New Bombers coach O'Shea doing everything possible to control the message

[M.O.A.B.]

New Bombers coach O'Shea doing everything possible to control the message

 

So I decided to stop in and take a peek at Camp O’Shea, Monday, get the season’s first whiff of pigskin and sweaty O-linemen.

 

Upon first glance, nothing stood out about the methods of the new sheriff in Blue Bomberville, the usual training camp sights and sounds greeting me: large men grunting, coaches barking and the occasional whistle interrupting the festivities.

 

In the middle of it all stood the man charged with turning this leaky vessel around, holding a piece of paper and wearing a T-shirt and shorts, even as a chilly, wind-aided rain pelted the last half hour of the proceedings.

 

There would be no rain jacket or pants for Mike O’Shea or his coaching staff.

 

Muzzles, on the other hand, have already been deployed.

 

Ripping a page from ex-coach Mike Kelly’s book — the one copy that hasn’t been burned, I suppose — O’Shea has banned his assistant coaches from doing interviews.

Not just on Monday, not just this week, not just during training camp — but for the entire season.

 

If you eventually want answers from offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille about why his air attack sucks like a shop-vac, sorry, you’re out of luck.

 

If down the road Gary Etcheverry’s confusing defence is confounding his own players more than the opposition, well, we won’t be able pick his brain about that, either.

 

New running backs coach Buck Pierce? Muzzled.

 

The always smiling Marcus Howell, the pride of St. James? Off limits.

 

Part-time magician and O-line guru Bob Wylie? He felt guilty even saying hello to one wag on Monday.

 

It’s a startling bit of control freakishness in the normally accessible world of three-down football. Rare, if not unheard of.

So, what gives, coach?

 

“It wasn’t hard to come up with that,” O’Shea explained to the dunces taking notes. “My decision was easily just to control the message, and make sure you’re only hearing one voice and only one opinion. That way there’s no confusion for the players.”

 

Control the message? Good lord, I’m having a flashback.

 

Wasn’t that one of Kelly’s mantras in that gong show of a 2009 season?

 

But not even The Professor went this far in his war with the inked-stained wretches of the press. He only wanted to mimic the NFL by limiting his co-ordinators to one day of access per week.

 

O’Shea doesn’t want his hired help to utter a peep from now until November.

 

“I’m trying to serve the players as best I can,” he continued. “If it comes from me, and only me, then they can come into my office and talk about that with me. They don’t have to worry about talking to their position coach and then the co-ordinator and then myself about three different interviews that were done after a practice or a game. It’s important.”

 

Ah, I’m starting to see where the seed for this petty notion was planted.

 

If that bit about players answering to mixed messages from their coaches sounds familiar, it’s because it is: it happened here during last season’s train wreck.

 

Head coach Tim Burke one week deferred the decision about who to start at quarterback to co-ordinator Gary Crowton, leading to Justin Goltz feeling “betrayed” and Pierce throwing up his hands wondering who was calling the shots.

 

“Watching from afar for the last bunch of years... it was an easy decision, I’ll put it that way,” is all O’Shea would say.

Curiously, no other CFL head coach has found it necessary to make that easy decision.

 

Former Montreal boss Marc Trestman implemented a ban to deflect from the hiring of controversial assistant Jeff Reinebold early in the 2012 season, but it was short-lived.

 

Kent Austin runs an airtight ship in Hamilton, but doesn’t have a problem with his assistants opening their mouths in front of a microphone.

If you hire assistants with the same philosophy, what’s the issue?

 

A strong leader, and by all accounts O’Shea is one, should have no trouble with this concept.

 

It’s not like Bellefeuille and Etcheverry are prone to flapping their gums wildly in the breeze. Both have been head coaches. They know the drill.

 

Muzzles are fine for pit bulls.

 

They don’t look so good on people.

paul.friesen@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @friesensunmedia

 

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/06/02/new-bombers-coach-oshea-doing-everything-possible-to-control-the-message

[M.O.A.B.]

Effing Friesen is starting again.

[Bomber_fanaddict]

I stood behind Friesen for almost a half an hour at noon today and not once did I see him glance at the field more then 10 seconds.  All he did was as he puts it "Flap his gums" to all the other media guys there.  

 

So was this his first day at practice?  Did he bother to show up for rookie camp?  Because if he is comparing Kelly to O'shea after maybe 3 min of watching practice I have lost the last ounce of respect for that guy.

[Mr Dee]

Day three, of the first year, of this guy's first stint as a Head Coach, and I've already heard more information, had more insight, and was entertained, all at the same time.

It is total night and day from the last two or three HCs and I, for one, am very pleased at what I'm hearing so far.

Mike O'Shea stated, when he first came here, that he wanted to create 'a culture of winning' and that he and Walters were going to hunker down and look at everybody in reference to the roster. So far, everything they've done is following what they've said.

 

Friesen is never going to 'get it' nor will he be able to penetrate O'Shea's resolve, so all he has left are these pissy little articles that will keep him exactly where he needs to be, when respect and admiration are meted out…being controlled, as to the message.

