Honour, pride and success Tight-knit Bombers regrouped after shocking 2022 Grey Cup loss with one thing in mind, a return to championship glory By: Jeff Hamilton and Taylor Allen Posted: 6:45 PM CST Friday, Nov. 17, 2023 Last Modified: 4:28 PM CST Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023 Updates

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HAMILTON — There was no three-peat for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and heady talk of a dynasty faded like whispers in the wind.

The heavily favoured Bombers lost last year’s CFL championship in dramatic fashion on Nov. 20 in Regina, suffering a 24-23 defeat to the Toronto Argonauts.

A blocked field goal with less than a minute left in the game sealed their fate.

The Bombers had easily topped the regular-season standings with a remarkable 15-3 record. They posted five consecutive triumphs prior to the marque matchup, including a victory over the visiting B.C. Lions in the West Division Final.

They boasted two-time reigning most outstanding player Zach Collaros, a deadly receiving corps and a beast in the backfield in youngster Brady Oliveira. The club also fielded the stingiest defence in the three-down loop, holding opponents to a league-low 20.5 points per game.

Those glitzy numbers didn’t matter in the least as the Argos hoisted Canadian football’s Holy Grail at Mosaic Field.

Simply put, the Winnipeg Football Club did not get the job done a year ago.

The work to rectify the situation began in earnest – the moment the team’s brass boarded a plane the next day for the short return flight to the Manitoba capital.

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No one stood up and made a rah-rah speech about running it back in 2023.

A mix of emotions, ranging from denial, anger, and depression were out in full force.

The home locker room at Mosaic Stadium — moments after the Bombers watched the Toronto Argonauts rip the 2022 Grey Cup out of their hands at the last second — was a room that had some Blue and Gold players sobbing, some sitting in their lockers with blank stares, and some with cameras and audio recorders in their faces as they tried to find the words to describe their heartbreak.

Before the road to redemption could be built, everyone in the organization needed one thing: time.

“It took me so long to get over it,” said right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick.

Hardrick had to go on a social media break. His heart sank every time he opened an app and saw something about the wrong shade of blue with the silver mug.

He also received more texts, calls, and messages after losing the championship game — people reaching out and asking ‘What went wrong?’ — than he did when they won back-to-back, and was struggling to stay motivated in the gym.

After a few weeks, maybe a month, of contemplating whether it’s worth it to go through it all over again, Hardrick, left tackle Stanley Bryant, and right guard Patrick Neufeld — the pillars of the offensive line — hopped on a FaceTime call to discuss what’s next.

“We all looked each other in the eye and said, ‘Are we going to do this again? We going back for another Grey Cup?’” said Hardrick.

“And then you forget all that and start chasing again like a hungry dog.”

Quarterback Collaros, his wife, two kids, and in-laws had a trip booked to Hawaii after the Grey Cup. A lei wasn’t around his neck for long when his mind returned to work.

“About halfway through that trip I couldn’t wait to get back and get going,” said Collaros.

The first, and most important, step was getting all the key pieces back under contract. The Bombers had 26 pending free agents — the majority of the O-line and D-line, linebackers Adam Bighill and Kyrie Wilson and receivers Nic Demski and Rasheed Bailey.

Head coach Mike O’Shea was also without a deal before ultimately re-signing for three years.

General manager Kyle Walters was able to retain most of his troops outside of starting centre Michael Couture and defensive tackle Casey Sayles.

“The guys that tend to leave, there’s usually a substantial financial difference in contract money, and that’s perfectly understandable,” said Walters.

“We all looked each other in the eye and said, ‘Are we going to do this again? We going back for another Grey Cup?’ … And then you forget all that and start chasing again like a hungry dog.”–Jermarcus Hardrick

“We walk everybody through it. We talk playoff money and talk take-home pay and are you willing to prefer (a raise of) four, eight, 10, 12 thousand (from a team in free agency) over other stuff. We’re getting pretty good at that.”

Bighill, Neufeld, and defensive end Willie Jefferson were the first three big names to sign the dotted line — even doing so before O’Shea. Bryant, Hardrick, Wilson, Demski, and countless others followed suit in the coming weeks and months. Most, if not all, could’ve got more money on the open market but opted to stay.

Bailey, who was coming off a career year, is a prime example. He earned $135,000 in 2022 and agreed to less than 100k in 2023 to have another shot at a title with Winnipeg.

“You see a dollar sign, but you see where you’re supposed to be. But I’d choose my mission, what I stand for in my heart, and the people that I care about over anything,” said Bailey.

“When it comes to being a leader, it takes some type of sacrifice.”

As great as the club already was, there was a need for reinforcements.

In early February, a week before CFL free agency even began, news broke that the Bombers signed wide receiver Kenny Lawler to a two-year contract. A two-time champion with the Bombers in 2019 and 2021, Lawler spent 2022 with the Edmonton Elks as the highest paid non-quarterback in the league.

