Bombers add a big name with hire of Pat Tracey as ST coordinator: can he make the CIS-CFL jump?

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers officially announced Tuesday that they've hired Pat Tracey as their new special-teams coordinator, a move first reported by Sportsnet's Arash Madani Monday. This could be a substantial addition for the Bombers, as Tracey's found a lot of success at the CIS level, coaching first with Guelph, then with Queen's since 2000. The question's if he can translate that history of success with university players into success working with pros, though.

There are plenty of reasons to think Tracey will do well in the CFL. His Guelph career was very promising (and he coached there while new Bombers' head coach Mike O'Shea and current GM Kyle Walters played for the Gryphons, likely the connections that got him on Winnipeg's radar), and he did even better at Queen's, initially running the Golden Gaels' special teams and serving as their recruiting coordinator before taking over as defensive coordinator in 2001. He's held that post for the last decade-plus, and his defences have frequently ranked among the country's best; his work was crucial to Queen's 2009 Vanier Cup win as well. Gaels' head coach Pat Sheahan said Tracey will be significantly missed:

It's interesting to see Tracey leave for a CFL job, as his name's repeatedly come up in recent head-coaching discussions at the CIS level. CFL assistant jobs do tend to pay more than CIS ones, though, and they can also lead to further opportunities. He's not the only one to make the jump, either: this hire's just one of several from the CIS ranks recently, including Montreal's Noel Thorpe (who did very well as the Alouettes' DC last year after returning from the university level and is widely seen as potentially the next head coach there), Edmonton's Leroy Blugh (who worked with Tracey in Kingston after a long stint as head coach at Bishop's) and Walters (who joined the team in 2010 as special teams coordinator/running backs coach after a long career at the CIS level, including as the head coach in Guelph, then moved up to assistant general manager in December 2012).

There are plenty of factors in Tracey's favour, including his long history of success in the university ranks. He'll also bring substantial experience to their coaching staff, even if it's from a different level, and that could be valuable; O'Shea has a strong background as a special-teams coach with the Argonauts, but is a new head coach and doesn't have a lot of experience running either an offence or a defence. Experienced hands like Tracey and offensive coordinator Marcel Bellefeuille could be useful for him to bounce ideas off of. However, this will still be an adjustment for Tracey, both in moving up to the CFL level and in returning to a special teams role. We'll see how he does with it.

(The hire of Tracey also means that incumbent special teams coordinator Craig Dickenson seems unlikely to return to Winnipeg. It wouldn't be surprising to see him catch on elsewhere in the CFL, though, as his work in both Saskatchewan and Winnipeg has received strong reviews.)