[The Unknown Poster]

Bombers should revoke his credentials.

[Jacquie]

Remember when Mike Kelly wanted to create a schedule where the HC would do a media scrum* a few days a week and the OC, DC, STC would each do a media scrum on different days of the week and the media went into whine mode because they didn't want to talk to coordinators, they want the HC. 

 

*Almost typed scum there by mistake. 

[Bomber_fanaddict]

Bombers should revoke his credentials.

Are you implying that he has credentials??

[TBURGESS]

Here we go again.  Friesen complains about something the Bombers do and the boys on forums go nuts.  I get the popcorn out and see if anyone comes up with anything new.  It's almost like the folks around here don't know that Friesen is trying to create buzz and he doesn't care if it's negative or positive.

 

Personally, I think O'Shea trying to control the message and the media is a mistake, just like it was when 'He who must not be named' did it.  Picking a fight with the folks who write the articles is a no win situation and it will result in negative press, which the Bombers really don't need.  I'll chalk it up to a Rookie HC mistake or not understanding how the press, especially in Winnipeg works.  At least it will be grist for the forums so things won't get boring around here.

[Jpan85]

It's a new culture in Bomber land business operations one voice, player personnel one voice and one voice one leader on the field. Instead of conflict answers like we had on the Starting QB last there is one reason behind all decisions.

[Mike]

Here we go again. Friesen complains about something the Bombers do and the boys on forums go nuts. I get the popcorn out and see if anyone comes up with anything new. It's almost like the folks around here don't know that Friesen is trying to create buzz and he doesn't care if it's negative or positive.

Personally, I think O'Shea trying to control the message and the media is a mistake, just like it was when 'He who must not be named' did it. Picking a fight with the folks who write the articles is a no win situation and it will result in negative press, which the Bombers really don't need. I'll chalk it up to a Rookie HC mistake or not understanding how the press, especially in Winnipeg works. At least it will be grist for the forums so things won't get boring around here.

Why is it that you ALWAYS side with the media? If a coach does something the media doesn't like, he's picking a fight? Why couldn't it just once be that the media is behaving inappropriately?

[Mr. Perfect]

Huff has the same rules in Calgary, Trestman had the same rules in Montreal. It's someone reaching trying to stir the pot. End of story.

[SPuDS]

I stood behind Friesen for almost a half an hour at noon today and not once did I see him glance at the field more then 10 seconds. All he did was as he puts it "Flap his gums" to all the other media guys there.

So was this his first day at practice? Did he bother to show up for rookie camp? Because if he is comparing Kelly to O'shea after maybe 3 min of watching practice I have lost the last ounce of respect for that guy.

Whoa whoa whoa WHOA!!!

You actually had some respect for him?

[SPuDS]

Here we go again. Friesen complains about something the Bombers do and the boys on forums go nuts. I get the popcorn out and see if anyone comes up with anything new. It's almost like the folks around here don't know that Friesen is trying to create buzz and he doesn't care if it's negative or positive.

Personally, I think O'Shea trying to control the message and the media is a mistake, just like it was when 'He who must not be named' did it. Picking a fight with the folks who write the articles is a no win situation and it will result in negative press, which the Bombers really don't need. I'll chalk it up to a Rookie HC mistake or not understanding how the press, especially in Winnipeg works. At least it will be grist for the forums so things won't get boring around here.

Why is it that you ALWAYS side with the media? If a coach does something the media doesn't like, he's picking a fight? Why couldn't it just once be that the media is behaving inappropriately?

*dumps bag of popcorn into bowl...*

[TBURGESS]

 

Here we go again. Friesen complains about something the Bombers do and the boys on forums go nuts. I get the popcorn out and see if anyone comes up with anything new. It's almost like the folks around here don't know that Friesen is trying to create buzz and he doesn't care if it's negative or positive.

Personally, I think O'Shea trying to control the message and the media is a mistake, just like it was when 'He who must not be named' did it. Picking a fight with the folks who write the articles is a no win situation and it will result in negative press, which the Bombers really don't need. I'll chalk it up to a Rookie HC mistake or not understanding how the press, especially in Winnipeg works. At least it will be grist for the forums so things won't get boring around here.

Why is it that you ALWAYS side with the media? If a coach does something the media doesn't like, he's picking a fight? Why couldn't it just once be that the media is behaving inappropriately?

 

I didn't like it when Kelly tried to control the media.  I could see what was coming back then and we all know how that turned out.  I don't like it now any more now and I expect the same results.  That's called being consistent, not being on the side of the media.  O'Shea wasn't in Winnipeg when Kelly made the mistake, but someone who was around then should tell him how it will probably work out.

 

Here's a hint:  If you want to control the message, then make sure everyone's on the same page, help the media spread your message and everyone wins.  Don't say "I'm going to control the message and everything comes through me".  That's not going to help the situation.  In fact it's going to hurt it.

