‘I wanted to be here’ Bombers’ O’Shea keen to continue building ‘special’ franchise By: Taylor Allen Posted: 6:07 PM CST Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025

Mike O’Shea had no shortage of reasons to pack up his things and head east.

On the personal side, he was born and raised in North Bay, Ont., went to the University of Guelph, spent 12 seasons of his hall of fame playing career with the Toronto Argonauts, and still has family — his mother and in-laws — who reside in southern Ontario today.

From a football standpoint, the Argos were reportedly offering more money and more authority. It also would’ve been a chance to tackle a new challenge, and an opportunity to reunite with his good pal and former teammate Pinball Clemons. Plus, there are signs that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and their aging core are trending downward.

On paper, Toronto seemed like an obvious fit.

And yet, news broke late Friday afternoon that O’Shea had decided to stay put with the Bombers.

Both O’Shea and general manager Kyle Walters have signed three-year contract extensions.

“There’s obviously a whole pile of reasons, but we’ve built something pretty damn special here, so you’d like to continue that,” said O’Shea in Tuesday morning’s press conference at Princess Auto Stadium.

“The season didn’t work out the way we wanted, but I think there’s still a lot of growth to be had and a lot of legs left in it, so that, family, all sorts of things, but I wanted to be here.”

He took a trip to Toronto last week to meet with Argos brass who are searching for a new head coach after Ryan Dinwiddie departed for Ottawa. O’Shea declined to provide any information on what those conversations entailed but did say his dealings with Clemons and company were “very professional” and “terrific.”

Was O’Shea tempted to jump ship?

“I don’t know about tempting,” O’Shea responded.

“There’s obviously a whole pile of reasons, but we’ve built something pretty damn special here, so you’d like to continue that.”

“I’m on an expiring contract, I’ve got a few opportunities to explore, I should explore them. Absolutely.”

You don’t hop on a plane for two days of discussions if you’re not at least somewhat interested. However, the Toronto Sun reported on Sunday that O’Shea’s family had no interest in leaving Winnipeg. O’Shea and his wife Richere have three adult kids. Two live in Winnipeg and one studies in Ontario.

“When you’ve got adult kids they’re part of the discussion, you include them in the discussion. But the entire family would be 100 per cent behind whatever I chose to do. So, it’s my decision, ultimately,” said O’Shea.

“We’ve carved out a very nice place here in the community. I think our kids really cherish that and respect that. The friendships that we’ve made in the community, how important a role the Bombers play in our province, not just our city, it’s very appealing.”

But what about mom? She’s nearly 80 years old. No pressure from her about returning closer to home?

“She would never do that. She’s a great mom like that,” said O’Shea.

“She drove here at the end of the summer by herself. She doesn’t need any help from me.”

“Expectations are extremely high, and we shouldn’t lower them… So, we’ve got to get back to playing a little better football and get back to advancing through the playoffs.”

It was three years ago when O’Shea declined to speak to the Edmonton Elks about an opportunity to become a dual head coach and general manager. With Toronto reportedly offering a similar role, this is now the second time the 55-year-old has turned down a promotion. He also had interest from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats who are looking for a GM after Ted Goveia died in September.

O’Shea, hired by the Bombers on Dec. 4, 2013, is the longest-tenured coach in the CFL and is the franchise leader in wins (117-77). There are only five current head coaches across professional North American leagues — NFL (Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh, and Andy Reid), NHL (Jon Cooper) and NBA (Erik Spoelstra) — who have remained in the same place longer.

“I’m always interested in growth, but I’ve never been interested in power. Power is not the be-all and end-all,” said O’Shea.

“I’ve always wanted to do things as a group, as a team, and figure out how to make decisions together with people that know what they’re doing, and how do we advance this? But having absolute control of something has never been anything I’m interested in.”

O’Shea’s meeting with the Argos garnered a lot of attention on social media when a fan snapped a photo of the head coach at Toronto Pearson Airport boarding a flight back to Winnipeg last Wednesday. After landing in the Manitoba capital, the fan informed him that it had gone viral.

“Not my favourite thing. People don’t understand how much of an issue they can create for their own self-serving purposes. It’s kind of sickening, really,” said O’Shea.

“There’s no thought when somebody snaps something and posts something. They have no thought for somebody else’s sanity. It’s all about themselves and you’d like that to change.”

Now with O’Shea and Walters locked up, it’s time for the duo to figure out a plan that will get the team back to its winning ways. Their last championship run in 2021 is starting to no longer feel recent, and this past season — going 10-8, crossing over to the East and losing the division semifinal — was a step in the wrong direction.

Walters will address the media on Wednesday.

“Expectations are extremely high, and we shouldn’t lower them,” said O’Shea. “So, we’ve got to get back to playing a little better football and get back to advancing through the playoffs.”

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