Leaderboard

Winnipeg Blue Bombers extend standout DB Deatrick Nichols - 3DownNation

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

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"

Honestly Booch has hated Jake Thomas for years, even when he was a serviceable backup player. Just hates guys with limited athletic ability who succeed anyway. I say give Jake a chance in this role and see how he does with it.

Until of course the moment Thomas arrives on the scene.

Tyson Philpot who has never had a 1000 yard season and who has missed 5, 9 and 6 games over the past three seasons got $275,000. Brady was not getting less.

Is this a joke?

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.

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.

Condell has had success with good RBs in the past. He hasn't run an offense that leads he league in rushing, but he hasn't ever had the best back in the league or a top-tier guy either. I mean, the RBs kept starting a WR at RB rather than bringing in a real one. As others have said, I have to believe that with brady locked up on a monster deal, that part of the due diligence was making sure Condell would fit in here with the balanced attack at the very least. Also, him constantly being behind other offensive minds and running other systems, I tend to think he will either run the successful stuff we've had prior to the last 2 years or has some great ideas and hasn't been able to fully show them. It's far from my favorite pick for OC. But at the very least, I expect a good improvement. Yeah, Hogan and Buck in his last year really seemed to be at odds and out of sync with Zach. He was furious so often because the calls from both came in ridiculously slowly. Which means you break the huddle late, have to rush lining up, and get significantly less time to survey the D in the pre-snap read. I can't emphasize enough how important an extra 4 seconds breaking the huddle are. Little on if you break the huddle and start lining up before the D. We used to reap huge advantages from being set way ahead of the D, and running any play out of any formation. That has been completely gone for 2 years. Not only does it make it harder to pass and run RPO, but it also makes it harder to protect the QB. \ Condell, as an OC, gets a C grade from me right now. I worry that it will be a high-floor, low-ceiling pick, but time will tell, and I am fine giving him the benefit of the doubt. He also worked very well with Dru, which bodes well for fit with Zach imo.

So Brady, Demski, Kramdi and Lawson, 4 likely starting Canadians, a young, up and coming WR in Wilson and Nichols. Walters is doing a great job thus far.

Got to say loving the guys the are coming back so far

We added this guy like two days ago, they obviously “wanted” him and didn’t want anyone else to get him. Wonder if this was a Sunderland find that they wanted to make sure didn’t find his way to Hamilton or something like that. Dude had video game numbers against a terrible level of competition. 1600 yards and 22 TD in 10 games in 24-25. Went for 15 catches, 390 yards and 5 touchdowns in one game that I can only assume was against the cafeteria staff.

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)

Their parents?

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.

so Demski is getting 240k next...245k in 27" with some in that yr gauranteed....all things considered a good deal for us with

Should roll with 2 Cdns on D with a rotation of Lawson, Shay, Smith, Kramdi, with Bailey as a global too.

The reality with Brady’s deal is that you really need to know what the cap hit is in order to talk about whether the deal is good or not. In the new CFL, with the marketing money, I don’t think we’re really going to know that early on after a signing so you have to play a bit of a wait and see. That being said, there are two things that (imo) should be getting talked about more with regards to this deal. 1. This contract makes very little sense at the reported cost (even if you build in 100k of marketing money) if we still insist on playing more than the required amount of Canadians. We’re essentially paying him regardless of passport at that point, which makes this deal awful 2. Lots of people haven’t had their mindset catch up to the reality of the new CFL and the cap figures. The cap hasn’t just gone up, but teams are shifting more to youthful American OL which means less money is being tied up in unmentioned Canadian OL and more is being invested in big name splash Canadians. Everyone talks about Brady and his big deal, but nobody blinked twice 10 years ago when guys like Tyson Pencer and Chris Kowalczuk were making six figures as middling (that’s generous) Canadian OL. Canadian football is developing, which means more guys can play at premium positions, which means the “you gotta have 4-5 Canadian OL” mentality has kind of gone by the wayside. The money getting distributed has changed a bit as a result. (one last thing, anyone who thinks Gauthier or Hallett make near league minimum are WAY off)

To be fair there are 45 starting receivers and 9 starting RBs. About 18 starting Cdn receivers, vs really just 1 starting Cdn RB. Cdns get paid in the CFL

We’ve been spoiled at RB for almost a decade and played really 2 guys Harris and Brady. Deactivate Hogans access card now, forget about last year and let Brady eat.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Complaining we can't keep guys because they over spent in free agency or keeping our own guys and complaining about lack of splash free agent signings. Bottom line there's no right or wrong, the only judgements are in the win column.

