Armchair GM

Oh man, that's apples and oranges. A WR with a 10 cent brain but stud playmaking ability will go hell of a lot further up here than a QB with a rocket arm and no game sense. (*cough, Michael Bishop) Sure he has to pick up the waggle and such but there's a lot more room for just relying on freak-show athleticism. That's why you have these guys in the NFL playing receiver who also had offers to play basketball. There's a lot of Jimmy Graham and Antonio Gates types out there. The good ones get signed in the NFL. The bad ones can't run routes well enough to get starting jobs anywhere. Including Canada. Adarius Bowman comes to mind as one that did. All the potential in the world... but couldn't put it all together. Not saying you need to be an ace scholar at WR... saying that technical proficiency and productivity > freakish attributes.

Don't disagree with you about this point. I'd contend that Dressler is a game changing receiver though. Kind of guy that can draw the opposition's best corner week after week, and generate elite level WR performance; while opening up the field for the other WR's. That's something I'd pay for.

I'd love Dressler. SB's that can have great hands, repeatedly get open, and separate from coverage at an elite level are not common. Stegall and Geroy come to mind. Dressler's got the potential to be in that class. I get that freakishly athletic WR's come out of college all the time now... but 17to85 among others is famous around here for debating the merits of arm strength vs. technical proficiency and smarts for a QB. When do we start the conversation about technical proficiency vs. freakish raw attributes for a WR? If a guy like Dressler wants to talk to your club because it's closer to home for him and he's leaving his current club... I try my best to take that shot.

I don't disagree that Maas is a great student of the game, and that might translate into being a great coach. But cart before the horse... he's never been an OC or even a QBC. I'd take him as a QBC, and think we'd have a great shot at that happening if O'Shea is selected as HC, thanks to their Toronto ties.

Really hoping the Argos nab Burke and Creehan. Not that they're bad coaches, but they've risen to their level of incompetence. In a season that we could make a complete coaching change and try to use it as a springboard for the franchise... why not get rid of them both? I'd rather push reset fully, than keep either around to save a buck. Regardless of their abilities in lesser roles.

Easy there Ross... you've already had your shot.

Best idea I've read this morning. Maas would be a fantastic QBC. Worked with Ray for a lot of years, would have a ton of knowledge to pick. I like Dickenson and would be disappointed to see him go, but a clean sweep of the coaching staff could change our team's culture.

This. Plus it has to be worrisome that we take a poor ST Coach and make him GM in the space of a year. Special Teams coaching ability is completely independent of GM capability.

O'Shea, because more than anything else, this team needs true leadership. Not merely a successful co-ordinator.

I don't know that I want someone who "desperately wants to be in Peg City" as our HC. If he desperately wants to be here, he could sell cars and coach with a HS team. Hire a true leader and manager without regard for whether or not he wants to be here. Make the opportunity sparkle. After all, candidates won't be coming for Winnipeg's renowned freeways, balmy weather, or rapid transit system.

I agree with your line of thinking... but Walters too has been a breath of fresh air from "the Bomber way." He's only been here 2 years; and has already shown he is considerably different from Joe Mack.

In a league where all teams have a capable QB... the quality of your Canadian content is the difference between winning and losing. And don't kid yourself, Walters has a very extensive network south of the border. His knowledge of the CIS schools is his "difference maker" trait. One of the things the Bombers have struggled with most over the past 5 years is determining how 4-down American players would transition to the nuances of the CFL game. No doubt McManus has been successful with this; but he likely hasn't had experience in the other responsibilities. Walters has only been in the AGM chair one year, true, but it's a year ahead in the process. McManus would be a good hire for his scouting savvy, but the NFL is full of stories of head scouts that didn't transition well to GM responsibilities. Best to develop him along a natural progression.

If you've been told you're the successful candidate, and that the Bombers are going to "run through an exhaustive search" and respect the CFL's gag order on personnel moves until after the Grey Cup... then the people being hired (or offered positions that will not be announced until after the GC) have most likely been hired by you, albeit under your interim GM tag. I don't understand the big deal around here about everyone thinking Miller's the brains behind these hires. He's the only guy without an interim tag. And he's securing the personnel that he and Walters want, getting them on the payroll before other teams come calling. This whole theory goes to hell in a handbasket if Walters ISN'T the GM. But I don't think ANY moves would have been announced if he isn't.

Like the Rooney Rule?

