Mack is back… AND LOVIN’ IT

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/08/2010 (5537 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

First things first: Joe Mack will readily admit he’s having a blast being back in the game again. The roar of the crowd, the pure joy from helping build something, the response from the community to the early returns on the new blueprint… all good.

"I really, really like the CFL," the Winnipeg Blue Bomber GM said the other day. "I don’t say that in just a gratuitous fashion. I like the pace, I like the atmosphere… I think it’s one of the best jobs I’ve had in pro football."

Now, we caught Mack earlier this week as he took a break from one of those gruelling if-this-is-Friday-this-must-be-Buffalo NFL training-camp road trips that had him watching the Minnesota Vikings, then the Bills before driving up to Hamilton to take in Saturday’s Bomber contest versus the Tiger-Cats.

It’s been 23 years since Mack was last in the CFL and almost a decade since he last worked in a team’s front office. And yes, for all those enjoyable moments that come with getting into the game again and the business of putting together a football team, it’s some of the other things that can spoil it.

"There’s obviously things you can’t control such as injuries, but you have to get past that frustration," Mack said. "I sure wish we weren’t 2-3, especially because we’ve had a couple tough losses which were disappointing. But I have to remind myself that we obviously had to make significant changes, and with a new staff and head coach, all things considered, I believe we’ve made pretty good progress."

It’s been six-and-a-half months since Mack was named the Bombers’ vice-president and general manager of football operations. Now that he’s settled, we thought we’d pick his brain on a handful of other topics during a 30-minute interview earlier this week:

HIS ASSESSMENT OF THE TEAM NOW THAT HE’S HAD A CHANCE TO SEE THEM IN PERSON AND NOT JUST ON FILM:

"That’s absolutely spot-on, the difference between the two. I was just telling (head coach) Paul (LaPolice) that. It’s a fine balancing act. Obviously you don’t want to gut the whole team when you first come in, because you need leadership and veteran insight. We have that. Doug Brown continues to play hard, Terrence Edwards has shown some real leadership. But there’s definitely a difference between seeing a guy on film and seeing him in person and knowing what a player’s strengths and weaknesses are and what his capabilities are. We’ll have much greater insight on this team going into next year than right now.

"We have a lot of young guys, rookies starting, and with a new staff and new systems, I believe we’re moving forward. Now we have to learn to translate that into wins. I really like the effort. We’ve played hard."

ON MAPPING OUT SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM PLANS FOR THE CLUB:

"It’s a parallel track. Looking for CFL talent is nuanced, in a way. Obviously, you’re not going to get first-round picks. and even if you did, they’ve already made so much money you wonder how intense they’d be long-term for the CFL. The other issue is, and I think we’ve done a half-decent job of this, is you have to anticipate injuries… Steven Jyles has done a great job as a backup. Moton Hopkins has come in as a backup and done a really good job, Courtney Smith… We’ve done a decent job in having those contingencies. You have to be thinking long-term also."

ON HOW MUCH THE CLUB HAS BEEN HAMPERED BY THE TWO REGIME CHANGES AND THREE HEAD COACHES IN THREE YEARS:

"Continuity is critical in establishing an organizational philosophy… We’re trying to cultivate some young Canadians like Cory Watson, Chris Smith and the two offensive tackles we’re looking at long-term in (Chris) Greaves and (Chris) Kowalczuk. But if you don’t have continuity, it really goes in fits and starts. "

ON HOW THE CFL HAS CHANGED SINCE HE LEFT IN THE LATE 1980S:

"The basics of the wide-open game are the same. My impression is that league-wide, and I know there are some soft spots, but there is as much interest as there’s ever been. We have some great numbers on TV right now. And this is just me being in the NFL and coming back, but it seems the league is at a point where if we’re smart and aggressive with our product, we have a chance to take it to another level. Obviously we need the teams in southern Ontario to do well, but with new stadiums coming on line and the fact the NFL Network was willing to put our game on their network shows we have an exciting sport."

ON THE BEST PART OF BEING BACK IN THE GAME:

"Good question. I enjoy working with Paul and the coaches. Bringing Paul in and having him put together a staff… I hope they feel we have a constructive relationship and we’re going in the right direction. What’s been humbling is the fans and the media have been fair and respectable. It’s the whole experience. I hope I’m being a positive influence in trying to construct something. At times, I see that radiates into the whole community. I realize we’re not curing cancer, but I do think we can have a positive influence. I don’t want to be too long-winded, but we got a letter from the mother of a handicapped son and our players were very kind to him after practice and it meant a lot to her. I found that really touching because it meant something as relatively inconsequential as football still has a chance to be a positive."

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ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

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