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

[Booch]

22 minutes ago, Jesse said:

Honestly, I was kind of shocked when it was announced that MOS got his raise last year for that reason, so I wouldn't put it past him. 

it would be a move to show and lead by example.....I bet my left nut tho it never happened...and I like ol lefty so very confident he took no cut

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, Jesse said:

Honestly, I was kind of shocked when it was announced that MOS got his raise last year for that reason, so I wouldn't put it past him. 

Maybe it was front loaded so it could dip in time for the front office guys to get covered. 
 

1 hour ago, Booch said:

Maybe Osh renegotiated a revised deal to keep the band together, following the lead of some his vets??...lol.....would be the ultimate show of the culture here and who leads by example....no???

I wouldn’t be surprised in the least. 
 For all that’s happened the thing about mos that sticks with me most and always will is just after the 21 gc stadium parade celebration, he and his wife walked around and picked up garbage off the field. Could’ve left it and trusted the grounds crew to do it. Could’ve directed such a group to do it. But nope, they walked around and picked up every thing them self. 

[Noeller]

8 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

the thing about mos that sticks with me most and always will is just after the 21 gc stadium parade celebration, he and his wife walked around and picked up garbage off the field. Could’ve left it and trusted the grounds crew to do it. Could’ve directed such a group to do it. But nope, they walked around and picked up every thing them self. 

This. When people show you who they are, believe them. 

[GCn20]

14 hours ago, Noeller said:

This. When people show you who they are, believe them. 

Exactly right....and every single guy in that locker room and organization knows who he is and what he does and that is why he gets buy in at a rate no other CFL team's coaches can match. I will take a coach whose players will run through brick walls for him over a technically proficient one any day of the week and twice on Sunday. MOS plays by his gut, and sometimes he is wrong, but there can be no questioning that the mistakes he makes do not outweigh the total package of his coaching and I guess that's my biggest issue with the year long MOS witch hunt some posters have been having this past year. We can talk about his roster decisions in the Grey Cup, but I am convinced we aren't even in that game without MOS as our coach.

[rebusrankin]

I believe that one can like MOS as our head coach, not want anybody else and be frustrated by his roster management. Much like one can be a Supreme Court Justice and a seedy make stripper.

[Rex_Banner]

11 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

I believe that one can like MOS as our head coach, not want anybody else and be frustrated by his roster management. Much like one can be a Supreme Court Justice and a seedy make stripper.

Can’t he be both, like the late Earl Warren? 

[Booch]

I like osh as a coach and dont want him gone....his many pluses out weigh the minuses...but if he were to leave we wouldnt fall apart, and we would be just fine...The Bomber Culture and how things are done, and how players are treated are a product of the Winnipeg Blue Bomber Football Club....not the Mike Oshea Love Shack.....things flow from top down...WADE and Walters said this is what we want...this is what we gionna do...Can you as our HC do that?....plain and simple, and whoever comes in after will have to follow the same succesful script....

[GCn20]

22 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

I believe that one can like MOS as our head coach, not want anybody else and be frustrated by his roster management. Much like one can be a Supreme Court Justice and a seedy make stripper.

Sure...and the criticism in and of itself is warranted. It's some of the hyperbole that is going with it that I have an issue with. Some guys are going over the top even suggesting we move on from MOS. Like WTF?

5 minutes ago, Booch said:

I like osh as a coach and dont want him gone....his many pluses out weigh the minuses...but if he were to leave we wouldnt fall apart, and we would be just fine...The Bomber Culture and how things are done, and how players are treated are a product of the Winnipeg Blue Bomber Football Club....not the Mike Oshea Love Shack.....things flow from top down...WADE and Walters said this is what we want...this is what we gionna do...Can you as our HC do that?....plain and simple, and whoever comes in after will have to follow the same succesful script....

And none of them would do it as well as MOS. Not saying we would fall apart, but losing him would be a big blow to our franchise.

