{"id":291757,"date":"2025-11-18T20:49:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T20:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/291757\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T20:49:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T20:49:09","slug":"mike-oshea-shares-rare-personal-insight-in-choosing-winnipeg-blue-bombers-over-toronto-argonauts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/291757\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike O’Shea shares rare personal insight in choosing Winnipeg Blue Bombers over Toronto Argonauts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo: Neil Noonan\/3DownNation. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Mike O\u2019Shea is back for three more years as the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers after visiting the Toronto Argonauts, who are currently without a head coach following the departure of Ryan Dinwiddie to Ottawa.<\/p>\n

When speaking to the media on Tuesday, O\u2019Shea described his dealings with the Boatmen as \u201cvery professional\u201d and \u201cterrific,\u201d though he declined to clarify the exact nature of the discussions, terming them simply as \u201clooking at an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 55-year-old cited his long history with Toronto general manager Mike \u2018Pinball\u2019 Clemons as one of the reasons he spoke to the Double Blue. The\u00a0Toronto Sun reported on Sunday<\/a> that O\u2019Shea would have held more power and earned more money if he\u2019d elected to join the Argonauts, though O\u2019Shea made no such confirmations.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Shea was effusive in his praise for Winnipeg and the Blue Bombers organization, calling it a \u201cgood decision\u201d to return. When asked about the personal implications of his decision, the native of North Bay, Ont. offered a rare glimpse into his family life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve carved out a very nice place here in the community,\u201d he said. \u201cI think our kids really cherish that and respect that. I think the friendships that we\u2019ve made in the community, how important a role the Bombers play in our province, not just our city, is very appealing.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Shea also reminded the media that his three children are now adults, making them free to tackle their own pursuits regardless of where he chooses to work.<\/p>\n

There was speculation that the veteran coach might want to move east to be closer to his aging mother, though O\u2019Shea said she doesn\u2019t need his help. She remains in good health, even driving all the way to Winnipeg by herself for a visit this past summer.<\/p>\n

The transparency stopped when O\u2019Shea was asked almost anything football-related, however.<\/p>\n

He spoke positively about pending free-agent Brady Oliveira and acknowledged that the team wasn\u2019t good enough in 2025, falling short of \u201cextremely high\u201d expectations. Other than that, O\u2019Shea was about as revealing as a Benedictine habit.<\/p>\n

According to the bench boss, he and general manager Kyle Walters have barely talked about offseason plans for the team\u2019s roster. He declined to disclose the contract status of any of his assistant coaches, leaving it unclear who will return.<\/p>\n

It also remains a mystery why O\u2019Shea signed another a three-year contract considering he\u2019s comfortable working on expiring deals. Why not sign a one-year extension, giving him the chance to work wherever he wants in 2027? After all, O\u2019Shea just used the end of his agreement as a chance to speak to the Argonauts and defended that decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m on an expiring contract, I\u2019ve got a few opportunities to explore,\u201d O\u2019Shea said early in Tuesday\u2019s availability. \u201cI should explore them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t go on expiring contracts so that I have the opportunity to look around (at other jobs),\u201d he said moments later. \u201cThat\u2019s just the way we do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does that mean? After covering O\u2019Shea and his team for years, I still have no idea.<\/p>\n

When pressed on why he chooses to work under expiring contracts, a team staff member stepped in to cease the line of questioning.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Shea then added one last thought on the subject.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always bet on myself, but it\u2019s never been for the reason to look around.\u201d<\/p>\n

With O\u2019Shea apparently being one to bet on himself, people might speculate that he has aspirations to earn a promotion. When asked if he\u2019d be interested in becoming a general manager, however, his answer seemed negative.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always interested in growth but I\u2019ve never been interested in power. Power\u2019s not the be-all, end-all. I\u2019ve always wanted to do things as a group, as a team, and figure out how to make decisions together with people that know what they\u2019re doing,\u201d said O\u2019Shea.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving absolute control of something has never been anything I\u2019m interested in. Whatever the titles would be would be irrelevant because no matter what we were doing, it\u2019d always be a team effort \u2014 a group of people trying to advance our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear why O\u2019Shea sees the role of general manager as being akin to some type of authoritative dictator \u2014 most general managers describe the job as being highly collaborative and full of delegation \u2014 but it doesn\u2019t appear he has plans to take on a general manager position anytime soon.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Shea\u2019s contract extension was announced alongside a new three-year deal for Walters, who was also on an expiring term. The coach offered a quick thought on returning with his longtime colleague, alongside whom he\u2019s won two Grey Cups.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve made it this far,\u201d said O\u2019Shea. \u201cWe\u2019ve had this continuity and it\u2019s worked, so why not continue it?\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked why he and Walters never speak to the media together, something that\u2019s relatively common in other markets, O\u2019Shea made a joke about there being only one podium in the press room. He then imitated what it would look like for two individuals to try to share the podium, which drew a loud laugh from some people in the room.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that the last time O\u2019Shea signed a contract extension in Winnipeg, the podium in the press room was replaced with a table and two chairs. The coach filled one and team president and CEO Wade Miller filled the other, allowing them to simultaneously field questions from the media.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of tables and chairs at Princess Auto Stadium and the podium is hardly bolted to the floor. Kudos to O\u2019Shea for getting a laugh with his gag but this was yet another question he simply didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n

Walters will speak to the media on Wednesday, so it will be interesting to hear his take on the relationship between him and his head coach.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Shea was in no laughing mood, however, about the photo a CFL fan took of him at the Toronto airport, which went semi-viral on social media. It\u2019s unclear why a public person would expect privacy in a public space, especially given that his potential interest in the Argonauts had already been reported, but that didn\u2019t stop O\u2019Shea from admonishing the fan who posted the picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no thought when somebody snaps something and posts something. They have no thought for someone else\u2019s sanity. It\u2019s all about themselves and you\u2019d like that to change,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople don\u2019t understand how much of an issue they can create for their own self-serving purposes. It\u2019s kind of sickening, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll be at least two months before we hear from O\u2019Shea again. By that time, here\u2019s hoping he\u2019s a little more forthcoming about his football team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo: Neil Noonan\/3DownNation. All rights reserved. Mike O\u2019Shea is back for three more years as the head coach…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-291757","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}