Extensions for Walters, O’Shea

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This article was published 09/12/2016 (3251 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The fact head coach Mike O’Shea had signed a three-year contract extension with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was not the most interesting part of a day that brought a screeching halt to a quiet off-season. Speculating how long O’Shea will last provided the intrigue.

In an expected move Friday, the club also announced it has given general manager Kyle Walters a three-year extension running through 2020. Walters had one year remaining on his contract.

With O’Shea’s deal set to expire in January, marking the potential end to his tenure with the Bombers after three CFL seasons filled with more downs than ups, Walters made the decision to commit another three years to a man he considers both a colleague and friend, through the 2019 season.

“I believe as long as I’m here, I want Mike here,” Walters, said during a news conference in the Bombers locker room that included O’Shea and Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller. “I don’t see that changing.”

They were fitting words from someone who has witnessed a good share of highs and lows while with the Bombers over the past seven years, having served in various capacities, including his current position for the last three.

O’Shea’s signing can be viewed not so much as a reward but as a commitment to stability and continuity, something the Bombers have longed for, for the better part of the past decade. And something Walters felt he could finally provide.

“Because I know the type of man Mike is and I know the kind of leader he is and I know what I want in this organization from a head coach and it’s Mike O’Shea,” he said.

“I don’t know if that’s a measure of commitment,” said O’Shea. “I think, from a coaching standpoint the measure of commitment is from the effort you put in every single day. I think the commitment to the community was shown right from the start when my whole family moved here and moved from the only place they knew as home.”

Before Walters was hired at the end of the 2013 season, Winnipeg had gone through three general managers — and four coaches — in the previous six years.

“We started this journey together in 2013 and we’ve made progress to date,” said Miller, who was hired in August of that year. He eventually hired Walters, who then hired O’Shea. “We look forward to the next three years-plus and building and growing a winning, sustainable organization.”

O’Shea will be expected to deliver seasons similar to the most recent campaign, when he led the Bombers to an 11-7 record — their best regular-season mark since 2003 — and their first playoff berth since 2011. The club bowed out in the West Division semifinal to the B.C. Lions, 32-31. Not wanted are years similar to the two previous, where O’Shea led the Bombers to a combined record of 12-24.

“I think we’re building something here,” said O’Shea, when asked why he wanted to return to a city he’s admitted can be suffocating at times with all the attention the team receives from fans and media. “I like what we’ve started, but we’re not satisfied, and nobody is. As every team does, we have one goal when we start the season. It helps we’ve come together as a team, but we’ve got to make sure we hold onto that for the next six months and start at a higher level when we come back in May.”

Though the wins haven’t come as often as hoped, the progress, the Bombers brass insists, shouldn’t be measured by the overall results of the past three seasons, but in the growth the team has experienced.

“I think that you can see that there’s building that’s going on,” said Miller. “In 2014, we may not have been as good as our record (7-11). In 2015, I knew we were better than our record (5-13). And now you saw it in 2016 in where we ended up and where we’re going to grow to 2017.

“Obviously we want to win a Grey Cup every year and that’s what our focus is, and we had a good start in 2016. Now it’s time to build on that in 2017 and these are the two gentlemen to do it.”

Unlike O’Shea, Walters’ job security was never in danger. In his first stint as a general manager in the CFL, Walters has proven savvy when navigating the free agent market.

In the past two seasons he has found ways to convince high-end talent to come to a team with a decades-long Grey Cup drought — players such as offensive lineman Stanley Bryant, defensive linemen Keith Shologan and Euclid Cummings, running back Andrew Harris, receivers Ryan Smith and Weston Dressler and kicker Justin Medlock.

He’s also done well at finding Canadian and American talent in other places, whether through the draft or with the help of his scouting department.

Perhaps his biggest achievement came midway through last season, when he was able to deal quarterback Drew Willy for all-star defensive back T.J. Heath and two draft picks, including what eventually turned out to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2017.

“I believe in Mike. From a scouting department, with the roster he inherited, it took a couple years to dig ourselves out of where we were and sort of revamp things,” said Walters.

The GM seems to take comfort in linking his legacy with O’Shea, a coach he said is “easy to believe in,” who has a high amount of respect inside the locker room.

“The players will follow him, they’ll fight for him, they’ll do whatever is asked of them,” said Walters.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jeffkhamilton