Biggest plus I see is that O'Shea is a proven CFL leader who transitioned into success in coaching. And I don't think he's been linked to every head job the last few years... I do however remember him being linked to DC rumors. Up and comer with an outside the Bomber org perspective. Tim Burke showed a serious leadership deficiency as our HC. LaPo was a great offensive mind, but wasn't an assertive leader either. We saw the results. I'm all for hiring a proven leader and surrounding him with good coaches. We'll need a QB coach along with a new OC if we hire O'Shea; but I'd also argue we'd need one anyway.

You're not a Browns fan, are ya?

I'm not going to pretend that I know that the Riders organization is run more or less professionally than ours... but here are a few things I can see that they do better than us: 1) Go outside the organization for coaching/GM hires. We seem to continually hire former Bomber people. Joe Mack, LaPo, Burke, Miller, Walters... now we hear about Khari potentially as an HC. I get that in an 8-team league, many players play for 25-50% of the teams; so hiring former players is going to happen. Some will end up being very good coaches/personnel people. But sometimes you need to do what the Riders did... bring in some outside perspective. Taman was a long-time Bomber... Chamblin's bounced around between other teams and kept a good name as a good coach. I for one think that given the 5-year tailspin we are in... that some outside perspective and attitude would serve us well. 2) The Riders spend on an appropriate coaching staff. How can you expect to develop a QB at the same level as the rest of the league... when you throw less money at less coaches; than everyone else? Hate to say it, but the way out is lit with spending in the right places. Coaching is one of those places. 3) Their personnel people in the last 5 years have been better than ours. Mack had a philosophy that he stuck to regardless of outcome... I respect the hell out of him for sticking with what he believed in... however, it didn't work. In fact, it gave 7 CFL teams a distinct advantage over the Bombers; in decreasing the market for proven CFL players. These 3 items I think answer all of your questions. Better personnel and better coaching translate into better QB development, a better OL, and playoff chances. An "outside the organization" perspective may be the needed voice in the room to counter an incumbent's "Bomber way" views.

I'm personally of the opinion that it will be difficult for Burke to be effective as a DC here. The main reason being that it will likely be difficult to get buy-in from the locker room. He was an abject failure as a HC. He threw players under the bus to the media. And presumably if this situation plays out, he's going to be demoted. I regard Tim Burke as being a very good DC. I'd love him as our DC under any other circumstance. But in Winnipeg, he is the face of a really bad team that was steered very poorly. For that reason, I'd think Burke would absolutely need next season to be a smashing success from the get-go. Wouldn't we rather a new HC bring in his own personnel, who will have more rope, and opportunity to change the culture?

There's no doubt some potential there. My biggest concern with Goltz is that accuracy doesn't come overnight. And he's already been "developing" for 3 years.

And yet he recorded as many wins for this team as any other qb despite being abandoned by the coaches. There seems to be a whole lot of "Goltz sucks" being thrown around just because he was teh qb of record in some terrible games, but every qb was terrible here until late in the season for a couple of games. Now how much of that was the change in OC taking effect? Which happened to be at a time when Goltz was banished to the bench because Boluts apparently has incriminating pictures of the coaches. I don't doubt that Goltz will be gone, but he did get a raw deal here this season. Agree that Goltz got a raw deal. Just think it'd be challenging circumstances for him to accept a 3rd stringer developmental role here again. Wish him luck... hope something becomes of him... but if he's going to be a developmental QB, best for him that he's not in a place he already failed in; no matter the circumstances.

I'd prefer we take a look at a new developmental guy in the 3rd stringer role, presumably behind next year's starter, and ideally, Max Hall as #2. Give a guy a proper developmental path; let Goltz move on and try to catch on with another club.

LOL. The Bombers sold in excess of 25,000 season tickets in 2013. Your 20,000 figure isn't flattering to your argument. Common sense is that people will expect quality for their money. Burke's tenure as HC has not delivered a quality on-field product. People have seen enough. Wallets will start speaking soon. Not sure of your historical precedent... the 2010 4-14 season.. our last 3 home games: 25,016, 23,446, and 22,056. This is how we drew in the fall, when we had little to no playoff prospects. The 25,016 game against BC, I think we were still mathematically still alive, but it was a steep uphill battle. Contrast this with 2011; when near the end of the year we were pretty sure we had a clunker; but hey, it was a 1st place clunker. Last 3 home games: 30,360, 29,751, and 29,076. Season ticket sales aren't a given. The coach and the QB are probably a football team's most key on-field personnel. Season ticket sales will very likely decrease dramatically if we don't do something about both positions.