[Booch]

Just now, GCn20 said:

Sure...and the criticism in and of itself is warranted. It's some of the hyperbole that is going with it that I have an issue with. Some guys are going over the top even suggesting we move on from MOS. Like WTF?

And none of them would do it as well as MOS. Not saying we would fall apart, but losing him would be a big blow to our franchise.

and you know that how??...

Losing Wade or Walters and his team would be more a blow....and it takes a lot for me to defend Wade as I use to just hate the dude from back in the day, but totally respect him for the turn around and creating what we have become....and now have nothing but love and gratitude for the guy

Edited November 29, 2023 by Booch

[17to85]

I just want someone in the teams management to force Mike oshea to justify dressing players on the game day roster who stand on the sidelines with their thumb up their ass all game. Rosters are small enough, why dress a guy who can't take any snaps?

[Booch]

29 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

I just want someone in the teams management to force Mike oshea to justify dressing players on the game day roster who stand on the sidelines with their thumb up their ass all game. Rosters are small enough, why dress a guy who can't take any snaps?

good luck...hahaa...has happened for 4 yrs now

[Bigblue204]

1 hour ago, 17to85 said:

I just want someone in the teams management to force Mike oshea to justify dressing players on the game day roster who stand on the sidelines with their thumb up their ass all game. Rosters are small enough, why dress a guy who can't take any snaps?

This would also be a great question for someone in the media to ask...

[GCn20]

17 hours ago, Booch said:

it would be a move to show and lead by example.....I bet my left nut tho it never happened...and I like ol lefty so very confident he took no cut

Nor should be take a cut. Or anyone else for that matter.

[Fatty Liver]

4 hours ago, Booch said:

and you know that how??...

 

His pre-programmed players blurt it out quite often, O'Shea's presence definitely influenced players such as Harris, Bighill, Mike Miller and and Collaros choosing to come to Wpg., and the locker room culture he's built has kept many from leaving.

[Booch]

4 minutes ago, Fatty Liver said:

His pre-programmed players blurt it out quite often, O'Shea's presence definitely influenced players such as Harris, Bighill, Mike Miller and and Collaros choosing to come to Wpg., and the locker room culture he's built has kept many from leaving.

built with players provided to him tho..The pillars of whatthe team wanted, and type of players they were going to target came from above...and I sure with Osh input, but lets not get carried away thinking he was the sole architect...he got on board in the interview process in what we wanted to accomplish....and now maintaining it, tho it's pretty much self maintained...he's even said as much.

Harris was coming here regardless who was coach...Bighill wanted to go to BC but they had no cash...we did....Mike Miller was scooped off the scrap heap from being cut.....so he was just happy to sign anywhere I would think

[Noeller]

Kyle Walters presser this morning; 

https://3downnation.com/2023/11/29/10-takeaways-from-winnipeg-blue-bombers-gm-kyle-walters-press-conference/

 

Kyle Walters spoke to the media on Wednesday morning after signing a contract extension to remain as the general manager of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Here are 10 takeaways from what he addressed.

Two more years

Walters signed a standard two-year contract extension to remain in Winnipeg, not a one-year deal plus club option as some general managers across the league are rumoured to have signed. He declined to indicate whether or not he took a pay cut due to the limitations of the CFL’s operations cap.

Assistant general managers Ted Goveia and Danny McManus also signed standard two-year deals, meaning the trio will be up for extensions at the same time as head coach Mike O’Shea following the 2025 season. This also means the team’s brain trust will remain together through the 112th Grey Cup, which will be played at IG Field in Winnipeg.

“(Goveia and McManus) work their tails off, they’ve been doing this for a long time and they’re good,” said Walters. “They know the type of players Mike wants and it’s critical now with more challenges getting players up here that we’ve got a good group that can be down there finding American players. They’re the kind of behind-the-scenes guys that make everything move around here in regards to the talent that comes through.”

Buck watch

Walters indicated that he and his colleagues can’t start making any decisions regarding player personnel until it’s determined whether or not offensive coordinator Buck Pierce will be back with the team. The veteran assistant is reportedly a finalist for the head coaching job with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, though it remains unclear if he will be hired.

