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Think everything we need to know about Hogan came from Lapo on a broadcast when he said something along the lines of "that's a whiskey bottle play call.... because if it doesn't work everyone in the stands is going to throw a whiskey bottle at you"

Sorry for disliking suckage...this is the only place in my varied career where less than adequate is tolerated and the norm Jake was halfway serviceable maybe 5..6 yrs ago but even then he was bottom teir..we had a decade to upgrade the roster spot...chose not to....not how I roll that's fir sure

I think we're missing a positive, Jake will no longer be getting a huge number of reps on the Dline. This means more reps for Lawson and hopefully we actually use Smith and Shay on D to take some of those reps that went to guys like Jake.

Interesting piece by Tait as always but I always take his work with a grain of salt as he's a mouthpiece for the club.

He can't be as bad as Patterson was and if it takes him off the field it's a double win. Are you seriously complaining about this? Jake is a long time veteran DL of our club and league, he has a ton he can teach. That doesn't necessarily mean he will be a good coach but excluding his chances of being one based on his playing career doesn't make sense either. Look at Ryan Dinwiddie, guy was a career backup and barely at that and is a great coach. I'm willing to give him a chance, and at the same time get rid of Patterson who was god awful.

We had a subpar offense and nearly no pressure from the d-line last year.... instead of making clear changes to improve we bring back two guys who were partially responsible for these issues? How many times does it work when you dump a girlfriend and keep her as a friend afterwards? The smart thing is a clean break and moving on.

I also saw his custom $4000 carrying case for his shoes

I’ll just take these moves at face value. Hogan, it seemed like everyone knew he sucked at his job and it grew to be a point of contention with several players (Zach, Brady, etc) so I really don’t get the desire to bring him back in any capacity. Jake, as much as I’ve hated seeing him get trotted out there for the past … 5??? years, I’m really not too bothered by us hiring him. That being said, I think it’s fair to say this isn’t a move that gives me confidence as a fan. Also fair to say, it’s probably the first move we’ve made all offseason that has given me pause (and the fact that it’s an O’Shea decision shouldn’t be lost on any of us)

I love when the word tank is used. Do they have meetings and decide this? If Chevy calls up the whole AHL team and plays them, yes they are tanking but other than that happening what do they do, players play half assed and coaches purposely make bad decisions? Has any NHL team ever admitted to tanking a season?

I’m just hoping JT is given a great dline to work with. Why not have that high expectation. Time to define our identity starting in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

Did you hear star NFL receiver Puka Nacua complain he couldn't afford to buy a house in LA while riding in a limo with friends??

I can see the Jets moving in 10 years or so. As the Jets 1.0 fans die off and less interest from the younger people it could cause them to move away (again).

You're also incredibly negative around the whole year. Yeah it was a bad year and a real downer but their record was pretty much where they were.

Hogan threw his players under the bus a couple of times. A coach needs to fall on his sword for his guys. Not blame them for losing.

No I'm not arguing that either. If you overpay players, you're gonna pay for it, either by not being able to afford better players in FA or by going over the cap.

There's got to be more to the story of how last year work out in regard to hiring the OC.

Guy is more respected than you are.

We exceeded the salary cap in 2 of the last 3 seasons so we are spending the cash.

Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver also have a million times better night life and city vibe. Some players want to do more then just sitting in a hotel room.

O'Shea said its still to be determined if Jackson is going to be back.

From Our Man Tait in his latest piece.... Worth your click, as always: https://www.bluebombers.com/2025/12/22/__trashed/ "...And as for the decision to add Thomas to his staff, O’Shea said this about one of the most-respected people in the building — not just on the roster: “Love the guy. Can sit here right now and picture him hoisting the Cup in 2019. Extremely smart, passionate, good leader. A guy that just loved being around. There was a time where because of a contract issue he came late to training camp by I don’t know how many days, not much. But the whole practice stopped and everybody went nuts that he walked onto the field. “That right there speaks volumes about what everybody thinks about him. Not just from the players’ perspective, but in the entire organization.”

The only thing I'll say about Jake is he had one move. Bull rush. He held his head up with his left hand in his 3 point stance. .He just charged ahead & was pushed back. If he coaches technique like that... He would have been better served to coach at the U Sport level & learn his craft. Maybe come back in 4 or 5 years. Coaching is a lot different than playing. Hogan should have been shown the door but I guess they felt bad for him & felt they owed him a spot.

That was the worst. Years of fans wishing they'd show up. Look up Mulamba & Bilukudi in any CFL & NFL stats book. See if you can even find them. They led both leagues in Most Invisible & I Don't Give A **** categories.

This past year was our first time not in the cup final in 6 seasons. so I’m not sure many other teams are really doing better off than us in any way.

