GCn20

I have a couple favorites I would like us to hire for OC. If my faves don't end up being the guy hired, I will still sleep well knowing Marcel Bellefeuille won't be the guy they hired.

Top rated by who Mark? Certainly not his last two employers. I think there are better candidates out there and they won't cost us a shot at Harris.

I don't want Chaps either. He is Marcel v2.0 imo. His offences only have a chance if there is an all star calibre OL.

Of course, the Bombers are going to ask Willy what his thoughts are on George Cortez. Why wouldn't they? He has carnal knowledge of Cortez's offence and would give an extremely valuable opinion on whether or not it would be successful here. It's done ALL the time TBurg. ALL the time. Franchise QBs are always asked for their opinion on former coaches before they are hired. Cortez is an excellent candidate. However, at the end of the day he has to be a good fit too. If Willy strongly objects to Cortez for some reason the Bombers have to respect that and move onto the next candidate. These two guys have to be able to work together. However, as I said earlier, Willy has always been complimentary of Cortez. I don't want Cortez though. It would take us out of the Harris running imo.

Not to mention, no Paul Jones or Ed Hervey or a pretty much ready made team just in need of tweaking to take over. Success has followed Jones around but he has also had the benefit of coaching under some pretty darn good football coaches/GMs. He's pretty good at picking up and going to teams on the verge of winning. Saskatchewan will be an entirely different story, That team needs a rebuild from the top down. This will truly be his first test as both a GM and taking over a team hopelessly devoid of talent.

Much ado about nothing really. Willy has spoken highly of Cortez in the past.

Personally, and maybe I'm in the minority, but I think a Jones to the Riders hiring would be a mistake by the Riders. I think he is a bit of an ass hat that I would be scared to give total control too. Will Jones the GM be able to separate his ego from Jones the coach if need be? Will he bolt to another team and leave the Riders high and dry the first chance he gets? Don't get me wrong, I would hire Jones as my HC in a heartbeat. I would be very apprehensive about giving him the keys to the entire organization though. It could turn out great, but it could also be very bad. He could be the next Hufnagel, but he could just as easily be the next Mike Kelly.

There is no coach at the professional level that would purposely tank his job because he was denied permission to talk to another team. NONE. They would never have gotten to this level if they weren't pros. I can't stand this sentiment that it is somehow wrong to ask someone to fulfill a contract that they signed. The club offered him their commitment in the form of a guaranteed contract for term. If they expect you to fulfill that you should do so with no ill will in the top manner you are capable of.

Despite the nice guy reputation he built while he was here, I think his actions show pretty clearly that he is a merc. He went for the money.

I feel the same way you do 17to85. I like some of the stuff they are doing and don't feel it has been total incompetence. We have had some bad luck as well so I am willing to give benefit of the doubt for the time being. However, had the Bombers decided to pull the plug on this regime this offseason, I would certainly have understood that too. I am open to giving these guys an extended look despite their record, however, I do want them on a short leash. I want Lapo here to take over for O'Shea if need be and I want us to have a backup plan at GM. I am comfortable letting them continue, but I want a plan B as well.

Yea. There is this misconception that guys have these things built into their contract which is not usually the case. Most of the time teams will, out of goodwill, allow guys under contract to talk to other teams about promotions. It is not, however, something they are absolutely obligated to do. There have been many examples of teams declining permission to other teams to talk to one of their coaches/management team.

At this point, I think this is getting blown out of proportion by the media. I don't think this realistically has the legs they are trying to give it. I would think the likelihood of Jones going to the Riders is slim. It would be insane for the Esks to let him go....and they don't have too.

Good signing....he came for free. At the end of the day I don't expect much from him though. Hopefully, he can add depth or make the PR.

From what I understand of the situation, newly hired wage negotiator for the union Brendan Taman paid the employees 50% upfront hoping it would help drive down final costs. When asked, Brendan just shrugged his shoulders and stated that it seemed like a good idea at the time. Darian Durant could not be reached for comment, but it is believed he fully endorsed this idea.

Really? Well I stand corrected then? Guess his flame outs with the Riders and Shmoes has left me jaded on him. I retract him as an example.

I know he won one with the Riders in '07, but that's the only one I'm aware of. At any rate, he has been run out of two different towns and had his third team fold on his watch. Made some of the most roundly criticized trades of all time, and is now relegated back to bird dog again. Might have taken longer for him to pronounce his failure, but ultimately he failed as a GM. I say this because he no longer is a GM and is back to bird dogging after short stints in each and every stop he made.

Great, please provide a list of candidates you would endorse for our next hiring process so that we can make you put your money where your mouth is. In short, I don't believe a word you are saying right now. Have been around these forums for a long, long time and I have never seen a positive post from you. I can't imagine a circumstance where you would begin. I do agree with you about Berry though. That was a lousy decision.

Murphy isn't without his wrinkles either. He has a reputation of being very difficult to work with/for that has rubbed people the wrong way. He has interviewed for several GM openings in the past few years and in just about all of them the scuttlebutt was that he was perceived to be to big a gamble for this reason. Further to this, knowing how to recruit players and how to build a team are two entirely different skill sets. Mack is proof of that. In fact, the laundry list of top notch bird dogs failing or being mediocre as GMs is long and illustrious. The names Roy Shivers and Eric Tillman immediately spring to mind. Other names like Marcel Desjardins and Brendan Taman had years of failure once being promoted to GM before they learned their craft. John Murphy is a gamble no matter how you cut it. He could be a great one or he could end up a dud. I am surprised that TBurg is pumping his tires since his main objection to our current regime is their inexperience.

TBurg, you say you would endorse a Huf or Murphy/Murphy's choice HC...yet all I can envision after about a month are posts berating the Bombers for hiring someone old and declining (Hufnagel) or too inexperienced and their lousy choice of HC (Murphy). I don't realistically believe there is a candidate that exists that would keep you from dumping on the Bombers.

Can anyone else verify Tracker's assertion that Lawless stated categorically that Lapolice will be OC. I listened to H&L and couldn't find it. Not saying it's not true but I would like to know what he said with a little more detail than what was given. Exact wording or a link would be nice. Not calling you a liar Tracker but I can find no proof of this anywhere.

Definitely time to rethink keeping Walters around. Not for the reason you listed though. Murphy has always been available to any team willing to make him a GM. Nothing has changed as to Murphy's availability. BTW, Hufnagel has been GM of the Stamps since he took over from Barker many moons ago. He's not moving upstairs, he's just opting to stay there.

I don't see any problem with attending a football game and socializing at the same time. Can be done you know. Our new stadium has a nice set up allowing people to still be able to catch the on-field action and socialize at the Rum Hut etc. A play takes 5 seconds and then there is almost a minute between for the next one. Socialize and watch football at the same time. Not really a problem.

In 2011 we sold out just about every home game and we weren't even that great a team. Put a winner on the field and we won't even be discussing attendance as a potential issue. Not sure where people are so concerned. This past few years might have been the worst stretch of football in Winnipeg since Jeff Reinbold was in town and we still had good attendance. Sheesh...the doomsayers are out in full force.

Yea...no kidding. Wes Welker deserves all the chances in the world in the NFL because he was one of the best receivers in the NFL at one point. Matthews...not so much.

I have been informed that there was a small window of time last year when Matthews had been cut and was fielding CFL offers before re-signing with the Seahawks. Not sure I believe that he was close to coming back to the CFL though.