Atomic

Labbe had his fair share of haters among the fanbase, but for a team lacking in non-import depth, this is really unfortunate.

Darren Cameron ‏@Darren_Cameron 1m Canadian linebacker @pierreluclabbe announces his retirement after six seasons with the #Bombers. Pierre-luc Labbe ‏@pierreluclabbe 13s Time to move on to different goals. Thanks a lot to the #BlueBombers for the best 6 years of my life #retirement #CFL

If Higgins can't find a job this offseason with all the vacancies out there, I think that says something about how he is regarded throughout the league.

I like this move but we're going to have to get some solid DBs if we want to run Stubler's system. It is not defence for dummies.

The problem with that is the new CBA likely won't be ratified until May or June. There's not going to be a lot of guys willing to wait that long.

There was some speculation on Twitter that these contracts may not have included signing bonuses, so they would not put any additional money towards this year's cap and would make their contracts unattractive to Ottawa. Of course, in Labatte and Getzlaf's cases, the Ottawa factor is irrelevant because they will obviously be protected.

I'm a fan of the ECHL's "Wheeling Nailers". Doesn't get much better than that.

Well, the coaching & management baggage is now gone totally. We have a team. We at least have a base to work off of. We do have experienced talent albeit not a lot. What's Ottawa got? Three unknown signed players? Whoop de freaking who??? And 24 fringe players they'll select in the expansion draft. Yeah, maybe they'll draft a good qb but who'll be blocking for him??? Who'll be the go to receiver or running back? Same on defense with all unknowns. Anyone going into that situation with 2 failed teams before them thinking there'll be no pressure to win will be in for a shock. Like I said, the unknown is the exciting part for a new head coach. Don't go thinking that a guy like Rick Campbell is just looking for an easy ride. He wants a challenge, and thrives on challenge. That's what motivates these guys. And sure, in Winnipeg the coaching and management baggage is gone. But what about the 60 players on the roster who know nothing but losing for the past 2 seasons? The impatient and pissed-off fanbase and media? Maybe he just didn't like the sound of how Wade Miller was running things. That's what I mean by baggage.

Well it's really not hard to imagine why a coach might prefer Ottawa. Ottawa is a completely blank slate. Lots of opportunity to prove yourself as a head coach and form the team in your image. And Winnipeg... well Winnipeg has lots of baggage, to say the least.

Did he say that? I don't recall hearing it.

When was the last time Worman coached?

Walters prefers Collaros that's all that matters at this point. Wanna bet that's who he prefers? Who do you think he prefers?

I'm thinking it had more to do with being an unemployed former head coach who took his team to the Grey Cup in his second season.

Four teams now looking for a DC (EDM, CGY, WPG, OTT). Five teams looking for an OC (BC, EDM, WPG, OTT, MTL). Great time to be looking for a job as a coordinator in the CFL.

Agreed. Great choice, IMO.

I found the 2009 defence to be exciting and aggressive. But yes they did give up a lot of yards as a result of that aggressiveness. It was just great to see how many turnovers they forced. We talk about how bad the offence was this year, well it was far worse in 2009, but that defence kept us in it until the last game of the season. And Kavis Reed is just not a likable person, IMO, at least not the public-facing version of him. That said, I wouldn't mind having him back as DC because I agree that he did a decent job here and he also has lots of coaching experience for O'Shea to lean on.

Let's look at some of Hamilton's offensive rankings from 2011, when Khari was OC... not great but also not terrible: Points Scored - 4th TDs - 4th Passing TDs - 5th Rushing TDs - 2nd Field Goals - 2nd First Downs - 4th Yards per Game - 6th Fewest INTs - 6th Fewest Sacks Allowed - 4th Fewest Fumbles Lost - 2nd

I didn't mind Marcel's offence in the latter stages of the season... however his use of Boltus is very troubling. I agree we need some experience at OC, but I also feel like we need to clean out the entire coaching staff from last year and make a fresh start. It's a tough call. If Bellefeuille had never come here at all this year, he would probably be my #1 pick right now for OC. As it stands, I would be very pleased to see Jacques Chapdelaine as our OC, though I doubt that will happen. The top 5 on my wishlist right now would be: 1. Cortez 2. Chapdelaine 3. Khari Jones 4. Marcus Brady 5. Doug Berry At DC, I'm not sure what I want. Barron Miles is certainly intriguing. Rich Stubler would be my #1 choice, but can we get him out of BC? I'd be happy to see Mark Nelson back here. I also wouldn't be overly opposed to Kavis Reed. As far as Cooper Harris, can't say I'm wild about the prospect of bringing an NCAA defensive coordinator in and making him our DC right off the bat, even if he does have CFL playing experience... maybe we could get Rick Campbell out of Calgary with an assistant head coach designation? I think that would be a fantastic move, but somehow I doubt it will happen.

via Kirk Penton http://www.winnipegsun.com/2013/12/04/oshea-goes-straight-to-work-building-blue-bombers-coaching-staff

Not the Senator anymore! Except in your heart, perhaps!

I imagine the coordinators will be hired pretty quickly so we've got to get our opinions on here quick so the Bombers can consider them. Who do you guys think should be OC and DC? Try and poach a current one by giving them an assistant head coach title? Go for more young blood (a current CFL positional coach, for example)? Bring in someone with experience who is currently unemployed? Someone totally out of the box? Current League OC's - BC - None EDM - Doug Sams CGY - Dave Dickenson SSK - George Cortez TOR - Marcus Brady HAM - Tommy Condell MTL - None Other interesting names - Doug Berry, Jacques Chapdelaine, Khari Jones, Jason Maas, Jason Tucker, Jarious Jackson, Mike Kelly, Mike Gibson, Rick Worman, Martel Bellefeuille. Current League DC's - BC - Rich Stubler EDM - Greg Marshall CGY - Rick Campbell SSK - Richie Hall TOR - None HAM - Orlondo Steinauer MTL - Noel Thorpe Other interesting names - Mark Washington, Richard Kent, Barron Miles, Mark Nelson, Devone Claybrooks, Will Plemons, Jeff Reinebold, Mavis Reed. Ok.... GO!!!

I love this. O'Shea has been my number one pick all along. Interesting side note, is there any staff more Canadian than the Bombers' now? Miller, Walters, Goveia, O'Shea... not that being Canadian means anything football-wise, I just think it's neat.

Sure, that's what the #2 and 3 spots are for.

True, but other than Collaros, is there anyone you'd rather have here than Burris? I think he's a good plan B.

I read the post. The problem is that this councilor is taking the wrong approach. He shouldn't be going down the "nothing is wrong, we've been framed!" route. He would be better off doing something proactive, starting up anti-discrimination groups, campaigns, etc. That's how you clean up your town's image. Not by saying "No, no, no!! They're lying! Everything is GREAT here!" Do I believe everyone or even a large percentage of Morris are racist or homophobic? Nah. But that post does absolutely nothing to help their cause, in fact it makes them look worse.