2023/2024 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread (BRADY’S BACK! DALTON’S BACK!)

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Edmonton won't trade Ford.  They can't afford to sign a backup QB if they do.

Chris jones has never let silly little rules stop him before. 
I have no freakin clue what to expect edm to do or look like other than spending money foolishly.

 

12 hours ago, bigg jay said:

Given the Biggie talk this week, 3DN has an interesting article about potential FA linebackers in BC. The part about MLB no longer being viewed the same way these days caught my eye. Wonder if GM's feel the same way.

"However, middle linebacker is no longer viewed as the premium position it once was and the Lions will be wary of overspending in a spot where statistics are often inflated."

https://3downnation.com/2024/01/06/tough-decisions-loom-in-b-c-lions-loaded-linebacking-corps/

The position has changed a bunch. Teams don’t play 250lbs mlbers any more or funnel to a guy much. It’s more two ilb/olb types. 
 It’ll be interesting to see what bc and tor do with their lbers and if we see big pay days in fa. 

[bigg jay]

33 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

The position has changed a bunch. Teams don’t play 250lbs mlbers any more or funnel to a guy much. It’s more two ilb/olb types. 

 It’ll be interesting to see what bc and tor do with their lbers and if we see big pay days in fa. 

If there are a bunch of high quality FA linebackers available, that could drive the cost down.  Only so many positions and so much $ available.

[JCon]

Holy. 

 

[bigg jay]

2 minutes ago, JCon said:

Holy. 

Love those moves.  JY gets to ease in to the role they were grooming him for with further mentoring from Hall.

[JCon]

Perfect transition. Hall continues to mentor Younger and MOS mentors Miller. 

[rebusrankin]

I like these moves. That said what is Hall's role?

[Bigblue204]

I ******* love that they moved Younger to DC. Hopefully he can fan the flames and get them roaring again!

[wbbfan]

12 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

I like these moves. That said what is Hall's role?

I’m guessing some thing like defensive quality control/assistant or he could coach dbs for/with jy. 
This is a huge win move for us. Hall staying on is fantastic. Big sign that the mafia aren’t going to stand pat again and aren’t happy with another close gc loss. Huge step forward and gives me a lot of hope for this coming season.  
 Good for miller too. Some one called it idr who. 

[Noeller]

great moves... only curious thing is keeping Hall around. If you're a new guy trying to put your stamp on the gig, it's a bit awkward having the last guy still there overseeing it...... but I am sure that they've got everyone's blessing and it'll be a relatively smooth transition. All in all this seems like really good moves for the Bombers. 

[bearpants]

22 minutes ago, Noeller said:

great moves... only curious thing is keeping Hall around. If you're a new guy trying to put your stamp on the gig, it's a bit awkward having the last guy still there overseeing it...... but I am sure that they've got everyone's blessing and it'll be a relatively smooth transition. All in all this seems like really good moves for the Bombers. 

I don't think this move happens without Hall being fully on board.... otherwise he probably would've just been let go...

I'm excited about these changes... Hopefully Younger can build on what works and add some of his own wrinkles in... Hopefully Miller can bring back or bring in a coverage system that actually works better than what we saw the last couple years 

[CodyT]

Oshs comments regarding special teams suggests he did indeed have a part to play in the coaching change.

 

Good move for the defense, too

[JCon]

Good to see that we got younger on defense. 

[Stickem]

Solid and fantastic moves by the team....I was pushing for the Younger move and I think it's very wise to keep Ritchie around for his mentoring and input.....Miller was definitely in the cards for Specials....glad they have seen fit to give one of the most proficient special teams guy in the league the job....excellent

[wpgallday1960]

7 minutes ago, JCon said:

Good to see that we got younger on defense. 

Ban incoming.

[TBURGESS]

Good moves IMO. Not sure how Hall fits in or how much of a salary drop he took. 

[JCon]

Just now, wpgallday1960 said:

Ban incoming.

And well deserved. 

[WinnipegGordo]

Part of the reason Hall is talking a step back could be health related.

Watching him at practices you could see he has a tough time walking around at times as it looks like his knees are shot. 

 

[17to85]

16 minutes ago, wpgallday1960 said:

Ban incoming.

Come on, there's been a few people saying we need to get Younger at defensive coordinator for a while.

[GCn20]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

great moves... only curious thing is keeping Hall around. If you're a new guy trying to put your stamp on the gig, it's a bit awkward having the last guy still there overseeing it...... but I am sure that they've got everyone's blessing and it'll be a relatively smooth transition. All in all this seems like really good moves for the Bombers. 

Hall's health and age are what likely precipitated this move. Hall stays on for guidance, and Younger does the heavy lifting that Hall can no longer keep up with, or doesn't want to keep up with.

1 hour ago, rebusrankin said:

I like these moves. That said what is Hall's role?

Available for Younger to pick his brain.

48 minutes ago, CodyT said:

Oshs comments regarding special teams suggests he did indeed have a part to play in the coaching change.

 

Good move for the defense, too

Of course he had a part to play in the coaching changes. Nonsense to suggest otherwise.

26 minutes ago, WinnipegGordo said:

Part of the reason Hall is talking a step back could be health related.

Watching him at practices you could see he has a tough time walking around at times as it looks like his knees are shot. 