“That’s a question for (GM) Jeremy (O’Day) down in Saskatchewan,” said Walters. “You would think they want to get rolling for the same reason we’re talking about here, so hopefully sooner rather than later, Sask can make their decisions and get rolling because the domino effect one way or another, we’ll have to follow up with those decisions.”

Pierce has been on staff in Winnipeg since 2014 when he retired as a player to become the club’s running backs coach. He was promoted to the role of quarterbacks coach in 2016 and to offensive coordinator in 2020 when Paul LaPolice left the organization to become the head coach of the Ottawa Redblacks.

Key free agents

Walters discussed the impending free agency of running back Brady Oliveira and receiver Dalton Schoen, who are arguably the club’s two best players currently set to hit the open market. Though negotiations have yet to take place, the veteran personnel man described his preliminary plan for approaching both players.

“You kind of put a plan together with what you think is a fair offer and every time the agents think vastly differently. It’s quite a process, particularly with the high-end guys. They deserve to explore market value and they’ve earned the right to capitalize financially on the success. We’ll see. I’m sure it’ll be a fairly long process and their agents will do their due diligence and figure out what the best situation is.”

Walters described Oliveira, who was named the league’s Most Outstanding Canadian after recording 2,000 yards from scrimmage this season, as “obviously the top free agent in the CFL this year.” That’s high praise, which means the Winnipeg native will assumedly come with a high price tag. For what it’s worth, league sources have indicated that Oliveira’s agent, who is based in Chicago and handles CFL and NFL clients, is a tough negotiator.

Retirements

Walters responded to O’Shea’s comments about “maybe a couple” players leaning towards retirement this off-season. He seemed to appear more optimistic than O’Shea that the club can get a few key veterans back for another year, though only time will tell.

“The (Grey Cup) loss was so emotional that I think a lot of guys were upset and made some statements or let it be known that (retirement) potentially could be an option. I think the best is to let things settle down for a month, take a deep breath, and kind of revisit guys with what is their plan for next year because it was such a devastating loss for all of us that it does take a little bit of time to get over it. And don’t make kind of a rash decision based on the raw emotion that you’re feeling after a loss like that.”

Among the players who will be at or over the age of 35 by the start of next season are offensive tackle Stanley Bryant (38), long snapper Mike Benson (37), quarterback Zach Collaros (35), linebacker Adam Bighill (35), offensive guard Patrick Neufeld (35), and special teams ace Mike Miller (35). Bryant, Neufeld, and Miller aren’t under contract for 2024, while Benson, Collaros, and Bighill are.

Greater challenge

Winnipeg lost veteran starters Casey Sayles and Michael Couture to free agency last off-season, though the club had replacements ready to take over both roles in Ricky Walker and Chris Kolankowski. In retrospect, Walters indicated it was pretty easy to keep the club’s core intact following last year’s Grey Cup loss to the Toronto Argonauts.

With the roster now one year older, Walters expects this to be a more challenging off-season. One part of the challenge is the possibility of Pierce leaving for a head coaching opportunity, while the other is the age of the club. Walters didn’t explicitly say he considers the age of Winnipeg’s roster a problem, though it seems fair to suggest he’s less keen than O’Shea regarding having such a veteran-laden roster.

“The older the players are, the generally higher risk of injury. The salaries generally are higher. All of that will go into our decision,” said Walters. “It’s not just a matter of age. Salary, on-field productivity, health, all of those things go into it, even on an individual-by-individual basis. That’ll be an interesting discussion over the next few weeks.”

The salary cap is going up by $75,000 in 2024, though Walters indicated the increase won’t do much to help the Blue Bombers.

“In the grand scheme of things, it’s fairly minuscule,” he said. “Certain guys have bumps already in their contracts. It’s fantastic for the players that each year the cap will go up, but from a planning standpoint, it does have a minimal impact.”

Brown leaving town?

Walters didn’t entirely rule out the possibility of bringing back quarterback Dru Brown in 2024, though it appears he expects to lose the pending free agent to another team.

