Blue tie can to Berry

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/11/2008 (6504 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WANT AD: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a 78-year-old organization mired in an 18-year Grey-Cup drought, seeks innovative motivator/tactician-type head coach who can lead team to glory. Hours awful and inflexible; responsibility enormous; expectations through the stratosphere.

Salary commensurate with experience.

The next head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers may very well be a known Canadian Football League commodity. Could be that Doug Berry’s replacement is a battle-worn vet with old-school ideas. Or, perhaps, he’s an up-and-comer with fresh new concepts.

Ultimately, the organization may also be tempted to think completely outside the box in its search and pluck a qualified but unknown candidate from the coaching ranks — and Marc Trestman’s success with the Montreal Alouettes would certainly make that approach seem less of a risk.

But Part B of the Bomber football-operations shakeup that comes today — expect Brendan Taman to give up the GM title to go back to being the director of player personnel — also says something about where the organization is headed and the kind of candidate it wishes to attract.

The club won’t come right out and confirm as much, but it’s quite likely the dual title of GM/head coach will be dangled in order to lure a high-profile coach, much the same way the Calgary Stampeders managed to land John Hufnagel last December with a good chunk of change and the promise of more autonomy in determining how the on-field product is shaped.

And if that uber-coach isn’t available — just how many dollars it would take to get Wally Buono to leave the coast, anyway? — then the Bombers may actually be seeking two people: a new head coach AND a GM.

Whoever the new candidate is, one thing is certain: the championship expectations won’t change. By firing Berry and keeping Taman on board, the club’s board of directors is sending a clear message it believes most of the pieces are in place for a Grey Cup run.

And that’s what makes this move both ballsy and risky because — like Berry or not — he did help rebuild this team from laughingstock to contender, take it to the playoffs in three straight seasons and exit with a 27-26-1 record.

In short, the new football boss won’t be asked to rebuild, but tinker as he sees fit and then squeeze the most out of what he is provided ASAP.

Asked to provide the rationale behind the move at Wednesday’s announcement, Bomber president Lyle Bauer didn’t exactly waltz around the issue.

"There were a variety of things," began Bauer. "We came off a season that didn’t meet expectations and we do believe our football team could be better. And there are things we do believe can be remedied or changed to make that happen.

"There were some things that happened later in the year that helped to correct what was going on on the field, however those were not long-term sustainable strategies and those needed to be addressed."

Bauer also said financial considerations (Berry signed an extension in June) were not factors and that the coach wasn’t whacked during the summer when the team struggled because he doesn’t believe in knee-jerk, panic-button moves.

"In case you missed part of the season, it was a very difficult one, for a group of players we believe were quite talented," he said. "Certainly, there are some things on the football side that I also think will be better over the next little while. That will hopefully all come to a resolution by Christmas."

Asked specifically if the handling of the players played a role in Berry’s firing, Bauer added: "There were some things that happened on and off the field in this organization this year that do not necessarily mesh with the culture of this organization."

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Any candidate interested in applying should read those last few graphs closely and consider the source. You see, while the hiring of the new coach will need the approval of the Bomber board, make no mistake about who will be making the call here — Bauer — and what the expectations are.

"We have money in the bank, we have a solid organization and we’re on the verge of transitioning to potentially new ownership and a brand new stadium," said Bauer. "Things have moved along very, very nicely (since he came aboard in 2000). However, there is one thing that hasn’t been done and we probably need a little more focus on that."

Translation: it’s still Grey Cup or bust for the Bombers. And, oh yeah, the meek or faint-hearted need not apply.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca