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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive line coach Jake Thomas is enjoying his new role with the organization after spending the past 13 seasons as a hard-nosed lineman with the club. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy that he\u2019s still around, but I miss him. I miss him in the locker room, I miss him sitting next to me in the team meeting, I\u2019m going to miss him on my way to the field. But I\u2019m happy that he\u2019s still here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas is happy to remain with the organization that selected him in the fourth round of the 2012 CFL Draft, accepting a job he may not have had a chance to apply for if he had decided to play another season.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg had become a second home for Thomas and his family, so the allure of remaining in Blue and Gold \u2014 even in a different role \u2014 was very appealing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great to stay in football, but even more so to be able to stay in Winnipeg,\u201d said Thomas. \u201cI showed up here at 21 with a full head of hair and now I\u2019m 35 with no hair. It was the perfect opportunity for me, not just to get into coaching but coaching here with the right people.\u201d<\/p>\n
With training camp in the rearview mirror, what has the early phase of the transition process been like for Thomas?<\/p>\n
\u201cI really liked that we had the rookie camp first, that was kind of dipping my toes in the water with none of the guys that I knew. It made that experience a lot easier,\u201d said Thomas. \u201cBut I\u2019ve thoroughly enjoyed it so far. I wasn\u2019t sure if I would or if I wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas concedes that there\u2019s an adjustment period and there are times when he would love to land a big hit or come up with an important tackle.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest things Thomas will miss \u2014 outside of the camaraderie of being in the locker room \u2014 is the physical nature of the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what it will be, but this off-season, I will have to fill my competitiveness somehow,\u201d said Thomas. \u201cI used to be a hockey guy, I might make my return.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing for me is staying in the game. I would like to say I would have transitioned well into a new career, but I really don\u2019t know how that would have gone for me personally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blue Bombers head coach Mike O\u2019Shea sees it as a natural progression for Thomas, given the mentorship role he was already playing in the latter stages of his career.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive co-ordinator Tommy Condell (left) is just one of the few faces on the team in a coaching role this season.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not really weird for me. I always saw him as a guy you can rely on to help other guys out and coach as a player,\u201d said O\u2019Shea. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t change for me.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Shea did offer a piece of advice to Thomas after accepting the job that he\u2019s found extremely valuable.<\/p>\n \u201cBe authentic,\u201d Thomas recalled. \u201cI\u2019ve been a player when guys are trying to be something they\u2019re not and you can see through it. Just give it my best and be myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Blue Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson sees the same authenticity Thomas demonstrated during his 223 regular-season games and 16 more in the CFL playoffs, including five trips to the Grey Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have to lock in for work, he has to put that coaching hat on, you have to put that player\u2019s hat on, and you have to respect each other\u2019s space,\u201d said Jefferson.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s here to help the guys get better, so you can listen to him and learn. I know he\u2019s a good coach, a good player, and he\u2019s had some time over the off-season to learn some things as a coach so he can add to my belt. So, I\u2019m taking it all in. I\u2019m not the guy in the back going, \u2018Oh, I know who he is and how he is, I\u2019m going to continue to do what I do.\u2019 I\u2019m in the back and I\u2019m listening, taking notes, taking it all in.\u201d<\/p>\n Thomas isn\u2019t the only person on O\u2019Shea\u2019s coaching staff that has stepped into a coaching role in the same season he retired, Bralon Addison was officially hired on Monday as receivers coach.<\/p>\n Addison, who spent seven seasons with the Ottawa Redblacks and Hamilton Tiger-Cats initially came to training camp as part of the CFL diversity in football internship program.<\/p>\n But he impressed O\u2019Shea with his work ethic during the past four weels that Addison was ultimately offered a full-time position.<\/p>\n Addison\u2019s familiarity with offensive co-ordinator Tommy Condell\u2019s system was an obvious bonus, but so was his willingness to embrace some of the administrative things that don\u2019t necessarily show up on the field during workouts.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been with Bralon for, golly, five or six years,\u201d said Condell. \u201cHe knows the offence, he knows the CFL, he\u2019s highly intelligent. And he loves to learn. I do believe that he\u2019s able to command a lot of respect in regards to how he communicates.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Winnipeg Blue Bombers receivers coach Bralon Addison (centre) shows goes over a play at Tuesday\u2019s practice. The recently retired Ottawa Redblack was officially hired by the Blue and Gold on Monday. <\/p>\n Addison said it became apparent during the off-season that it was time to shift gears and lean into the next phase of his football journey.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a kid, being from Texas, my dad was a huge Cowboys fan and just watching football so much, it kind of became part of me. It was something that was just naturally in my blood,\u201d said Addison. \u201cBack in about 2005, when they had Madden 05, I was a kid that sat in the create a playbook mode for about 10 hours a day,\u201d said Addison, referring to the famous football video game Madden NFL 2005 that helped him develop his creativity.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cI\u2019ve had an interest and passion about it since I was a kid. I thought that at some point when I was done playing that I would want to be a coach.\u201d<\/p>\n That opportunity has arrived and Addison is excited to continue to pass on knowledge the same way he did when he was still a member of the receiving corps \u2014 interacting with coaches and digging into why certain plays were created and how they were installed into an offence.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce I got the opportunity to join for the internship, I was just trying to do as much as possible, learn as much as possible and adapt my mind into something new, to kind of be like a rookie again,\u201d said Addison, noting that Redblacks vice-president of football operations Shawn Burke gave him the head\u2019s up about the opportunity through the CFL diversity program when Burke was Ottawa\u2019s general manager.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to dive all the way into what I am currently doing. I\u2019m not one foot in and one foot out. Once I hung up the cleats, the itch was pretty much gone. Especially with having the opportunity to do this. It would be different if I wasn\u2019t around the game still and not able to go through the day to day process with such great people in this organization. It would be a little different if I was just at home or working another job. Then I might still have that itch.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/kenwiebe<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Ken Wiebe Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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