“The market will dictate that and I think Dru has certainly shown he’s earned the right to compete for a starting job,” said Walters. “I’m certain his agent will look around and try to find the best situation for Dru to compete as a starter and get paid as a starter.”

The 26-year-old passer threw for 983 yards, nine touchdowns, and zero interceptions this season, going 2-0 as a starter. He set a new league record this season for most touchdown passes with zero interceptions.

Frustration

It’s rare for any general manager in professional sports to enter the final year of their contract without an extension, particularly when they’ve built a consistent winner. Walters was clearly frustrated about having to wait so long for an extension, which was presumably caused at least in part to the CFL’s operations cap.

“It was difficult on the family having the uncertainty and with the operations cap, there needs to be some tough decisions, no different than with the salary cap. I’ve worked with the salary cap for a while and we’ve had to make some difficult decisions and that’s just the way it is now with the CFL with the salary cap for all of us downstairs, it’s I think the reality of the situation.”

Walters isn’t the only one who isn’t crazy about the league’s operations cap and pointed out that the consequences of losing have remained the same, while the benefits of winning have largely been taken away. The Blue Bombers can certainly afford raises given how well they’ve done financially since the COVID-19 pandemic, though they’re not able to provide them for those who’ve earned them due to the constraints of the cap.

“In the sports world, the reward of having success is an increase in pay and you get to capitalize on that — everybody — coaches, staff, scouts. And if you lose, you don’t get a contract renewal. The reality now is we’re in a situation where if we lose, we’re still going to be struggling with getting a job and the reward is not there financially,” said Walters.

“You would think that the on-field product somewhat contributes to the financial success of an organization and the people that, certainly coaches and everybody else down here, is responsible for that success that, with the new setup, can’t capitalize, which is frustrating, but it’s the reality of the CFL.”

NFL workouts

Winnipeg hasn’t received any workout requests from NFL teams as of yet, though Walters indicated he’s not expecting those to start until December. He’s aware that Oliveira is interested in possibly pursuing the NFL, though he doesn’t appear to expect Schoen to garner significant NFL interest this off-season.

“He had his opportunity coming out (of college) and he went through everything last year and didn’t get signed,” said Walters. “The probability of another opportunity is probably not very high for him because he’s had a couple.”

Immediate future

Frustration aside, Walters doesn’t feel as though his contract uncertainty held the club back heading into the off-season. He pointed out that a number of teams around the league are still working to finalize their coaches and personnel staff.

“There’s no rush other than just letting your guys know the situation. We really do need to sit down as a staff and get input from the coaches and figure out what do we look for, what do the coaches think, get input from all of them.”

Walters also feels the club has plenty of time to get into free agency, which doesn’t open until Tuesday, Feb. 13.

“There’s plenty of time. Players and their agents want to see what’s going on here as well with the coaching staff, so it’s perfectly normal,” he said. “We’ve got three months now to sort things out before free agency, so once we get going and put a plan in place together regarding who’s coming back, who we can afford, what the coach’s input is, and we’ll get it going and we’ll keep it rolling.”

[Fatty Liver]

19 minutes ago, Booch said:

built with players provided to him tho..The pillars of whatthe team wanted, and type of players they were going to target came from above...and I sure with Osh input, but lets not get carried away thinking he was the sole architect...he got on board in the interview process in what we wanted to accomplish....and now maintaining it, tho it's pretty much self maintained...he's even said as much.

Harris was coming here regardless who was coach...Bighill wanted to go to BC but they had no cash...we did....Mike Miller was scooped off the scrap heap from being cut.....so he was just happy to sign anywhere I would think

Not once have I ever heard a player praise Walters or Miller, O'Shea built the locker room culture that is now self-sustaining, and that includes keeping it free of of doosh-bag players with the FIFO motto.  He knew the type of players he wanted and Walters went out and found them and has acknowledged that in the past.  Of course it's a management team effort and all 3 have done their specific jobs well, but the player culture has been built by O'Shea alone.