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.

And so is Hogan as RB coach. Winnipeg Blue Bombers hire Tommy Condell as offensive coordinator, Jake Thomas as defensive line coach - 3DownNation

He's just been around long enough to have had years at the top and years around the bottom. Ultimately your play caller is affecting a small chunk of your production. It's up to the talent you have and whether your OL can block anyone especially in pass pro. He'll look like a ******* genius if they have the best OL in the league. Let's hope Zach can make his pee tests this year.

Agree. Whether he is great or not he's a huge upgrade on Hogan. He'll at least have implemented a full CFL playbook.

Every name...

Last season he had 11 games with 19+ touches , 5 games with less (including the two games where he was injured) one with 18 and another with 15. 30 might be a bit high, but the 20 number is the average number assuming he doesn't leave the game injured. Tyson Philpot had 61 receptions and 2 carries ... Brady had 61 receptions and 201 carries. Add in the intangibles of having to block and Brady is significantly more impactful then Philpot. It's easy to put an import in at RB when your team is loaded with talented Canadian players elsewhere. This team is razor thin on Canadian talent (outside of Brady/Demski). Dumping the best player in his prime who is Canadian simply to "hope" that you can land a talented Canadian oline/dline guy in free agency would be a terrible idea. Pay Brady, dump a guy like Neufeld who is over the hill and save money by replacing him with an American at a cheaper price. American Olinemen are a dime a dozen.

Mike's post above hit the nail on the head. Drop the deadweight Cdn's making that much and I have no issue paying top $ for Brady.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2025/12/16/blue-bombers-sign-redha-kramdi-to-two-year-contract-extension/

If the team is paying Brady this much then they need to lean into an offense focused through him and take advantage of having a Cdn RB by playing another American on offense. Either go three American Olineman or play 4 American receivers. No need to trot out a crappy Cdn centre/guard or Cdn receiver that is no threat to do anything.

It's a **** load of money and probably way too much for a running back.... however... how do you not do what it takes to bring that guy back? The marketability alone makes him valuable to the club. Just gotta make the rest of the roster work around that.

I love the signing but not at that insane money. Man, we better be pairing him with a damn good OC because hes got an enormous contract to live up to.

I get the issue with how high Brady's salary is but this deal is not what is going to kill us. If we bring back Jefferson at $200,000, Schoen at $175,000+, Kyrie Wilson at whatever he makes, all three of Holm/Kramdi/Nichols (two are fine), Vaughters at $165,000, Jake and Kolo at any price, aging foot soldiers such as Gauthier and Hallet, Mitchell at $160,000 and J. Jones at whatever he got, that huge amount of deadwood and clinging to aging vets, that's what kills us.

Bloodsport wasnt real?!?!??!?!?!....damn I feel so cheated now

safety yeah...but after some other key guys signed first...and then see if he fits the SMS...If we lose a Nichols or Holm cause we overpay Kramdi again...is that a solid move? People here rave about him but that's cause of Osh comments on him. then by extension Tait and his fluff pieces and then fans take it as gospel...And doesnt make it so Is he needed for ratio...no....is he good in coverage...heck no....is he a solid open field tackler/tracker...again no, and as stated erlier needs to learn howto and not dive at ankles if he is making 140k+ per....is he good mucking in the box coming down on the run...that he is...hence why he could be useful in a safety role or situational play...but not at high end premium price tag Do/did we have better option at SAM...yes we did...was he ever an all-star, league award/writers....or by his peers in CFLPA....nope....would he supplant any other starting SAM in the league....I can't see it....was he a key priority signing based on all that for likely 150k...hell no Is 47 tackles....1 int ...2 special team tackles in 16 games....and 59 tackles...2 sacks...2 st tackles on 18 games Aas a SAM...where you see tons of action the last 2 yrs at already 29 next season worthy of top tier DB pay in the league??.....friggin hell no Griffin had 47 tackles...8 on teams...a sack in 13 games...is one our best tacklers....had more impact plays you noticed...great in coverage, and a better athlete....plus 2 yrs younger....just as one example and could be re-upped for less and should be a priority Heck already under contract Woodbey had 30 tackles in 8 games....and was very noticeable out there....

