Not to be overshadowed by the Banjo Bowl win, nor the injury to Chris Streveler, with that win Mike O’Shea has become the Bombers winningest coach!
‘There’s just so many people that have been here for a huge chunk of it that make it easy every single day, not only to be successful but to come to work just every single day.’
Many may not realize that Mike, himself, is a Canadian. And isn’t that just the Canadian way? Humble. Hailing from North Bay, Ontario, O’Shea has already gone into the CFL Hall of Fame as a player. One has to think that he will also end up there as a coach! Here, you can read more of his interview from BayToday.ca
So how many wins does O’Shea have? 103. Figuring that there are 18 games in the regular season, that is like winning every game in about 6 seasons. But it was not always that way for O’Shea and the Bombers. O’Shea also has 68 losses as their coach.
Starting with the Bombers in December of 2013, and coaching them for the first season in 2014, the Bombers only had 7 wins to 11 losses that year and finished worst in the West! It did not get any better in 2015. That year, a Mike O’Shea led Bombers team only had 5 wins! They again would finish last in the West.
So how did Mike O’Shea and the Bombers get to 103 wins? It is quite amazing when you stop to think about it. Many CFL teams would have handed Mike O’Shea an apple and a road map as they parted ways. But not Wade Miller, and the Bombers. They would stick with O’Shea, and in 2016 the club reached 11 wins – only good enough for third place in the West. Adding those numbers together deso not get anywhere close to 103. So what happened?
Mike O’Shea has a mantra and a saying about going “1-0 this week.” He will tell you in every post game interview that it is hard to win in this league and that they take it one week at a time.
Along with bringing the Bombers to their winning ways, he, as well as Kyle Walters their previous GM and the team’s President Wade Miller, changed the culture. Previous to that, the Bombers were a team that players did not really want to come to; and they were known for their revolving door at quarterback…see if you can remember them all. I will list a few in no particular order, there was Goltz, Brink, Jyles, Brohm, Marve, Portis, Boltus, Hall, Pierce, Archer, Eliott, Fitzgibbon, Summers, Willy, Davis, Nichols…and that is only a span of a few years. It was a team in disarray, lacking any sense of an identity.
And while it did not change overnight for O’Shea, the GM, and the President, it did change. In 2019 the Bombers and O’Shea won the Grey Cup; breaking a 29 year drought. In 2020 there was no CFL season and it was going to be really interesting to see what type of changeover teams would face. The Bombers would win the Grey Cup again in 2021. Although that season was shortened, the Bombers had an 11-3 record that year. In 2022 they would go 15-3 and make it to the Grey Cup again, this time losing to Toronto. The Bombers once again would go to the Grey Cup in 2023 having a regular season record of 14-4, but would lose the big game to Montreal.
So when Bomber’s Coach Mike O’Shea says, “Wining is hard in this league,” he is not wrong. But that is exactly what he has been able to do; 103 times to be exact. How will the Bombers do in 2024, hey that is anyone’s guess. I do not think many saw them starting 0-4, and maybe less saw them turning it around to be 7-6 without making any major roster/coaching changes.
One thing that is certain, as long as Mike O’Shea continues to coach he will continue to create an environment where players want to come and where winning occurs.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this.
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