No sprinkles, but high praise for Blue Bombers coach Mike O’Shea

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Mike O’Shea would rather eat gravel than talk about reaching a career milestone.

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But when you’re mentioned in the same breath as Bud Grant in these parts, you can’t hide from it.

“You said it, I didn’t,” the Blue Bombers boss said on Thursday. “I don’t go into those conversations.”

Then allow me.

Friday against the BC Lions, O’Shea will coach his 161st regular season game, the most in franchise history, passing the legend whose statue guards the stadium’s main entrance.

It took 58 years and 17 coaches to get to this point.

Before O’Shea, a coach lasted an average of three seasons in Winnipeg. O’Shea is at 10, which is how long Grant patrolled the sidelines.

“Bud Grant is in a completely different universe,” O’Shea said. “Just because I have enjoyed a long life, we have had great continuity in our coaching staff and our players. Ultimately, the numbers only contribute to that. But in all of North American football, Bud Grant is a legend.”

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His players say their current boss is too.

We went to some of those who have been here the longest and asked what they learned about their coach.

“No. 1, he doesn’t like sprinkles on his donuts,” is the first thing Willie Jefferson thought of.

The defensive end had just brought in a box of donuts, so that was top of mind.

After processing the question some more, Jefferson elaborated a little more.

“Father figure,” he began. “Player coach. Down to earth guy. Family man. Loving, compassionate. Energetic. Eccentric. Someone you can really learn from.

‘He’s known for not talking much. But when he speaks, it has so much weight.”

That’s a common theme.

O’Shea will not make lengthy pre-match speeches, preferring a short and sweet approach.

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One of these stands out for Jefferson.

Going into the 2019 West final in Saskatchewan, the Bombers on the road for the entire playoffs, O’Shea came up with a gem.

“Burn the ships,” Jefferson remembered the message. “We were on a roll, and we’re just going out there to do what we had to do and not worry about the way back.”

It was a reference to the Vikings, a reference that also resonated with O-lineman Pat Neufeld.

“They would burn their boats, knowing they had no choice but to capture where they were,” Neufeld said. ‘They can’t go back home. It got the boys on fire.”

The Bombers defeated the Riders and a week later ended a 28-year Gray Cup drought, the first of consecutive titles.

The previous man to accomplish that was Grant. It seems the two had something in common.

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“He’s a guy with strong core values,” D-lineman Jake Thomas said of O’Shea. “He is a leader of men. Year in and year out, guys always ran through a wall for him. He’s just so authentic. He doesn’t sugar coat anything. He’s not trying to hide anything.

“He is who he is.”

As stoic as O’Shea is on the sidelines – another trait he shares with Grant – players say they can feel his emotion when he speaks.

“You can just look in his eyes and face and see how motivated he is,” Jefferson said.

“He can get excited,” Thomas added. “For the most part, it’s just nudges in a certain direction.”

Thanks to those pushes, the Bombers have won more games than any CFL team over the past seven seasons: they are 84-38 in that time.

“I’ve come a long way from 7-11, 5-13 the first two years,” said Thomas, the longest-tenured player.

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As the Bombers started the third season 1-4, O’Shea’s future hung in the balance. But famine has turned into celebration.

Thomas and Neufeld are the only two players who have been at the table the entire time.

The latter says the most important thing his coach has done is show players the value of their teammates.

“It’s the biggest reason why we’ve had success over the last five or six years is because of how much we care about each other,” Neufeld said. “And that comes from him.”

O’Shea doesn’t talk much about his playing career, but when he does, players say it strikes a chord.

“You can see how much it means to him,” Neufeld said. “He talks about that all the time, all the inspiration you need is the guy next to you, knowing how much sacrifice they put into this crazy work we do. You can’t help but get motivated by that.”

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Quarterback Zach Collaros first met O’Shea when the two were with Toronto, O’Shea as special teams coordinator.

The quarterback was struck by the coach’s ability to communicate and motivate.

Six years later, a trade would bring them together again.

“One of the best coaches I’ve ever had, if not the best coach,” Collaros said. “I love him to death. Extremely loyal. Crazy competitive. Can also take you to his office and talk you through a difficult time. He’s just the ultimate coach, the ultimate communicator. And I’m very fortunate to have spent so much time with him in my career.

“He’s just a deep thinker. It’s cool to be there.”

Halfway through his story, Collaros realized how well this would all go.

“He doesn’t want me to talk about him here,” he said.

Okay, we’ll end it on a more modest note.

O’Shea is only halfway through Grant’s four Gray Cup titles.

Entering the season, he needed seven wins to pass Grant on the all-time franchise list for wins. We’re still waiting for the first of these.

So don’t even think about calling the sculptor.

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