December 8, 2022

O’Shea signs three-year extension with Bombers

Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca

WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced on Thursday that head coach Mike O’Shea has signed a three-year contract extension which will have him continue to lead the football club through the 2025 Canadian Football League season.

A back-to-back winner of the Annis Stukus Trophy as the CFL’s top coach in 2021 and 2022, O’Shea ranks third in career wins in Blue Bombers franchise history with 82, behind only Bud Grant (102) and Cal Murphy (86). He is currently the CFL’s longest-serving head coach, having led the Blue Bombers for eight years since accepting the role in December of 2013.

The Blue Bombers are 82-58 under O’Shea since 2014 with two Grey Cup championships, three straight appearances in the championship game and six consecutive double-digit win seasons – matching a franchise-best stretch first established from 1957-62. Over the last two years, the club is 26-6, including a franchise-record 15 wins in 2022.

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The Blue Bombers are continually one of the CFL’s most disciplined teams and were the least-penalized team in 2022 for a fifth consecutive season. The defence ranked first in fewest points allowed and second in points scored in 2022.

The club has also had successive seasons with three players recognized for the CFL’s highest individual awards, as quarterback Zach Collaros (Most Outstanding), left tackle Stanley Bryant (Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman), joined receiver Dalton Schoen (Most Outstanding Rookie) at the podium this year. In 2021, Collaros, Bryant and Adam Bighill (Most Outstanding Defensive Player) were also honoured.

O’Shea was named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2017 after a stellar playing career with the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats that saw him be a part of three Grey Cup championship teams.

O’Shea played in 271 regular season CFL games, 18 playoff contests and three Grey Cups. The native of North Bay, Ontario, was a five-time Division All-Star (1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000) and was named a CFL All-Star and the league’s Most Outstanding Canadian in 1999. His first league-wide award came in 1993 when he was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie Player.

He began his coaching career as the Special Teams Coordinator with the Toronto Argonauts in 2010 and served there through 2013 – winning a Grey Cup in 2012 – before being hired by the Blue Bombers.

O’Shea is an alumnus of the University of Guelph and is a member of the Guelph Gryphons Sports Hall of Fame. He and his wife Richere have three children: Michael, Ailish and Aisling.

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