 

Definitely, age, health, and probably motivation at this point are all factors. This is Hall's decision to step away and take a lesser role imo. Full credit to him for waiting until Younger was ready, and for sticking around a year just to make sure. Likely Hall`s swan song this year. I guess there is always the possibility that this was expedited because Mace tried to poach Younger, but I doubt it

Edited January 8 by GCn20

[17to85]

Hall has earned a retirement when ever he wants it. That guy's been coaching for what feels like ever.

[Stickem]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

 

 I guess there is always the possibility that this was expedited because Mace tried to poach Younger, but I doubt it

I agree AND if Mace would have been successful in signing Buck as the head honcho, we could have easily have said goodbye to Younger....Certainly worked out better for us all around

[Fatty Liver]

5 hours ago, TBURGESS said:

Good moves IMO. Not sure how Hall fits in or how much of a salary drop he took. 

They may be pulling a Ti-Cat move, hired as a "consultant" he won't be listed as staff and won't count under the coaching cap.

Edited January 8 by Fatty Liver

[rebusrankin]

Hall I hear is working for Booster Juice and Pinacle Staffing solutions and volunteering with the Blue and Gold.

[GCn20]

2 hours ago, Fatty Liver said:

Apparently there is a lot of discussion on "X' by Patriot fans that Hall will be Belichick's replacement in NE, sounds crazy to me.

They may be pulling a Ti-Cat move, hired as a "consultant" he won't be listed as staff and won't count under the coaching cap.

Must be private conversations because, and I can't even believe I went and looked, I cannot find a single post suggesting it.

[Noeller]

https://3downnation.com/2024/01/08/if-you-dont-make-a-move-youre-gonna-lose-him-oshea-addresses-youngers-promotion-halls-demotion-in-winnipeg/

 

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced a shakeup of their coaching staff on Monday as defensive backs coach Jordan Younger was named the club’s defensive coordinator and Richie Hall was demoted to an undefined assistant role.

Head coach Mike O’Shea still clearly holds Hall in high esteem but felt it was important to stay ahead of the game for fear of losing Younger to another team in the future.

“You just know there’s gonna come a time where, if you don’t make a move, you’re gonna lose him and I didn’t want to get to that point,” O’Shea told the media via videoconference.

“It’s not an easy decision, obviously. You’re talking about two guys that I have long-standing relationships with and value a lot, so to be able to have both on our staff was certainly what the aim was but you can’t really guarantee that. I’m just so excited that Richie agreed to stay on.”

Younger was rumoured to be a candidate for the defensive coordinator position in Saskatchewan if Buck Pierce had been hired as the team’s head coach. O’Shea denied that this move was made in response to any particular team’s interest in Younger but to the way in which he’s generally viewed around the league.

“I just know the climate,” he said. “He’s doing great work and everybody’s noticing. You’ve gotta strike first.”

The veteran bench boss doesn’t know what Hall’s title will be for the upcoming season but made it clear his role won’t change all that much. The 63-year-old joined Winnipeg in 2015 and served as the club’s defensive coordinator for eight seasons, helping the team reach four straight Grey Cup appearances. Since 2019, his defences have routinely finished at or near the top of the CFL’s defensive rankings.

“There’s not a day goes by that there isn’t one, two, three, four guys that wander in and out of Richie’s office to sit down and have a chat and it’s not always about football. I think he’s coming on his 40th year in the CFL, so to be able to keep that kind of CFL knowledge base around, that experience, and then also to have one of the greatest human beings in our league stick around our team is pretty good. [Younger] will be I’m sure leaning on him as much as much as possible, too,” said O’Shea.

“(Hall will) be on the defensive side coaching but I also think Buck and him have great conversations about offence versus defence. And, once again, that many years is such a precious resource you need to find a way to keep it. Once again, we’re very grateful that Richie even put in a tough spot like this decided to stay with our team.”

The team also announced that Mike Miller is now their special teams coordinator. While disappointed that Miller wasn’t able to continue his playing career due to a shoulder injury that kept him out of the entire 2023 season, O’Shea is excited to see what the 34-year-old from Riverview, N.B. will bring to the club’s special teams units.

“He’s got that quiet approach where you see him talking to guys all the time, trying to help guys improve and help his teammates become better special teamers and help get them into better positions on the field. He’s always helping out with the young guys,” said O’Shea.

When asked how he knows Miller is ready for his new coaching role, O’Shea recalled how he became the special teams coordinator of the Toronto Argonauts in 2010 despite having no previous coaching experience at the time.

“I guess that’s probably hard to describe. There was a point where Jim Barker thought I was ready. I think it’s just you know he can do it. We’re not looking for it to be perfect. We don’t need an unbelievable lecture style — stand up in front of everybody and deliver great prose. We need a guy like Mike that the players are gonna battle for. Is it always gonna sound perfect? Is the technology piece gonna work out every time? No, but it’s OK. If I can go back and remember my first week, I didn’t know how to turn on a computer, so Mike’s well ahead of the game in that regard.”

Paul Boudreau spent the past six seasons on Winnipeg’s coaching staff but wasn’t offered a contract extension to remain as the club’s special teams coordinator.

Though the Blue Bombers have yet to formally announce their coaching staff for 2024, O’Shea indicated it will otherwise remain intact. The club will not be making an external hire to replace Younger as defensive backs coach with the role being handled by the club’s defensive staff.

“How it gets organized on a daily basis out on the field, that’s going to be part of the layer that [Younger] will add, however it works,” said O’Shea. “They all can coach and they can all coach multiple spots and what it looks like on a daily basis out there on the practice field, we’ll see.”