Jason Hogan’s first gig in the Canadian Football League came with the Montreal Alouettes working in the ticketing department and in helping with the franchise’s connections in amateur football.
So, that’s as good a place as any to begin retracing some steps to tell the tale of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers new offensive coordinator.
Hogan, now 38 and a product of Montreal, had finished his playing days as a quarterback and wanted to stay in the game. He got his foot in the door through ticketing and amateur football operations, then organizing an Alouettes coaching clinic and helping with Anthony Calvillo’s Quarterback Academy. That led to a guest-coaching spot during training camp, then as a quality control coach and a spot coaching safeties under defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe.
His road to Winnipeg began in 2022 while he was at the Université de Montreal when Buck Pierce, then the Blue Bombers offensive coordinator and the man he is now replacing, was on the phone from Winnipeg.
Initially, Hogan thought Pierce was calling about a potential draft prospect. The two men knew each other only casually, coming across each other during a virtual coaching clinic during 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the call was an opportunity to come to Winnipeg to serve as a running backs coach.
Fast forward to the present and Hogan has been presented with the chance to take another massive step in his coaching career after Mike O’Shea named him the new offensive boss and Jarious Jackson the quarterbacks coach this week.
“I’ve said this before but for me it was a life-changing opportunity to get to coach running backs for a guy like Osh and Buck Pierce,” said Hogan in a chat with bluebombers.com this week. “When a guy like that calls you up you’ve got to listen, and you’ve got to think about making the move.
“This time around it’s the same. Ultimately when a guy like Osh asks you if you want it you’ve got to seize that opportunity. And to get that opportunity for a world-class organization like the Bombers for a guy like Osh and with the players we have… it was a no brainer.”
The Blue Bombers offensive numbers dipped in 2024 after leading the league in scoring in 2022 and 2023, but Hogan still has a big headset to fill. O’Shea raved about his energy and work ethic earlier this week and Hogan has long been praised by Brady Oliveira and also got a thumbs up from Zach Collaros when the head coach floated his name as an OC candidate.
“I think you’d be crazy as a head coach not to talk to your quarterback,” said O’Shea.
Asked what kind of feedback he got from QB1, the boss cracked: “Well, he definitely didn’t want me to be the play-caller. As long as it wasn’t me, we’re good.”
Hogan’s story is about more than just a guy starting at the bottom and moving up the coaching ranks. It’s about more than endorsements from critical players, too.
In making his pitch to O’Shea Hogan spoke of the offensive coordinator’s job being a collaboration. He wanted to make sure Marty Costello — widely considered the best offensive line coach in the league — was fully on board. And he was ecstatic with the idea of bringing in Jarious Jackson, whose resumé is stacked, as quarterbacks coach.
“I said to Osh that Marty had to be involved; that if he wasn’t coming back it would be difficult to consider this,” Hogan said. “Marty and I have worked together for the last three seasons. We hit it off and our pass protection and our run game has been successful because of how he and I see eye-to-eye. It was of the utmost importance that he was a part of this. Marty, without having the title, is coordinator-ready in this league and everybody knows that.
“And then bringing in a guy like Jarious, it’s like we have three coordinators in the room and that’s a rich environment for the players to be working in. I’ve seen Jarious play and coach and it’ll be an honour to have a guy like that in building. I look at everything he’s done as a quarterback coach, as an offensive coordinator and as an interim coach with the Elks… what he did to help turn that around says tenfold of how capable he is because that was such a tough situation.
“I’m ecstatic and I know the players will be ecstatic to have a guy with that leadership capability around. Not to mention they had an explosive offence last year with a good mix of run and pass… he’ll fit right into this system.”
A father of two — he and his wife Ivana have a three-year-old son Noah and four-month-old daughter Aria — Hogan is a grinder. He’s also not only a solid teacher but also played a key role in 2022 when Oliveira initially struggled to find his game and his confidence as the full-time replacement to Andrew Harris.
“I do think that’s one of my strengths,” he said. “This is a people business, at the end of the day. You’ve got keep your relationships tight knit because if you don’t you lose trust. Football is about relationships and building that trust. Look, we spend 80-90 hours a week together during the season and it can’t just be about football. You need to connect to know what’s going on in their worlds and learn about each other’s lives a bit.
“I’ve been fortunate to encounter a lot of coaches in my short time in the CFL,” he added. “(Long-time CFL coach) Tom Higgins once told me, ‘Every day is an interview’ and that’s the truth. How people perceive you, how you are every day and what you do, how you lead your crew is how people see you. It’s a constant grind. You’ve got to have a ‘do-more’ mentality as to how you can help the football team.
“I say it every day — you’ve got to make your own luck. You’ve got to chase it. You can’t wait for things to show up on a silver platter because it never happens that way.”
The Blue Bombers have long been a team that dominated offensively at the line of scrimmage with the ground game, augmented by Collaros’ skills as a passer. Again, those numbers dipped last year with injuries to Dalton Schoen and Kenny Lawler, new personnel on the O-line and in the receiving corps. Hogan was asked what kind of offence the club will run in 2025. Again, he stressed the collaborative aspect of ideas and then offered this:
“The quick answer is, ‘Wait and see,'” he said with a chuckle. “But if I was to sum it up I’m a big fan of the ol’ KISS expression — keep it simple, stupid. The faster our players can play the more successful they can be. The faster you play and use your God-given skillset, the better. That will be part of it.
“Also, how do we push the envelope? How do we get Zach and Brady, who are the cornerstones of the offence, do be at the best of their abilities all the while keeping it simple for everybody and give the fine folks in Winnipeg a show they deserve?
“Any coach, any coordinator who has been doing his own due diligence — taking notes, having your own playbook, so to speak — has taken stuff from different coordinators over time. This was part of my conversation with Osh when this first started, and we were talking about this potential job: we have a very good nucleus of veterans and I’d be silly to come in here and just do something I like. It’s got to make sense them and what they know makes sense to them.
“It’s also about what the staff wants to implement as well. I’m also all about the players and their ideas — if they’ve got ideas you’ve got to listen to them. You’ve got to listen; you’ve got to be open to ideas because there’s more than one way to do this.
“I do have such a huge amount of respect for this organization and what Wade (Miller, President & CEO) Kyle (Walters, GM) and Osh have done for my family,” he added. “I’m going to work day and night to make sure this is done right. I want to take care of the players; I want to take care of the coaches. This is my first opportunity, so I want to make it a great opportunity. I am jacked up about this. It’s such an honour.
“I’m ready to seize the moment. I will give the Winnipeg Blue Bombers my all.”
