The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have re-signed Head Coach Mike O’Shea to a three-year deal that will run through the 2022 CFL season, and General Manager Kyle Walters has reached agreement on a three year contract extension through 2023.
O’Shea’s previous three-year deal ended this season while Walters has a year remaining on his existing deal.
Under O’Shea, the Blue Bombers have gone 56-52 in his six seasons at the helm. Most of that success has been achieved in the last four years, with Winnipeg hitting double digits in the win column for an overall record of 44-28.
In 2020, the Blue Bombers will be looking for five consecutive 10 or more win seasons for the first time since the Bud Grant era of 1957-62.
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O’Shea now becomes the first Blue Bomber Head Coach to guide the team for a seventh consecutive season since the legendary Grant.
“When the season ended, we had a lot of beer,” laughed O’Shea at a press conference Friday.
“Probably don’t remember some of the conversations but it got worked out at a, I thought, very timely manner and I think both sides are pretty happy.”
When asked why he didn’t move to another team, O’Shea said they still have lots of work to do.
“What we talked about to our fan base, to the organization, was something sustainable, and I don’t know that four years says that just yet. We’ve got to keep going.”
Walters became General Manager of the Winnipeg Football Club on an interim basis during the 2013 season following the firing of Joe Mack.
He took over the position on a permanent basis in late November of that same year and will be going into his seventh season as well in 2020.
In addition to drafting the likes of Matthias Goossen, Sukh Chungh, Michael Couture, Taylor Loffler, Geoff Gray, Daniel Petermann, Drew Desjarlais, and Jonathon Kongbo – Walters has signed the likes of Stanley Bryant, Andrew Harris, Adam Bighill, and Willie Jefferson while also making trades for Matt Nichols and Zach Collaros.
When asked about possibly losing some players to the Ottawa Redblacks now that former Bombers OC Paul LaPolice is their new head coach, Walters said that wasn’t just a possibility, but a reality.
“When you have success, other teams start looking at your players, whether it’s Ottawa — any team. Insert any team, insert any coach, we have good football players and some of them are free agents.
“They’re going to get interest from other teams.”
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