This would be the best news of the offseason. The D line could be so much better with him gone.

thus far Walters has signed 3 cdns all in their prime and given Wilson an extension again in his prime. And all 2-3 yr deals. Kudos for great job.

I'd love to see the CFL publish salary information like every other sports league.

As it should be, maybe even to a far greater extent. We spent well below the SMS last year by my math so spending it now is the least he could do. Heard via the grape vine that Thomas is likely to retire. Take it with a grain of salt, but a friend of mine connected to the Bomber's training staff seems pretty convinced he's hanging them up. Hope for the best on that one.

I'm a broken record about this but RB's are about 7th to 9th in terms of average salary paid by position in the NFL due to availability of replacement level talent and overall impact. Why are we going against a trend run by much smarter and wealthier football organizations? Don't tell me it's because he's Canadian. Yes Canadians get a premium in terms of salary, but a smart team should still be paying that premium at the impact positions based on the bigger, smarter NFL - Dline; WR's; all star OL; QB's if you have a unicorn Canadian star (hopefully we might). This was a decision to appease the fans who value the local community impact over good cap management.

Such a raise off a down year is pretty wild. His production has been going straight down the last 2 years as well. And again, Hogan plus the last year of Buck was brutal. Our ol the year before last was brutal too. Our passing game was atrocious. I don't blame Brady for the drop-off. Paying him an increase after 2 drop-off years is something that almost never happens. A good part of that is the appearance that teams will use the cap increase to fatten the biggest contracts. Part of that is desperation on our end. At the end of the day, we've overpaid a RB, one of the last positions you overpay, when he's coming off an injury and 2 down years, when he is 28 and will be 29 before the end of next year, and yeah, given a rb qb money. Part of me is happy that Brady will be here for the future. Another part of me is happy for him; he's a great person as well as a player, and all the local kid stuff. A lot of dirtbags have made bank in this league, and are currently. Brady is a great ambassador of our game, league, city/province. It would really suck to see him in another jersey. Harris was bad enough, but he was never the guy Brady is. Another part of me is saying, OK, Walters better find a way to dig our ass out of the hole this deal puts us in. I've been the biggest defender of Walters lately. He needs to have one of the best league free agency periods of his career this year. He needs to churn out another ROTY-calibre kid this year, and he needs the guys poised for progress to take the next step forward.

I would say they stand out because they're not out standinding. Koaaala, You missed rebusrankin's point entirely. All he's saying is the Als are paying top dollar for Tyson Philpott who is a receiver who never stays healthy & is on the IR list for a big chunk of games every season. Maybe he's thrown to 5 or 6 times a game on average yet he's the highest paid Canadian receiver in the CFL who has never been a thousand yard receiver. Oliveira is a stud running back with over 5000 career rushing yards who has also spent time on the IR but he has proven his worth 10 times over as he handles the ball 10-20 times a game. That's what ol' Reebus is talking about. Doesn't matter if you're talking receiver or running back. It's the overall worth of a player to his team.

The market is adjusting. You amateur GMs who think you know the way the money is doled out really know nothing. Although you think you do. I think half you guys are still living in 2019 pre pandemic. when the salary cap was at $5 million. That receivers & running backs should only be paid $100,000 a year. Defensive Ends $80-90,000 etc. We don't know what the market is for older free agents like Jefferson or Gauthier yet until they hit the street running with their agents checking out offers from other teams. We also don't know what the new salary cap will be. However, I think with the deals being handed out to Philpott, Alexander, Oliveira, Hatcher & the majority of players eligible to switch teams in February as free agents with their contracts expired, I believe we may have another off season where the cap rises significantly. Until all these things fall into place, the angst some of you show about overpaying players may be unnecessary.

Some .might say that Jake and koala are just out standing there doing nothing...

Brady and Demski are our only Canadians who are outstanding.

Does this mean Hogan is officially gone?