When Lawler’s one-year deal with the Elks expired, he was getting messages from Collaros, Demski, Bailey, and Hardrick that all said the same thing.

“‘Come back, man. We’re trying to go back. Sh—, this is where you belong. We got unfinished business and you’re a part of it.’ It was firing me up,” said Lawler.

It wasn’t until 10 days before training camp the Bombers secured the final piece of the puzzle: veteran kicker Sergio Castillo. Fair or not, Bomberland didn’t have faith in Marc Liegghio’s placekicking abilities. Castillo, who was also in Edmonton in 2022, was cut by the Elks. One hour later, he was back with the Bombers — the team he won a Grey Cup with in 2021.

“It was a huge, huge uplift,” said Neufeld on bringing Lawler and Castillo back into the fold.

Soon after, everyone’s focus was all in on being in Hamilton on Sunday, Nov. 19 and writing a different ending.

“Osh mentioned it in the very first meeting and that was it. He said last year was last year, it’s all about this year,” said Castillo. “Coming from a group where it’s very experienced and mature, to be able to put it behind is big. That’s why they win. I say that because I was just here in 2021. They win because they know how to flush it out.”

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The look started to form on O’Shea’s face when a reporter, during the annual coach’s press conference to kickoff Grey Cup week, started to compare him to the CFL’s all-time coaching greats.

When O’Shea, just six wins shy of Bud Grant for the most in franchise history, heard his name alongside the word legend, it was as if he had taken a bite of rotten fish. Asked later in the week what advice he might have for prospective CFL coaches, his answer was simple.

“Get good players,” he said. “If I were to look through the years, I can specifically name players that made me look good.”

To win games in the CFL, you need talent. To win championships, you need depth in all three areas of the roster – offence, defence, special teams – and then be able to put it all together over an entire season, playing the kind of complementary football that picks one unit up when another falls.

The 14-4 Bombers have had that in spades all season. Their ability to plug in players, no matter what injuries occur, and to find guys that can adjust quickly to the CFL game is unmatched.

“We had a lot of moving parts this year compared to the past,” Bombers special teams co-ordinator Paul Boudreau said. “There were many different puzzle pieces moving around throughout the course of the year and guys were able to adapt to different roles to keep the train moving.”

Perhaps none one knows that better than Boudreau.

Before the season had started, Boudreau was told that Mike Miller, the CFL all-time special-teams tackle leader and heart and soul of the group, would miss the year with a shoulder injury. Shayne Gauthier, another special teams lynchpin, missed 12 games, while dynamic return man Janarion Grant, who regularly provides the offence with optimal field position, missed 10.

“Get good players … If I were to look through the years, I can specifically name players that made me look good.”–Mike Oshea

On offence, it was the news receiver Lawler would miss an indefinite amount of time while dealing with immigration issues stemming from an impaired driving charge from years earlier. After Lawler’s six-game absence, it was all-star Dalton Schoen, who led the Bombers with 10 receiving touchdowns, who nine games later suffered an ankle injury and hasn’t touched the field since.

While most teams wouldn’t be able to survive the loss of such impactful players, the Bombers took it in stride and prevailed. They leaned on quarterback Collaros to get the most out of his receivers, such as Demski, who earned his first 1,000-yard season, and an O-line that continues to defy Father Time, opening up holes for Oliveira, who led the CFL in rushing yards and earned the league’s nod for most outstanding Canadian and a finalist for most outstanding player.

“To get to a championship and win it takes a lot of work and we’ve seen what this team does, is they enjoy the work,” offensive co-ordinator Buck Pierce said. “They like the process of coming to work. They’ve embraced the challenge of learning from prior years and being there to pick each other up when they have to.”

Defensive back Evan Holm, like Oliveira, made a name for himself this season, earning his first West Division all-star nod in his second season. He was just one of a few younger players to shine in the secondary, with Jamal Parker, Redha Kramdi and Demerio Houston, the CFL’s interceptions leader, also taking significant steps, rounding out a group that includes stars Brandon Alexander and Deatrick Nichols.

When you have a defensive line that features Jefferson and Jackson Jeffcoat you quickly become the envy of the league. Bighill is also a significant reason the Bombers boast the best defence in the CFL, so it’s a testament to the talent Winnipeg has that it isn’t panicking about the likelihood of him missing Sunday, not with Gauthier, Malik Clements and Brian Cole all ready and eager to contribute.

“There’s been a blueprint for success, and we’ve relied on younger players to step up along with our veteran players,” Walters said. “Every year is different and there has been some interesting little storylines this year.”

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It was Week 10 of the regular season and the Bombers were already in a big hole against Edmonton when Collaros threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown to put the visiting Elks up 22-0.

