Published Nov 18, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 1\u00a0day ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n It turns out dealing with the media is a piece of cake for Mike O\u2019Shea, at least compared to dealing with his mother.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI just got off the phone with her,\u201d the Blue Bombers head coach said as he stepped behind the microphone on Tuesday. \u201cShe was giving me hell about something.\u201d<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Exactly what he was getting hell for never did get cleared up.<\/p>\n But it wasn\u2019t for signing yet another three-year contract extension to stay in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n While moving closer to his original home in North Bay, Ont., may have been a bonus to taking a job in Toronto \u2013 O\u2019Shea called those things \u201cperks\u201d \u2013 he says he didn\u2019t feel any family pressure.<\/p>\n What he did feel was the pull of Manitoba\u2019s magnetic passion for football, an environment he\u2019s helped create by turning the Bombers around.<\/p>\n This franchise was a punchline 12 years ago, mired in the CFL\u2019s longest Grey Cup drought and struggling to get people in the seats at a glitzy, new stadium, when O\u2019Shea came on board.<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Sun’s Daily Headline News<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Nine straight playoff appearances, five trips to the Grey Cup and two championships later, it sold out an entire season for the first time in modern-day history.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve built something pretty damn special here, so you\u2019d like to continue that,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cThe season didn\u2019t work out the way we wanted, but there\u2019s still a lot of growth to be had and a lot of legs left in it.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Shea is usually Mr. Humility, so it was striking to hear him refer to what the Bombers have done as a \u201ctop five, historic\u201d accomplishment.<\/p>\n As tempting as former teammate, good friend and Argonauts GM Mike (Pinball) Clemons may have made the Toronto gig \u2013 O\u2019Shea wouldn\u2019t say if Clemons threw a kitchen sink full of cash at him \u2013 the Manitoba capital still feels right for the 55-year-old.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good organization,\u201d he said. \u201cDarn close to being the best organization in the league right now, for a long period of time. We\u2019ve had a lot of good players who have put a lot into this. They\u2019ve stuck around. A lot of loyalty from the players.<\/p>\n \u201cThat kind of continuity is pretty damn important. Loyalty is important.\u201d<\/p>\n We\u2019ve called O\u2019Shea loyal to a fault in this space. You get the sense that trait extends beyond his players and coaches, into a community where he and his family have sunk some serious roots.<\/p>\n It seems like his kind of town.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t mind saying that like Bud Grant before him, he\u2019s this town\u2019s kind of coach, too.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, there\u2019s just so much to enjoy,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cWe\u2019ve carved out a very nice place here in the community. Our kids really cherish that and respect that. The friendships that we\u2019ve made in the community, how important a role the Bombers play in our province, not just our city, it\u2019s very appealing.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n It sounds like not even a potential promotion could usurp all that.<\/p>\n Ottawa may have lured Ryan Dinwiddie away from Toronto with the dual coach\/GM role, but apparently a similar deal for O\u2019Shea wouldn\u2019t have swayed him.<\/p>\n Not that he even acknowledged Clemons offered him his own title.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always interested in growth,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cBut I\u2019ve never been interested in power. Power is not the be-all and end-all. It would always be a team effort, a group of people trying to advance our team.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether this team can advance over the next year or two is up in the air like a wobbly pass into double coverage.<\/p>\n The Bombers look like a team in decline, with age catching up to it in key areas.<\/p>\n With 37-year-old Zach Collaros going into the final year of his deal and no heir apparent, it certainly doesn\u2019t look like they have a three-year plan at quarterback.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t think we do?\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cYou might not understand all our plans yet. Which is fine.\u201d<\/p>\n In the next breath, O\u2019Shea said he and GM Kyle Walters, fresh off signing his own three-year extension, had yet to meet to begin mapping out a plan for next year\u2019s roster.<\/p>\n But the coach does seem to realize the job in front of him is enormous.<\/p>\n Getting to the top is one thing. Staying there, they\u2019ve already found out, is an even snarlier animal.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to be better this year and I\u2019ve got to play a bigger role in that,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cI\u2019ve got to make sure we get back on track. That\u2019s a big challenge, to try to figure out how to re-set it and get going again. Expectations are extremely high, and we shouldn\u2019t lower them.\u201d<\/p>\n Maybe that\u2019s what Mrs. O\u2019Shea was so mad about: Not seeing her son in Sunday\u2019s Grey Cup.<\/p>\n paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca<\/p>\n X: @friesensunmedia<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsFootballCFLWinnipeg Blue Bombers Get the latest from Paul Friesen straight to your inbox Sign Up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-294365","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\/294365","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=294365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1119oshsmall-e1763507348159.jpg\")
Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O\u2019Shea. Photo by Kevin King \/Winnipeg SunArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.0.2\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-wsun-new.svg\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.0.2\/websites\/images\/newsletters\/icon-sun-headlineNews.svg\"\/){kind=icon}
<\/p>\n