I don't want to feed the troll... but the bait is irresistable... I know A LOT of season ticket holders; and at least 50% are waiting to hear whether or not Burke will be retained before renewing. Sure, they're bitching about the price increases... but they're football fans that will suck it up and buy season's because they love football and the Bombers. Don't kid yourself. There is NO REASON why a team in the CFL's only new stadium since SkyDome shouldn't sell out every game in its first year; especially given half-decent weather. The fact that we DIDN'T... is a result of an extremely poor product on the field. On-field product is Burke's responsibility. People will pay through the nose to watch winners with whom they have a strong attachment. Ever been to a ball game in Boston or New York? We haven't had a winner in a long while, and attachment is starting to dwindle... HAHAHAHA First: Been here a long time pal, not a troll. Secondly, if you thought my post was trolling you neither understand the definition of trolling nor comprehend the common sense of my post. Thirdly, communities like this forum are the vocal minority. It's true. Listen to any broader forum and you get much more generalized opinions with many people sympathetic to Burke. Fourthly, I made no judgements about Burke. I believe he will be fired. I believe massive changes are needed. But keeping Burke will absolutely not result in there being 20,000 fans at Bombers game. That just won't happen. Product on field means more. And finally, your logic makes zero sense. The Bombers did not sell out their second home game. No one thought the team was horrible. They nearly beat Montreal at home and did beat them on the road. Will *some* fans turn in their season tickets? Yes. Ofcourse. Will *some* fans be angry and resist buying tickets? Yes. Ofcourse. But will the sky fall? Nope. Too many Chicken Little's on here. Duration on a site doesn't preclude trolling. You got your response. Be a happy troll. People won't tolerate shitty traffic and parking to watch a poor on-field product; long-term. The other side of it is that once you've been shitty for awhile, it takes time to build your fanbase back. On-field product is the responsibility of management. You yourself acknowledged that Burke is part of management. Good coaches draw the best efforts out of their players. Burke may or may not have inherited a talented group... my point is that he rarely drew inspired efforts out of them. I'll say it again: Burke could coach the '01 Bombers to a losing record. Would you go through a wall for a coach that throws your teammates under the bus to the media? Lastly, regarding your comment about not selling out the 2nd home game... I will agree, but only because Burke couldn't have had an impact on that game. We've probably sold out each and every summer game for the past 10 years. Not even shitty coaching could prevent a sell out. Most of the walkup is there for the party -- and no one knows how much of a stud or dud you have at that point in the year. Remember the traffic snarl from the 1st game? That was the impact on the 2nd. Look more to the empty seats in the fall. That was the impact of Tim Burke.

and you'd get turned down. a third pick and a maybe-next-year-pick isn't worth as much to the Argos as having Collaros as a shield to our other players in the dispersal draft... ie: the guys we protect because he gets taken would be worth more to us than a 3rd rounder. Really good post. Once a team has a QB poached, they get to protect additional NI's; don't they? I had drawn up a post based on lack of competition; but it's moot given this scenario. Depends on how Toronto values their other NI's. Toronto one would think would protect Durie, Keeping, Eppele, Holmes, Van Zeyl, and Reinders... I don't know their roster terribly well beyond that, but that would leave Watt, Lee, Laing, Pottinger, Gabriel and Black as NI starters from this year. What is retaining 2 or 3 more NI's worth to the Argos? Look at our NI problems this year to see the real picture. Would the Argos rather retain say Watt and Gabriel, or be left to pick up Ottawa's scraps (say... Akeem Foster and Teague Sherman)? What's that worth?

I don't want to feed the troll... but the bait is irresistable... I know A LOT of season ticket holders; and at least 50% are waiting to hear whether or not Burke will be retained before renewing. Sure, they're bitching about the price increases... but they're football fans that will suck it up and buy season's because they love football and the Bombers. Don't kid yourself. There is NO REASON why a team in the CFL's only new stadium since SkyDome shouldn't sell out every game in its first year; especially given half-decent weather. The fact that we DIDN'T... is a result of an extremely poor product on the field. On-field product is Burke's responsibility. People will pay through the nose to watch winners with whom they have a strong attachment. Ever been to a ball game in Boston or New York? We haven't had a winner in a long while, and attachment is starting to dwindle...