Ed Tait takes a look back at the 2019 Blue Bombers season with his Top 10 stories of the year…

#7 – STABILITY… AND CHANGE

They sat side by side by side – Wade Miller flanked by Mike O’Shea and Kyle Walters – with six ‘2019 Grey Cup Champions’ signs illuminated behind them.

And when Miller, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers President and CEO, again spoke of continuity and stability while announcing contract extensions for the men beside him earlier this month, well, let’s just say the message carries that much more weight in the wake of a championship.

“I’ve talked and preached about (continuity) for a long time,” began Miller. “That’s what we’ve been able to do and that both (Walters and O’Shea) want to continue here and be a part of the community is important. I’m just glad it’s worked out.”

It hasn’t always been an easy sell, dating back to the beginning of this triumvirate in 2014. The club had a major rebuild to undertake back then and the dividends didn’t really start showing until 2016 when, after a 1-4 start and some howling for O’Shea’s head, the Bombers went on a 10-3 run to finish the season and qualify for the playoffs for the first time in four years.

The build has been methodical since then with four consecutive double-digit win seasons, including an appearance in the 2018 Western Final and then the magical run to a championship this past November.

That stability at the top – and the successful results that have come from it – comes in at #7 on our Year in Review list of the Top 10 Bombers stories of the year.

Returning O’Shea, who is the Canadian Football League’s longest-tenured coach, and Walters – the second-longest tenured GM to Calgary’s John Hufnagel – will be critical for the Bombers as they attempt to build on their 2019 Grey Cup victory.

The Bombers were 3-15 the year before this regime took over, and then went 7-11, 5-13, 11-7, 12-6, 10-8 and 11-7 this past season. Over those years, the working relationship between the three men – all former players – has evolved.

“We have a group up here that’s wired similarly,” said O’Shea at the press conference earlier this month. “We have the same passion. We have different roles, but we respect each other’s roles and we’ve figured out a way to keep evolving in how we work together to make sure that we can add the ‘S’ onto this championship.

“When we sat up here in the first place (in 2014) we did talk about sustainability and excellence and championships. That’s been our goal every year. Unfortunately, we just haven’t been able to achieve it until this year, so we’re going to keep working. We’re going to find out new ways to work harder and better ways to work, more efficient ways to work and try to get this thing going again.”

There will be change, as pro football is a ‘change business’ – a quote often trotted out by Paul LaPolice who, ironically, left the Bombers to become the new head coach of the Ottawa REDBLACKS on December 10^th.

O’Shea had yet to announce the replacement for LaPolice – there is the expectation QB coach Buck Pierce would be promoted to offensive coordinator – but the coaching staff should be in place early in 2020 to help the team attack free agency.

The Bombers have the shortest list of pending free agents in the league, a number that has been whittled down to 20 with Mercy Maston, Pat Neufeld, Jermarcus Hardrick and Drew Wolitarsky all re-signing before Christmas.

That still leaves 20 players unsigned in advance of the market opening on February 11^th: quarterbacks Zach Collaros, Chris Streveler and Matt Nichols; offensive linemen Stanley Bryant and Michael Couture; receivers Darvin Adams and Charles Nelson; running back Johnny Augustine; defensive backs Winston Rose, Marcus Sayles, Chandler Fenner, Jeff Hecht, Derek Jones and Nick Taylor; defensive linemen Willie Jefferson, Jake Thomas, Drake Nevis and Craig Roh, and linebackers Korey Jones and Thomas Miles.

The most pressing question for the Bombers is who will play quarterback in 2020 – Nichols (7-2), Streveler (3-5) and Collaros (4-0, including playoffs) – all won games for the club this past season, but one or more may follow LaPolice to Ottawa.

“There are all sorts of things with the free agents and prioritizing who we want back, but obviously with the quarterback position is where it all starts,” said Walters. “That’s going to be the price point that you have to put in and then see the dominos and how that affects the rest of the roster.

“Matt’s won a lot of games for us. Zach came in and won us a Grey Cup and was the starting quarterback. Chris did some great things for us. There are some real difficult decisions that are going to have to be made… everybody has these on their roster, but it’s specifically at the quarterback position for us this offseason.”

As well, several players are drawing NFL interest, with Jefferson, Sayles, Streveler and Rose all having workouts scheduled before and during the holiday season.

The good news for the Bombers among all the potential change is this: in addition to Walters and O’Shea returning, the key scouting cogs in the football operations department are all returning: Assistant GMs Ted Goveia and Danny McManus and Director of College Scouting Ryan Rigmaiden – all of whom had their names linked to the vacant GM job with the Montreal Alouettes – will all be returning next season.

“It’s all of us,” said Walters. “Wade hired me, then we brought in Mike and we can’t forget that Ted and Danny were part of the initial group. It’s not just the three of us, it’s the five of us who have been at this since the get-go.

“We talk about continuity and then we talk roster and it’s much easier for Ted and Danny to understand what Mike is looking for in a player and as we grow as a group it’s must easier to understand what we look for out of each other.”

This is the fourth in a series recapping the Top 10 Bomber stories of 2019.
Next: #6 – THE COLLAROS TRADE: UNEARTHING GOLD AT THE DEADLINE

Previously:
#8 – ADVERSITY HITS
#9 – BURSTING OUT OF THE STARTING BLOCKS
#10 – RELOADING AFTER 2018