Castillo watched the play from the sidelines, and as the opponent crossed into the end zone, he shifted his gaze to Winnipeg’s sideline. What the Bombers kicker witnessed would stay with him forever, he said, adding it sums up perfectly why this team is so unique.

“I looked at coach O’Shea, I looked at (offensive lineman) Hardrick and I looked at Willie and everyone was calm. I’m like this is weird. Usually, teams would be all chaos, it would be a meltdown,” Castillo said. “But here it was just calm. I saw Osh’s face and at that moment I knew we were going to win that game, and the next thing you know you see Dru Brown go bap, bap, bap, just doing his thing.”

Brown came in for Collaros and helped lead the Bombers to a 38-29 comeback victory.

“The mental aspect is so key. Continuity is important, but it’s the guys you have staying here that matters.”–Sergio Castillo

“The mental aspect is so key. Continuity is important, but it’s the guys you have staying here that matters,” Castillo added. “I become a fan watching this team play and it’s not until that night or the next day when I see the game on TV and I go, ‘Wow, that happened?’”

There are tangibles like yards and touchdowns that can be used to gauge just how good a team is. It’s the stuff you don’t see, the culture and the love the Bombers have for one another that makes them special.

The Bombers have many familiar faces returning year to year but while the roster has very little turnover, no team is the same and no team goes through the same challenges in a year. The Bombers have always been close, but as marquee players start to age, that bond has only strengthened.

“As you get older it just means a little bit more each year and you just better understand it’s not easy to do,” Collaros said. “As you get older the appreciation of being able to spend more time together, to work together is greater. The importance of the team meetings, the importance of our position meetings and practice and everything we do.”

The Bombers, while exciting on the field, can be incredibly boring off it. They stick to the same script, telling reporters daily all that matters is putting in the work and ending the week 1-0.

While they truly believe in that philosophy, don’t think for a second this year hasn’t been personal. They hear their critics, like when former Bomber great Milt Stegall called them too old in his preseason predictions, or when the Bombers surrendered seven sacks in a loss to the B.C. Lions in Week 3 and suddenly the O-line was too old to compete.

“It’s just one of those things that doesn’t have to be said,” Collaros explained. “It’s just moments in time where you got to make sure everybody understands what that moment means and how important it is.”

Then there are those moments that bring teams together that are impossible to predict. In a season that had so much external joy, with several players adding to their families, there was also some intense heartbreak.

“It’s just one of those things that doesn’t have to be said … It’s just moments in time where you got to make sure everybody understands what that moment means and how important it is.”–Zach Collaros

Bighill and Brown lost their fathers this year. It wasn’t an easy time for either, but they were picked up by their teammates.

It’s that kind of support players think of when O’Shea asks them each week to play for the guy beside them. Those relationships are what makes it not only easy, but fun to put in more hours than you’re paid for, to ensure you’re ready come game day.

“This week is so important just to spend hours with each other and prep with each other, watch film with each other, just spend every second you can with each other just to make sure that, when it’s time to go out there and strap on the pads that you’re playing for your brother,” Lawler said. “Be overprepared instead of underprepared and just play with your heart and soul for each other, that’s really what the season has been about.”

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It’s Thursday night at The Avalon Theatre in Niagara Falls, Ont., for the 2023 CFL Awards and Brady Oliveira is fresh off receiving the biggest individual honour of his career — the Most Outstanding Canadian Award.

He returned backstage to address a room of reporters, but instead of talking about himself, he used the time to quickly remind everyone that it’s all about Sunday.

“We play to win championships,” said Oliveira.

But playing to a become a dynasty? It’s not something anyone even grows up dreaming about.

“You got to worry about the present moment,” said Oliveira. “This is so special right now what we’re going through and experiencing, so, you have to soak it in.”

A win Sunday over a feisty Montreal Alouettes side will put the 2019-23 Blue Bombers in the same conversation as Grant and the 1958-62 Bombers — who won four titles in five years — and the Edmonton team from 1978-82 that captured five in a row.

“There’s a lot of honour and pride that comes with that. Just every word that you can think of, that’s what it means,” said Lawler. “If we can solidify it, when we solidify it, it’s gonna be a great feeling.”

This team isn’t getting any younger. There will be players who retire after Sunday. There’s also no guarantee the Bombers will be able to pull a rabbit out of a hat again and bring everyone back for another run in 2024. Outside of Collaros, Lawler, Bighill, Demski, and Wilson, most of the players with a ‘W’ on their helmet are on expiring deals.

This isn’t necessarily the last dance, but there’s a reason why players are thankful this post-season push gives them more time together.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it. I think that’s what makes this team special, though,” said Bailey.

“We don’t talk about that, but you feel it sometimes. That’s why it’s so important to have this week together again. I’m smiling because who knows what could happen after this.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Taylor.Allen@freepress.mb.ca