 

BTW:  It's not inappropriate for the media to want to talk to more than one person on the team.  It's done almost everywhere there is a pro team.

[SPuDS]

Anyone taking bets on when the freisen will connect "control the message" to wylies situation "just" being let out?

[Jacquie]

Huff has the same rules in Calgary, Trestman had the same rules in Montreal. It's someone reaching trying to stir the pot. End of story.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Milanovich has the same rules as Trestman had regarding the media.

[Captain Blue]

Paul Friesen is a schmuck.  I didn't realize this was a Friesen article at the start but once the ****-throwing really started I knew it was his schtick all over again.

 

Don't care what this idiot has to say.  He doesn't watch practice, he doesn't even comprehend the CFL (or really, any league) well and he certainly has no idea how to write articles.

 

What really ticks me off though is that people actually side with this buffoon and now we'll certainly be hearing about this crap all season.

[The Unknown Poster]

Why do some people get so worked up about forums. If you take the time to come on here and make sarcastic remarks about other people sharing their opinion on here, the joke is on you.

Friesen wrote a stupid article. People are well within reasonable bounds to discuss it here.

[Mr Dee]

Well, what is it called when some people are concerned about controlling the control of the messages?

[Captain Blue]

 

 

Here we go again. Friesen complains about something the Bombers do and the boys on forums go nuts. I get the popcorn out and see if anyone comes up with anything new. It's almost like the folks around here don't know that Friesen is trying to create buzz and he doesn't care if it's negative or positive.

Personally, I think O'Shea trying to control the message and the media is a mistake, just like it was when 'He who must not be named' did it. Picking a fight with the folks who write the articles is a no win situation and it will result in negative press, which the Bombers really don't need. I'll chalk it up to a Rookie HC mistake or not understanding how the press, especially in Winnipeg works. At least it will be grist for the forums so things won't get boring around here.

Why is it that you ALWAYS side with the media? If a coach does something the media doesn't like, he's picking a fight? Why couldn't it just once be that the media is behaving inappropriately?

 

I didn't like it when Kelly tried to control the media.  I could see what was coming back then and we all know how that turned out.  I don't like it now any more now and I expect the same results.  That's called being consistent, not being on the side of the media.  O'Shea wasn't in Winnipeg when Kelly made the mistake, but someone who was around then should tell him how it will probably work out.

 

Here's a hint:  If you want to control the message, then make sure everyone's on the same page, help the media spread your message and everyone wins.  Don't say "I'm going to control the message and everything comes through me".  That's not going to help the situation.  In fact it's going to hurt it.

 

BTW:  It's not inappropriate for the media to want to talk to more than one person on the team.  It's done almost everywhere there is a pro team.

 

 

Or, and I'm just spitballing here, Kelly failed because his actual football schemes were downright awful... and whether or not a coordinator could answer questions from such luminaries as Gary Lawless and Paul Friesen is actually irrelevant to the success of the football team?  

 

The only thing I actually liked about Kelly was that he realized Winnipeg's media was comprised mostly of buffoons.  He didn't exactly do it the right way, and that's where O'Shea seems to be different.

 

BTW: It's not inappropriate for the team to reduce media availability.  It's done almost everywhere there is a pro team.  They have mandated CFL media obligations to fulfill - that's it.

[Arnold_Palmer]

It's highly apparent that Friesen doesn't care about the team. He writes to create controversy, which in turn unfortunately sells.

[TBURGESS]

If you want good articles... Include the media, don't fight with them.  Work with them.  Give them what they want.  Make their jobs easy.  Don't tell them no unless you absolutely have to.  Make them an extension of the team.  Treat them like friends.  

 

Almost all of the articles written this offseason have been positive.  Walters understands what working with the media is and he hasn't had a single bad story that I can think of.  Miller has only one bad story and that's when he refused to work with the media on the leaky stadium issue.  O'Shea hasn't had any bad articles up to now and they've given him the benefit of any doubt.  For example: They could have written about how O'Shea flip flopped on Smith over a 2 day period, but they didn't.  

 

Now O'Shea says he's going to control the message and no one else will be allowed to talk with the press.  That sets up an adversarial situation with the media.  When you do that, don't act surprised or complain when the media starts treating you like an adversary.  

[Jacquie]

Funny that the only negative stories about Miller and O'Shea were both written by Friesen. The Bombers under Miller, Walters and O'Shea have bent over backwards for the media but that hasn't had any effect on how Friesen writes about the team.

[Mike]

Funny that the only negative stories about Miller and O'Shea were both written by Friesen. The Bombers under Miller, Walters and O'Shea have bent over backwards for the media but that hasn't had any effect on how Friesen writes about the team.

Exactly. The team has become far more friendly and Friesen is still shitting on them for adopting a policy that is used by almost half the league.

I'd have a lot more respect for him if he said he didn't like the policy as opposed to acting as if it's an incredible mistake.

[Nasty Nate]

Friesen can't stand writing feel-good stories. He'd rather not write vs. being able to confront top guys. (ie. GMs, Coaches, star players)