They're kinda like weddings. People are well behaved and sit quietly. Family is often in attendance. Vows are made, mostly along the lines of working hard and staying together. Unity is often the theme.

It's all quite formal and polite.

Well, Paul LaPolice looked every bit the nervous groom Friday, as perhaps the moment dawned that he was going to be The Guy now. He took a lot of deep breaths. He fidgeted. He even caught himself from being overcome with emotion when thanking his wife, Tina, a former Bombers cheerleading coach.

LaPolice didn't appear nearly as confident or polished as a lot of his predecessors, and there was a palpable sense that the new Bombers head coach is entering unexplored territory. After all, the bucks and the bullets stop with him now. The product, the wins and losses, will be tied directly to LaPolice's name -- for the first time in his coaching career.

No assistant this or co-that. The Boss.

Little wonder the 40-year old was breathing a little deeper.

But none of the superficial observations are good or bad. Two of the most self-confident new head coaches in recent memory were Jeff Reinebold and Mike Kelly. So go figure.

LaPolice won't get the wind under his wings that some newbies get, though. Hamilton Tiger-Cats defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall, the Susan Lucci of the CFL, was the sentimental choice. And LaPolice wasn't the sexy name of, say, Alouettes offensive co-ordinator Scott Milanovich or Calgary's George Cortez.

Which is a bit odd, since LaPolice should be getting fitted with a Grey Cup ring as we speak, if someone in the Riders organization could count to 13 last November, while he watched in horror from up in the coach's box. But that's life.

LaPolice also has a bit of a been-there, done-that feel, too, having served as the Bombers offensive co-ordinator in 2002-03, before being dumped when the stats started to shrivel. So it must be a bit intimidating to return to a place where you were last seen as the problem, not the solution.

But if you wonder why Joe Mack turned to the unheralded LaPolice in making the first major decision of his administration, we present two theories. The first is self evident, that Mack has identified the Bombers biggest concern on the offensive side of the ball.

The fact that LaPolice was at the controls of a Riders offence -- with a young, inexperienced quarterback in Darian Durant, no less -- that still got to the threshold of a championship undoubtedly swayed Mack. It wouldn't hurt, either, that LaPolice has a reputation of being a tireless student of the game.

However, the deciding factor could have been that Mack saw a lot of himself in LaPolice, who is an unassuming figure. LaPolice is determined but reserved. He's confident but not boastful. (At least, not yet. We're keeping our fingers crossed.)

And then Mack said this...

"The thing that was really THE deciding factor was the reports I was getting, and sense I was getting in the interview process, was the character and integrity that Paul would bring to the football club. I think he will be very detail oriented, be a hard worker, but even on top of that I think he will treat everybody with respect and bring a certain sense of integrity to the club overall."

OK, everybody knows what Mack was talking about, right? He might as well have just said LaPolice will not be Mike Kelly. Period.

But that's no guarantee of success, either. Just like walking down the aisle doesn't necessarily mean till death do you part. These marriages always have a shelf life.

A little nervous? Sure. Hopefully, that's just a sign that LaPolice is smart enough to know the job he's just accepted will be enormously daunting, especially for a first-time head coach in a market that hasn't planned a Grey Cup parade in 20 years. Besides, you start to get leery of the guys who roll in thinking they have all the answers, and victories will obediently follow. Maybe it's better to be just a bit scared and uncertain. Makes you try harder, listen closer.

And certainly LaPolice knows his selection has not met with universal approval, from the grassroots up to the board of directors. But that's irrelevant now.

Paul LaPolice just had to convince one guy to get the job.

Now he's going to have to convince everybody else to keep it.

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 6, 2010 D1