John Madden

Winnipeg is more affordable for a cfl player than Vancouver tho. The money goes farther here. Honestly I’d avoid bc Toronto and Montreal if I was a player coming up to play in Canada or even grew up here. Not every player tho wants to play in his hometown. Dude is off in Detroit which is closer to Winnipeg than Vancouver right now.

I'm just really hoping the BB's find a few diamonds in the rough this coming season especially when it comes to our D and O lines and TC is heavily competitive earn your spot at all positions approach.

Is this a joke?

On the plus side, we don't have to argue/***** about Jake starting. I'm more upset Hogan stays unless its a money thing.

I never even had an issue with Jake as a player, in terms of talent... He was just used far too much in later years. In his younger days he was more than serviceable. In more recent years he was fine in a limited capacity but Prime Doug Brown minutes was asking way too much.

Can this team grow a pair of balls and cut loose guys. Hugely disappointed in this bull crap. Sign Jake + Hogan to fill the Buzz and Boomer costumes if you don't have the balls to say "good bye". Massive steps back on this club. I'm at the point of cleaning house at the top. Have we ever heard anything remotely that suggested that Jake Thomas was big in the film room and while limited on physical abilities he had the brains and the ability to dissect plays on the field. Come on now this is a joke. Hogan f'd up big time... soooo we bring him back? A complete joke.

Problem player might not have been the correct term - biggest liability is probably more suitable. My issue isn't with Jake the person, it's the player that never showed a ton of skill (even in his younger days) now being responsible for coaching up others in an area that we desperately need help. He absolutely may turn out to be a great coach but let's not act like he was some great superstar back in the day and he's just no longer the player he once was. The drop-off from prime Jake and 2025 Jake is not that severe and he was closer to his prime 7 years ago when we first tried to move on from him. The fact that he lasted 13 years is a testament to his dedication but also a damnation of our scouting/drafting.

You might be right, you might be wrong. None of us can know with any certainty right now as to how well JT can do. Anybody saying they know for sure he will fail or succeed is straight up showing bias. Hey, if the DL shows no improvement I'll call for his head. Bombers first....always. What I won't do is not give him a chance. Maybe he is exactly the coach we need and this turns out to be a great hire. Right now that is as feasible as him failing. Every coach who ever becomes a coach is because someone saw something in them and took a chance. Let's give him that chance too before declaring this a poor hire. He's off the field now....no reason to dislike him anymore.

Problem players? Why cause he aged out and he was asked to do too much at his age? I don't follow your logic here? JT executed the plan he was given to the best of his ability...how is that a problem player? As for Hogan having the best RB in the league, yes that certainly helps but he also helped develop BO into that. BO didn't enter the league as the best. You guys are literally hating on JT himself because the coach tapped him on the shoulder to go in and play and he did. I understand not liking him being on the field but you guys need to tone down the overall Jake hate. He's a 13 year retired veteran now who is taking an entry level coaching job for the only team he ever played for. Why are you inventing narrative about this?

Now, if they would name Kola as the new head of catering….indisputable.

I actually laughed about the Jake-As-Coach thing just because I knew exactly what the reaction would be. So funny. I think he's well respected in the room and 13 years experience is definitely worth passing on to th next generation. I'm happy for the guy.

The best players don't always make the best coaches. It's often the less gifted guys who make tremendous coaches... so how good withh Jake Thomas be as DL coach? I don't know but it's not some immediately crucifiable since to try.

I agree he played badly, but that is mostly because of his own physical limitations. From all accounts through the years he was a very smart player that had physical limits. I think he might be a very good coach. I think that BO's problem was the play calling of Hogan, not with the man himself. Pros can make the differentiation. Could be because Hogan was a very good RB coach for us before. Why not give Jake a chance? What do you know of his ability to do that? Nothing. Just assumptions. No consequences of mediocrity? Tell that to the guy Jake just replaced or the demoted Hogan. They are feeling the consequences.

You realize that Hogan was our RB coach before when BO had his best years right? I think these are great moves for our organization.

Hogan back...why....pointless Couldnt cut ties with useless Thomas so have him coach?...??...Like wtf....with all his coaching experience and all....the least adept technical/skill guy we have...so have him coach?...makes sense to me...what a joke...those 2 moves just take the shine off of what so far has been a good off-season...but not a shocker...

Hogan was the RB coach for the past 3 seasons. And Jake no doubt has extensive knowledge about DL play.

Elgersma hasn’t played in a meaningful game in 2 years almost now tho. The clock ticking there but I mean the colts just signed 44 yr old Philip rivers last week so maybe now’s the time to get a shot. Just seems teams aren’t willing to give the unknown a chance in the nfl.

He may have NFL opportunities. having said that, when you make your wide receiver, qb & top pass rusher the top paid players at their positions, they can't keep all. Some good players will not be back. I just keep thinking Jeremy O'day is going to have so much fun telling all the ego maniacs on that roster that they can't afford to p[ay all of them. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, Mr. O' Day.