Little things matter to Leggett

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This article was published 09/12/2014 (3934 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While Maurice Leggett was busy dishing out his debut CFL campaign, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers safety started to notice all sorts of little things about the Canadian game. He picked up the rhythm of the action quick enough, that much is obvious from how he played. But it was what happened off the field too that stuck in his mind, the differences that famously separate the machinery of the NFL from the cozier atmosphere around the northern league.

Monday, when the Bombers announced they’d re-upped Leggett through 2017, that factor came quick to his mind.

“They’re more hands-on,” Leggett said, chatting with media in a conference call. “The community’s more hands-on. You actually know the guys up in the front office, you actually get to meet them. It’s more personal in your lives. It’s not just a business with them, they want you to feel comfortable.”

The Bombers have plenty of reason to want Leggett to be comfortable in Winnipeg, after he hauled down five interceptions (tied for second in the CFL) last season en route to being named the club’s most outstanding defensive player of 2014. He also made 65 tackles and nailed a couple of sacks. He’s a “versatile” player too, Bombers GM Kyle Walters raved in a statement, who once pushed out a 114-yard missed field goal return for a TD.

For awhile, Leggett considered trying to go back to the NFL, where he tooled around for four seasons between 2008 and 2011. But there’s no guarantee in the show, especially not for a player coming up on his veteran contract requirements.

“I’m living for the moment,” he said. “If the opportunity comes, then I would entertain it, but it’s still not a guarantee that I would be on the team… It’s all political, salary cap issues, and depth. I’m here for stability for my family.”

More than that, Leggett said he believes the Bombers can be a competitive team in 2015, as they prepare to host the Grey Cup. “It’s just the trust factor,” he said. “You had a bunch of new guys, a lot of rookies on the team, new staff. The realization of the business is not everyone’s going to trust everyone, especially the first year… for certain players to lead, you have to know when you’re able to lead and you’re supposed to follow.”

As that goes, Leggett sees himself as a key part of that process. He thinks head coach Mike O’Shea does, too.

“He knows that I’m hungry to win, hungry to lead,” Leggett said. “He knows that I’ll come back with a chip on my shoulder, trying to lead this team to become better. Not just make the playoffs, but bring a championship back to Winnipeg.”

Besides, Leggett said, he loved playing in Manitoba. He dug that the people are “polite,” he said, and that fans here love the game. And there’s another reason, too — albeit not one you’d expect an Atlanta resident to name.

“I love the cool weather,” Leggett said. “I love the snow. I plan on making a couple of vists (over the winter)… I want to go ice fishing sooner or later.”

 

Four new faces on board of directors

Meanwhile, the Bombers also announced some changes to their board of directors on Monday, with four members on their way out and four fresh faces coming in.

‘He knows that I’ll come back with a chip on my shoulder, trying to lead this team to become better.

Not just make the playoffs, but bring a championship back to Winnipeg’

— Bombers cornerback Maurice Leggett, referring to head coach Mike O’Shea

Among the departures are Deborah Metcalfe, Gene Dunn and Jeff Thompson, all of whom will step down on Jan. 1. as part of a scheduled retirement of directors. Bombers great Trevor Kennerd also resigned from the board, so he could help work on the 2015 Grey Cup festival.

Joining the board on Jan. 1 will be Jamie Wilson, Chris Lorenc, Dayna Spiring and Bill Baines. All were chosen through the public-nomination process launched in March 2013, the Bombers said, and noted all nominees not chosen in this round will remain in consideration for the future.

Wilson is a military veteran and the current comissioner of the Treaty Relations Comission of Manitoba. He is also a member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, where he once served as the director of education.

Former nine-year city councillor Lorenc is also a vice-chair of the CentrePort Canada board. Much of his experience comes from the construction sector, where he served as president of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association for more than 23 years, and president of the Western Canada Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association for 19 years.

Spiring, a commecial and securities lawyer, has spent seven years as the director of Special Olympics Manitoba, as well as her primary work as chief strategy officer and general counsel of the Canadian Wheat Board.

Finally, Baines is a former president and COO of MTS and the current president and CEO of AML Wireless Networks and OMT Technologies. He sits on several other boards, including the Asper School of Business Associates board and the Manitoba Museum’s board of governors.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca