2024/2025 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread

[Brandon]

I'm not sure if this is still the case,  but 15 - 20 years ago the club used to pay for housing i.e. players stayed at hotels for free with teammates as roommates  and the team would cater food during practices/gameday any day they were at work.   They also had deals in place with some local companies that would supply vehicles,  discounts at restaurants,  other perks.      Back then their was no issues with players making sufficient money to live. 

Quite a stark contrast to Goldeyes players who were making peanuts and usually living at strangers houses during the season.  Almost like super fans would adopt players and allow them to stay at their houses rent free.   Our admin was doing this as recent as 5 years or so ago.   

[SpeedFlex27]

On 2024-12-17 at 4:11 PM, HardCoreBlue said:

The low scores across the board sans Hamilton on nutrition and diet fascinate me being that these men are professional athletes. Is this a cost issue?

Our training camp mark in that report card just isn't good enough. It irks me to no end the way O'Shea handles it. We need our players to be there at every practice if they are legitimately able to practice. O'Shea has to stop letting players like Neufeld & other miss the entire camp because it's supposedly too hard on them. If players don't want to practice then they should retire or be cut. It's not a football resort. It's important prep for the season. That's on O'Shea for making it way too easy. Enough of the "He doesn't need to practice anyway". That has to stop. It should be, "Get on the field & practice". No way anyone who misses all of training camp & two exhibition games should be in the starting lineup on Opening Day. I don't care who he is. Another 0-4 start may turn into a 4-14 season. 

[rebusrankin]

I'm not sure whether the lack of signings should trouble me or whether I should take it as a sign that the club is making hard decisions and some older, less productive vets aren't coming back.

[SpeedFlex27]

9 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

I'm not sure whether the lack of signings should trouble me or whether I should take it as a sign that the club is making hard decisions and some older, less productive vets aren't coming back.

No idea why guys like Alexander & Adams were in such a hurry to sign. Alexander could have got more in free agency than he did signing that new Als contract. In Adams case, he wasn't a free agent but like every other team he's been on, his agent has allowed them to walk all over him. Taking a bit less to sign with the Stamps??? Like WTF dude, after what the Lions did to you & the desperate way the Stamps needed you, you should have held out for more. Instead, the same thing that happened to him with every team he played for will happen again at some point. 

I just hope we sign a decent OC. Not sure if hiring from within is the answer. 

[SpeedFlex27]

21 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

I'm not sure whether the lack of signings should trouble me or whether I should take it as a sign that the club is making hard decisions and some older, less productive vets aren't coming back.

The delay in signing an OC is a bit worrisome. 

[Goalie]

25 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

The delay in signing an OC is a bit worrisome. 

Why? It’s December not march 

[Noeller]

 

 

[SpeedFlex27]

On 2024-12-19 at 12:41 PM, Goalie said:

Why? It’s December not march 

Other teams are moving forward fast. I'm not panicking but teams are making moves to stock their coaching staffs. Monson in Hamilton. Fields in Ottawa. Benevides in BC. Sherritt to Edmonton. We need an OC but just seem to be sitting by watching. 

[Fatty Liver]

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Other teams are moving forward fast. I'm not panicking but teams are making moves to stock their coaching staffs. Monson in Hamilton. Fields in Ottawa. Benevides in BC. Sherritt to Edmonton. We need an OC but just seem to be sitting by watching. 

I think they've already made up their minds to hire in house, that's why they're in no rush at all to interview outside coaches.  What they really mean by "interview process" comes down to shuffling office spaces.

[SpeedFlex27]

7 hours ago, Fatty Liver said:

I think they've already made up their minds to hire in house, that's why they're in no rush at all to interview outside coaches.  What they really mean by "interview process" comes down to shuffling office spaces.

The Stamps did all of their hiring in house for years until there were so many coaching offspring as GM's, Head Coaches & Coordinators that they started looking & making coaching decisions like they were from the isolated mountains from Arkansas or Tennessee. Hiring from within just decreases the coaching gene pool & precludes any new ideas or breath of fresh air when it comes to everything from new ideas to team culture. 

Edited 21 hours ago by SpeedFlex27

[bb1]

On 2024-12-19 at 1:15 PM, SpeedFlex27 said:

The delay in signing an OC is a bit worrisome. 

[Booch]

i dont have a positive feeling or vibe from more inside hiring...we need infusion of new ideals...mindsets and blood

[17to85]

1 hour ago, Booch said:

i dont have a positive feeling or vibe from more inside hiring...we need infusion of new ideals...mindsets and blood

On the other hand younger was an inside hire and it worked out pretty well.