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Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea signs 3-year contract extension

Winnipeg Blue Bombers coach Mike O'Shea has 82 wins as the team's bench boss, only trailing legendary coaches Bud Grant (102) and Cal Murphy (86) in the franchise's long history.  (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press - image credit)
Winnipeg Blue Bombers coach Mike O'Shea has 82 wins as the team's bench boss, only trailing legendary coaches Bud Grant (102) and Cal Murphy (86) in the franchise's long history. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press - image credit)

One of the most successful head coaches in Winnipeg Blue Bomber history is keeping the headset on and barking orders from the sidelines for at least another three years.

Mike O'Shea has signed a three-year contract extension to lead the football club through the 2025 CFL season.

The reigning two-time winner of the Annis Stukus Trophy as the CFL's top coach in 2021 and 2022, O'Shea has strung together 82 wins and two Grey Cups — plus three straight appearances in the championship game — since taking the lead in 2014.

He only trails legendary coaches Bud Grant (102) and Cal Murphy (86) in wins as Bombers head coach.

O'Shea is currently the CFL's longest-serving head coach and holds an overall record of 82-58. With him at the helm, the Bombers have recorded six consecutive seasons with double-digit wins, matching a franchise-best stretch from 1957-62.

Over the last two years, the club is 26-6, including a franchise-record 15 wins in 2022.

The team's success has also led to three players being recognized for the CFL's highest individual awards this year:

  • Quarterback Zach Collaros (most outstanding player).

  • Tackle Stanley Bryant (most outstanding offensive lineman).

  • Receiver Dalton Schoen (most outstanding rookie).

Collaros, Bryant and Adam Bighill (most outstanding defensive player) were also honoured the previous season.

O'Shea's coaching success comes after a stellar playing career that led to his induction into the CFL Hall of Fame in 2017.

He played 271 regular season games and 18 playoff contests and won three Grey Cups from 1993 to 2008 with the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The native of North Bay, Ont., was named most outstanding rookie in 1993 and went on to become a five-time division all-star (1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000). He was also a CFL all-star and the league's most outstanding Canadian in 1999.

His coaching career began as the special teams co-ordinator for the Argonauts in 2010, and he served in that role through 2013 before being hired by the Bombers.

His re-signing with the Bombers comes on the heels of other key members, including offensive co-ordinator Buck Pierce and players Collaros, Bighill, Willie Jefferson, Pat Neufeld and Desmond Lawrence, committing to stay in blue and gold.