Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ head coach Mike O’Shea will reach rarified air on Sunday when he coaches in his fourth consecutive Grey Cup game. To some that would make O’Shea worthy of the title of “legend” but the 53-year-old does not see it that way.
“That just sounds goofy,” O’Shea chuckled during Tuesday’s head coaches media availability. “I can never think that way.”
With last Saturday’s West Final victory over the B.C. Lions, O’Shea became the first coach since the legendary Hugh Campbell to lead his team to at least four straight Grey Cup appearances. Campbell took the Edmonton Football Team to six consecutive championship games from 1977-1982.
Despite his undeniable success, O’Shea does not see himself in the same category as some of the CFL’s all-time greatest bench bosses, such as the aforementioned Campbell, the late Don Matthews, and all-time wins leader, Wally Buono.
“I hold those coaches in very high regard. I’ve had interactions with all of them and I would never think about myself in the same conversation as those guys, ever,” O’Shea said.
With a win on Sunday, O’Shea’s Bombers would capture their third title in four seasons, a feat which also has not occurred since Campbell’s Edmonton dynasty. Only seven head coaches in league history have more than three career Grey Cup wins.
Someone who already thinks O’Shea is one of the greatest to ever wear a headset is his counterpart on Sunday, Montreal Alouettes head coach Jason Maas.
“He is a legend in our sport and I’m not afraid to say it,” Maas stated matter of factly.
Maas and O’Shea were both members of the 2012 Toronto Argonauts’ staff that won the 100th Grey Cup. O’Shea was the team’s special teams coordinator while Maas was in his first year coaching Toronto’s quarterbacks.
That staff also featured current Hamilton Tiger-Cats head coach Orlondo Steinauer and current Edmonton Elks head coach Chris Jones, as well as Scott Milanovich, who was Toronto’s head coach in 2012. Milanovich is in the running to replace Craig Dickenson as head coach in Saskatchewan after spending this season with the Ticats.
O’Shea left Toronto following the 2013 season to become the head coach in Winnipeg while Maas’ was hired by Edmonton to be their head coach in 2016. He led the Green and Gold to three division final appearances before being fired in 2019, spending two tumultuous years in Saskatchewan as their offensive coordinator before earning a second chance at a top job in Montreal this season.
The pair also faced off against each other multiple times during their respective playing careers. O’Shea was a four-time divisional all-star at linebacker and already earned enshrinement in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a player in 2017.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will meet the Montreal Alouettes in the 110th Grey Cup on Sunday, Nov. 19 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. EST.
[metabet_core_odds_board query=”553670″ site_id=”3downnation”]
