Photo: Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have announced that Mike O’Shea will be back as the team’s head coach in 2026.
The 55-year-old native of North Bay, Ont. has been the team’s head coach for 12 years, posting a 117-77 regular-season record. O’Shea is the franchise leader in wins as a head coach, the seventh-winningest head coach in league history, and a two-time CFL Coach of the Year. He has also gone 9-7 in the playoffs, including 2-3 in Grey Cups.
The University of Guelph product was recently spotted in Toronto after the Argonauts were granted permission to interview him for their head coaching vacancy. Mike ‘Pinball’ Clemons, the general manager of the Argonauts, played alongside O’Shea for four seasons and coached him for seven seasons in Toronto.
O’Shea is on an expiring contract with the Blue Bombers and indicated after the season that he expected to have “good conversations shortly” regarding a potential extension.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated accordingly.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers finished fourth in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 10-8 record, qualifying for the playoffs as the crossover team before losing the East Semi-Final to the Montreal Alouettes. Zach Collaros threw for 3,048 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions over 13 regular-season games, going 6-7 as a starter.
The Blue Bombers ranked fifth in net offence, third in net defence, and eighth with a turnover differential of minus-eleven. The club’s leading rusher was Brady Oliveira with 1,163 yards, leading receiver was Nic Demski with 1,001 yards, and leading tackler was Tony Jones with 104 tackles. Winnipeg ranked first in attendance with average crowds of 32,343, which was a 3.7 percent increase from the previous year.