Ed Tait
Winnipeg Free Press

WINNIPEG -- It's neither a glowing endorsement nor a vicious condemnation. And so, just like all his Winnipeg Blue Bomber teammates, Kevin Glenn will fidget nervously until he finds out where he stands with his new boss.

You see, Mike Kelly made a few things abundantly clear in his introduction as the team's 27th head coach on Tuesday, not the least of which is the 2009 training camp will be an "open tryout." Nobody gets a free pass and no one will be automatically cut.

And quizzed over and over again about Glenn, Kelly insisted he was reserving judgment on the No. 1 quarterback until he watched film of both the '08 season when he threw a career-high 20 interceptions and the '07 campaign when he was a Most Outstanding Player finalist.

Still, what really caught Glenn's ear was Kelly's determination to fix an offence that finished dead last in scoring this past season. And what he hopes for now is the chance to slip behind the wheel of Kelly's revamped offence and drive the thing.

"It makes you anxious and excited when there's a new boss," said Glenn from Detroit. "I've heard so much about this guy I'm anxious to see what he can do and what he can bring to the team and our offence."

The big question here is whether Glenn will be the man Kelly chooses to line up behind centre.

And there are two schools of thought percolating here: 1. Glenn is a nine- year CFL veteran who has never taken his team to the winner's circle and, based on last year, has regressed and; 2. Glenn is still the Bombers' best option at the most-important position on the field and, with tutelage from a QB guru like Kelly, could still blossom.

In any case, we can tell you this much: while Kelly is reserving judgment on every player, Glenn does have his supporters in upper management.

And they believe he shouldn't be graded solely on what happened in the '08 season -- a year in which he was benched, only to return with the added responsibility of the offensive play-calling.

Enter Kelly, who will not only be the new head coach, but the offensive co- ordinator and play-caller.

"It's exciting to think about being in that situation," said Glenn. "Any quarterback will tell you it's OK if you want to call your own plays, but I was always clear when I was given the responsibility that it wasn't something I was demanding. It could have gone either way with me. Whatever they wanted me to do to help the team, that's what I was going to do.

"I'm happy he is here and hopefully he'll be on my side."

Glenn said he won't bother calling Kelly, but let the new coach instead get a feel for the hand he's been dealt.

Courtesy: www.winnipegfreepress.com