[Colin Unger]

It looks very likely at this point that Buck Pierce will be going to Saskatchewan. The fact that he's still in the race when its down 2 to speaks volumes to his interest in the position and also Kyle Walters alluded to how it essentially comes down to the decision made by the Rider's GM.  These days there's a big bias towards hiring a Offensive Co-ordinator to be your head coach over a defensive co-ordinator which makes me think they will select Buck. 

Which brings up a few questions.

1. Which players will Buck bring with him?  Scheon and maybe Dru Brown seem the most likely. 

2. Who will he take with him from our staff?  Not too worried about the offensive side of the ball but could he potentially bring Jordan Younger with him to be the defensive co-ordinator? There are plenty of offensive co-ordinators out there that we could target. For continuity i imagine LaPolice would be at the top of the list also the Jones' (Khari or June) come to mind. 

The nice thing about our situation is that i think there won't be a shortage of coaches lining up to work with this group. Being the offensive co-ordinator in Winnipeg is like being a head coach in waiting. 

[Booch]

good to see that the man in charge of who comes to camp isnt as eager to fill a TC roster with aging players...thank christ

Just now, Fatty Liver said:

Not once have I ever heard a player praise Walters or Miller, O'Shea built the locker room culture that is now self-sustaining, and that includes keeping it free of of doosh-bag players with the FIFO motto.  He knew the type of players he wanted and Walters went out and found them and has acknowledged that in the past.  Of course it's a management team effort and all 3 have done their specific jobs well, but the player culture has been built by O'Shea alone.

payers rarely talk of a team pres or GM for most part....but it starts from above, and many have glowingly talked about how Wade treats them, and their families...you must hae missed it....and runs things as good or better than most NFL orgnizations

[JCon]

AFAIK Buck has never called plays from the sideline. 

Is that a big adjustment? Being HC and calling offensive plays from the sidelines? 

[Booch]

Just now, Colin Unger said:

It looks very likely at this point that Buck Pierce will be going to Saskatchewan. The fact that he's still in the race when its down 2 to speaks volumes to his interest in the position and also Kyle Walters alluded to how it essentially comes down to the decision made by the Rider's GM.  These days there's a big bias towards hiring a Offensive Co-ordinator to be your head coach over a defensive co-ordinator which makes me think they will select Buck. 

Which brings up a few questions.

1. Which players will Buck bring with him?  Scheon and maybe Dru Brown seem the most likely. 

2. Who will he take with him from our staff?  Not too worried about the offensive side of the ball but could he potentially bring Jordan Younger with him to be the defensive co-ordinator? There are plenty of offensive co-ordinators out there that we could target. For continuity i imagine LaPolice would be at the top of the list also the Jones' (Khari or June) come to mind. 

The nice thing about our situation is that i think there won't be a shortage of coaches lining up to work with this group. Being the offensive co-ordinator in Winnipeg is like being a head coach in waiting. 

drop the notion a coach leaving will "bring" players with him.....Players will go where they feel comfortable, and where they for most part get paid...same with staff....especially now in a cap restricted management world

No player on offence is gonna follow Buck to Sask just cause its Buck there...why in hell would they?...unless they got wayyyy over payed, and even then most would decline...which has happened already

Just now, JCon said:

AFAIK Buck has never called plays from the sideline. 

Is that a big adjustment? Being HC and calling offensive plays from the sidelines? 

it's a lot harder to see what defenses are doing from sideline..thats a given...And taking on dual role as a fresh faced new guy is a bad move

[Brandon]

Random thought... Brown leaves town and we cut Zach and sign Nathan Rourke?  

[Jesse]

5 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Random thought... Brown leaves town and we cut Zach and sign Nathan Rourke?  

Not cutting Zach, regardless.

[17to85]

14 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Random thought... Brown leaves town and we cut Zach and sign Nathan Rourke?  

No. Rourke is over rated.

[TBURGESS]

If Buck goes to Regina Spit Spit then it would be good for Brown to follow him. He'd be the QB with the most experience in Buck's offence.