Matthias Goossen (61), Matt Nichols (15) and Stanley Bryant (66) of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before the game against the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, AB on Thursday, August 25, 2018. (Photo: Johany Jutras / CFL)
Canadian Football League free agency begins in just over a month and the annual talent grab is tracking to be an unprecedented arms race as teams stare at a l-o-o-o-ng list of stars and future stars.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have taken a few names off that list over the last few weeks, locking up key pieces like Adam Bighill, Justin Medlock and Stanley Bryant, and with their quarterback crew – Matt Nichols, Chris Streveler and Bryan Bennett – and the two-time rushing champ, Andrew Harris, already on board.
Still, there’s work to be done and Nichols – who is in town for a couple of speaking engagements and heading out to Brandon Friday for the Wheat Kings’ Blue Bombers Night – is more than willing to roll up his sleeves to help deliver the club’s sales pitch.
“There’s guys that will come to me without me having to seek them out that want to know about Winnipeg and want to know about the coaching and the staff here and the locker room dynamics,” said Nichols in a long session with the media. “I already get guys that are reaching out to me on their own that want to be a part of what we’ve got going on here.
“As (free agency) gets closer and we’ve got more targeted guys… if I have any knowledge of anyone we’re interested in I’ll definitely go out of my way to let those guys know what we’ve got going on here and definitely give my pitches as to why they should come here and help us win a championship.”
That list of prospective Bombers free agents includes current teammates like Sukh Chungh and Matthias Goossen, Jackson Jeffcoat, Jovan Santos-Knox, Weston Dressler, Brandon Alexander, and Taylor Loffler, among others. But in his media conference on Thursday, Nichols again echoed a sentiment heard since the Bombers fell short to the eventual-Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders in the West Final: This team is closer to the winner’s circle than ever before. And when players like Bighill are recommitting before the free agent market even opens, it speaks volumes of where the franchise is, especially after stepping out from the wreckage that was 2012-15.
“Continually year after year guys who would easily have opportunities to go wherever they wanted are choosing to stay here,” said Nichols. “It says a lot about what we have going in this locker room. We were a couple plays shy of making it to the Grey Cup last year and I think guys recognize that and want to be a part of getting over that hump. Guys are confident that we have the squad here to do it, the coaching staff here to do it.”
Nichols, it’s worth noting, is also a couple of semesters into his Sport and Athletic Administration Master’s program at Gonzaga University. And being around the schools highly successful basketball programs this winter – the Bulldogs men’s program is ranked fifth nationally while the women’s squad is 13th – has given him a whole new perspective on the inner-workings of a sports program.
Indirectly, it’s also given him an even greater appreciation of the Bombers slow build over the last few seasons.
All that said, there’s that giant black cloud which hangs over the organization in the form of a long championship drought. That came up again near the end of the session on Thursday, when Nichols was asked if the pressure to win would be even greater in 2019.
“We understand this city’s frustration, our fans frustration with how long it’s been,” he said. “But with this group of guys, this core group of guys, it’s been a couple of years. We feel like we’re right there and we put that pressure on ourselves every day as professional athletes. We play this game to win championships. We haven’t done that and that’s our focus. I don’t think any outside pressures could ever amount to what we put on ourselves.”
