Danny Barrett Danny Barrett ( born December 18 , 1961 in Boynton Beach , Florida ) is a former Canadian Football League ( CFL ) quarterback and former quarterbacks coach at the University at Buffalo . He was previously the head coach of the CFL ' s Saskatchewan Roughriders . Playing career . Before turning pro with the Calgary Stampeders , Barrett was a star at the University of Cincinnati . In 1982 , he co - captained the Bearcats and earned an Honorable Mention Associated Press All - American nomination . During his professional playing career , Barrett played in 163 regular season CFL games with Calgary , Toronto , B . C . and Ottawa . His career totals include ; 23 , 419 yards passing , 1 , 656 completions in 3 , 078 attempts and 133 touchdowns passed . At one point , he held the record for most passing yards ( 601 ) in a CFL game . In 1985 , Barrett saw playing time as a slotback with the Calgary Stampeders hauling in 32 passes for 455 yards and two touchdowns . Barrett also quarterbacked the 1987 Argonauts and the 1991 Stampeders to Grey Cup appearances . In the 1991 Grey Cup , Barrett set a CFL record for completions with 34 . In 1992 , Barrett was selected as the Tom Pate recipient while a member of the BC Lions for his outstanding contributions to the league , his team and his community . This award was voted on by the CFLPA . In 1993 , still as a member of the BC Lions , Barrett briefly held the CFL record for passing in a single game , with 601 yards , which was surpassed the following year by Matt Dunigan ( 713 yards ) . Coaching career . Barrett joined the coaching fraternity in 1997 with the Calgary Stampeders . As a first year assistant coach , Barrett was in charge of the Stampeder quarterbacks , which included Jeff Garcia , Dave Dickenson and Henry Burris . In 1998 , his first season with the BC Lions , Barrett began the season on the sidelines as the quarterback coach and assistant offensive coordinator but was forced out of retirement and dressed as the Lions ’ backup quarterback for 15 games . During the 1999 campaign , Barrett coached the Lions ’ receiver corps . In 1999 , Roy Shivers , the former Director of Player Personnel for the Calgary Stampeders , assumed the duties of general manager of the Roughriders . Shivers hired Barrett as the head coach despite the latter ' s limited coaching experience . The Roughriders made football history by being the first professional team with a black general manager and head coach . The team improved during Barrett ' s first four seasons , largely because Shivers — an astute appraiser of football talent with many connections to U . S . college teams — recruited and signed better players . In 2003 the team ended with an 11 - 7 record , and lost a close Western final playoff game to the Edmonton Eskimos . The team seemed on the verge of being championship calibre . By 2006 , after three consecutive . 500 seasons — capped by a humiliating 2006 Western final loss to the BC Lions by a score of 45 - 18 — an increasing number of fans began to question the leadership provided by Shivers and Barrett , and Shivers eventually was dismissed by the team ' s Board of Directors . On August 23 , 2006 the Roughriders hired Eric Tillman as general manager . There was rampant speculation that Barrett would be dismissed , but Tillman was publicly circumspect . In the weeks leading to his ultimate departure , Barrett was unusually — and perhaps unwisely — expressive to the media about his views on the firing of Shivers . Reports indicate that Tillman had offered Barrett a one - year contract to continue as head coach , but either Barrett rejected the offer or Tillman withdrew it . Barrett coached the Riders in more regular season games than any other coach in Roughrider history ; however , Barrett posted a winning record only once in his previous seven years of coaching the Roughriders . His overall record as head coach of the Roughriders was 57 wins , 68 losses , and one tie . On February 7 , 2007 , Barrett turned down an offensive coordinator position offered by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers , and opted to become the quarterbacks and assistant head coach at the University at Buffalo . On December 13 , 2009 , Barrett was named interim head coach of the Buffalo Bulls after spending two seasons ( 2007 and 2008 ) as the Bulls quarterbacks coach / assistant head coach . The move followed the departure of Turner Gill , who left Buffalo to take the head coaching position at the University of Kansas . On February 10 , 2010 , the Daytona Beach News - Journal reported Barrett was named offensive coordinator — in charge of the " Speedway Offense " - - at Bethune - Cookman University . On February 21 , 2011 , UCFAthletics . com reported Barrett was named runnings backs coach at UCF .