Wide net for new Blue offence boss

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This article was published 12/11/2015 (3614 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The hunt is on for the new offensive co-ordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, but head coach Mike O’Shea isn’t giving much away about what kind of coach he hopes to acquire.

Instead, hours after the Bombers informed beleaguered former offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille his contract would not be renewed, O’Shea met the media Tuesday for his last news conference of the season.

Outside of noting he wouldn’t be looking south for options, he spoke about the new offensive co-ordinator search in mostly general terms.

What kind of offence does he want the Bombers to run?

“There’s no doubt I want to get tougher,” O’Shea said. “From every standpoint.”

Are there any candidates on the Bombers staff right now?

“There’s a whole list of candidates,” the coach said. “I’m not going to exclude anybody.”

Is O’Shea, just off his second season as a head coach, planning to prize CFL experience in the hire?

“It’s one of the factors,” he said. “But it can’t be the only factor.”

The culling of Bellefeuille was expected. Winnipeg’s attack sputtered out in 2015, hamstrung by quarterback Drew Willy’s season-ending injury.

The club finished 5-13, and last in the league for yards per game. In that light, the decision was pretty straightforward.

“At the end of the day, we didn’t produce enough points to win games as the season wore on,” O’Shea said. “The bottom line is I don’t think we operated at an efficient enough level to allow us to win the number of games that we should win.”

On the other hand, O’Shea acknowledged, quarterback struggles and injuries were a big part of the Bombers’ slumping record. Going into the season, O’Shea thought the Bombers were in a good position with Willy in the saddle and backups such as Brian Brohm.

“Then it didn’t prove out that way,” he said.

“It’s a combination of their ability to execute, and what we were asking them to execute, possibly. It all requires a greater look to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes.”

‘This is a big hire. The players, the franchise, the fans are waiting for something good to happen. So we won’t rush through this, and we won’t take it lightly’

— Mike O’Shea

Despite everything, O’Shea said, he still believed the 2015 Bombers had the talent to make the playoffs. For evidence, he pointed to games against Calgary and Edmonton late in the season, where the Bombers lost games by just a handful of points. If they had found a way to win those matches, O’Shea said, “we’d be having a different talk this year.”

Instead, the Bombers are on the outside looking in — again. Their offensive position coaches are in limbo, waiting for a new offensive co-ordinator to be hired and make a verdict on their employment. They may be waiting a while.

“The process is going to start right away, but it’s certainly not something I’m going to rush through,” O’Shea said. “This is a big hire. The players, the franchise, the fans are waiting for something good to happen. So we won’t rush through this, and we won’t take it lightly.”

By now, he should have a good idea of how it goes. After just two years at the helm, O’Shea has already had to cut loose three co-ordinators; in the meantime, he said, he’s gained “a better understanding of that process.” So how can he be sure that this time, he gets the right coach in place?

“Just going to keep digging deeper, and take in more factors,” he said. “I don’t think you can stop analyzing at a set number of things you’re going to cross off the list. Every time you get a question answered, you need to start asking another question.”

Is that something the Bombers didn’t do before, with Bellefeuille?

“Maybe a little bit in the process,” O’Shea said. “I have a better understanding now of that process.”

So for now, this much is certain: the defensive coaches are staying put, O’Shea confirmed. And the hiring of the OC will be his decision. On the horizon, though, another question is looming: if things don’t change, how long will O’Shea’s job be safe?

“I’m here, I’m in front of you,” O’Shea said. “You would look at the way I’ve hired so far and think I’m hiding behind that, firing three co-ordinators. But I’ve got a commitment to move forward. The players are depending on me to make the right moves, and do it sooner rather than later. And I owe it to them. All I can say is I’m going to work extremely hard and make sure I don’t repeat the same mistakes.”

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca

Melissa Martin
Reporter-at-large

Melissa Martin reports and opines for the Winnipeg Free Press.

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