are verbalizing it. When things change on the field and the defence brings in a new package, we’re able to make adjustments really fast. All the guys are prepared going into it,” explained Charbonneau.
Starting right tackle Chris Schleuger says that approach allows everyone to be on the same page when the unit gets into game situations despite not having as many reps together in practice.
“We trust each other because we’re all in the same meeting room, taking the same notes. We all ask questions and if someone doesn’t know, then that answer is for everyone. This thing’s going to take every man in the room, so it’s not just the five people out there in week 15, it’s whoever is on the practice roster too,” explained Schleuger.