Tommy Condell Talking Points

He has the endorsements of his new boss in Mike O’Shea and star quarterback in Zach Collaros and has a sparkling resumé from his many, many years as an offensive coach in the Canadian Football League.

And Tommy Condell also knows this: what he says now is one thing — this two days before Christmas and a day after being announced as the new offensive coordinator with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — but the concrete proof will come in training camp and then on June 5th when the club opens its season in Calgary against the Stampeders.

Condell met with the media via Zoom on Tuesday and that interview can be seen in its entirety here:

Here are the items that stood out the most from one man’s perch:

On working again with Collaros after the two previously did with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2014-15:

“I have a deep respect for Zach. The best thing, he’s highly intelligent, he works hard, he’s a football guy, No. 1. So, with that being said, to continue to be part of that relationship has been great.

“The biggest thing that he has is the experience. With that experience, I think it also takes ownership and command and control. What I mean by that, not only ownership in regards to the offence, the command and control in regards to eyeing the line of scrimmage and the things that he can do from there because of his experience.

“… He has a fire to always be great. And that chase of greatness takes place when no one else is watching. And I think those are what all the elite players are. Also, those elite players that want to be great want to be coached, and he’s no different. He’s a guy that wants to be coached and creates real connections with him. And we’re going to have to really lean on, like I said before, some of the ownership that he needs to have and the command and control that he certainly deserves and certainly has.”

Asked what he sees from Collaros’ skills at age 37, he added:

“I still see a guy that can be able to do the things that he needs to do. I would say from a physical sense to be able to move in the pocket, also to be able to escape from the pocket, knowing that this game is all about that nowadays. To be able to make some off-platform throws, he’s able to do that. I don’t see a diminish of arm strength, I don’t see it as a diminish of talent and being able to move the pocket. The biggest thing that we’re going to have to be able to do and that’s going to be all throughout the offence is be able to take care of the football and protect the football. And I’ve got to help him in regards to the master of that position.”

On the decision by Jason Hogan step aside to resume his role as the running backs coach but remain on staff:

“No. 1, it speaks volumes in regards to who Mike hires and things of that nature. Then I got a chance to have private conversations, and those will remain private with Mr. Hogan. I knew Jason all the way back from Toronto when I was with Marc Trestman because he came in as the guest coach, so we had a longstanding opportunity to know each other all the way back then. But to be able to discuss different things with Jason and to know that we always have the team in mind, he certainly has some high character, confidence in the position, great communicator and be able to connect. And if you have those four things, those are going to be the things that are going to be able to be great coaches. The big thing is this: we both have a lot to give and offer each other for growth.”

On his offensive philosophy:

“To me, we need to marry the run with the pass. I like to have the illusion of complexity and multiplicity; the plays that start off the same and all of sudden they branch off but we have some core elements in there from that. From a nutshell, that would be it. But we have to be able to make sure we protect the football. The biggest statistics to me are turnovers and explosives. We’ve got to eliminate the turnovers and secure the football and that will be ultimately up to all of us but my job to be make sure of that and the explosions — to be able to create those (plays) of 20 yards or more.

“But then we have to be able to be situational masters and be able to execute it. We’ve got to first be able to see it and make sure we understand it and then execute it as a collective team mentality — whatever that may be in that situation — but we’ve got to be able to have situational mastery for this game because the CFL is full of different situations. That’s what makes this game that much harder than any other game I’ve ever been a part of and that’s going to take this offence to be able to do that. Those are the things we need to be able to do.”

On the statistical history which indicates his offences have seldom been run heavy and marrying that with that being a staple of the Blue Bombers attack, especially with Brady Oliveira in the backfield:

“The biggest thing is to do what the players do best. The adaptability that you talk about, I’ve been in the league for over 10 years, been in the Grey Cup for half those years, and each team has been the same but different. You have to bend with those types of things. I wouldn’t be in this position if I wasn’t adaptable and understand what players do best.

On returning to Winnipeg as a coach for the first time since his first gig in pro coaching on Jeff Reinebold’s staff in 1997:

“I was so young — I was 25 years old — and the biggest thing that still goes as to when I went out there being a young coach was I was always going to be authentic and honest and if I didn’t know something I was certainly not going to BS someone, I was going to tell them that I didn’t (know) but I sure as heck was going to find that answer out no matter where I could find it to be able to help out players. That hasn’t changed.

“Almost full circle. I would say from my end it’s an elite organization within the league because of all the things they do, and that comes from the top down. It’s just everything, a wraparound thing, of understanding how welcoming everyone has been but also understanding I’m going to be part of this culture and looking forward to being steeped in as well as as I go and get into it and sustain it and make it better as I can, to work with everyone.”

And, finally, with all the frustration with the Blue Bombers offence over the last to years, his pitch to the fans about why they should be excited for 2026:

“I’ll say this: I understand the expectations and goals of Winnipeg and those kinds of things. But I can only promise them I’m going to workday to day in a diligent manner to be able to work hard and understand and respect those types of goals. But you can’t focus on those goals; you have to work at day to day processes that we’re going to do and we have to have a formulated plan to be able to establish the weekly rhythm, daily rhythm, that we have to have not only with the fellow coaches I’m going to get to work with, but the players.

“I’ve said it: we’ve got to be able to do it with energy, detail, intent and ultimately with great communication — championship communication — to the players as well as to the coaches. We’ll do that on a daily basis and I promise that to everyone, but they know that.”