Blue Bombers fire head coach Berry

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This article was published 12/11/2008 (6496 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Doug Berry, the 26th head coach in Winnipeg Blue Bombers history, was fired today. And team officials said there will be more major off-field personnel moves to come — including one involving GM Brendan Taman.

Lyle Bauer, president and CEO of the Bombers, made the announcement at Canad Inns Stadium Wednesday afternoon.

"Certainly, these are days and times that none of us enjoy," Bauer said. "The club has relieved Doug Berry of his duties as far as head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and we’ll be moving forward with the recruitment of a new head coach over the next few weeks."

Berry spent three seasons as the Bombers head coach and leaves the organization with a winning record, 27-26-1. He also took the team to a Grey Cup in 2007, where they were beaten by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Bauer was blunt when asked why the team let Berry go.

"In case you missed part of the season, it was a very difficult one for a team with players we felt were quite talented. I don’t think we were able to extract the performance levels out of the personnel we put out there."

Bauer also hinted that there were off-field reasons leading to Berry’s departure. "There were things that happened on and off-the-field this year that didn’t mesh with the culture of the organization."

Bauer said the firing of Berry will be just the first off-field personnel move.

He confirmed general manager Brendan Taman has also agreed to a "realignment" of his duties but Bauer refused to say what the change will be.

Taman was unavailable to reporters on Wednesday but does have a news conference scheduled for Thursday.

Bauer said no announcement on Taman’s new duties will be made until after a new head coach is found. Bauer said the team has no timeline for recruiting a head coach and has told all the other coaches that they’re now free to go or they can express interest on remaining on with the team under a new coach.

Asked if the new head coach will be offered both the head coach and GM duties, Bauer hedged, saying only that an announcement will be made later.

Berry, 60, a native of Claremont, N.H., became the Bombers head coach Dec. 15, 2005 and took over a team that had won just five games that season. Berry spent the previous seven years as an assistant coach and offensive co-ordinator with the Montreal Alouettes.

He posted a 9-9 record in his first season with Winnipeg, leading the club to a playoff berth. Berry posted a 27-26-1 record with Winnipeg.

The Blue Bombers ended the ’08 campaign last in the CFL in scoring (21 points per game).

The firing of Berry came on the same day that Bombers tackle Doug Brown and linebacker Zeke Moreno were named to the CFL all-star defensive team.

With files from The Canadian Press