New Bombers coach O'Shea doing everything possible to control the message

 

So I decided to stop in and take a peek at Camp O’Shea, Monday, get the season’s first whiff of pigskin and sweaty O-linemen.

 

Upon first glance, nothing stood out about the methods of the new sheriff in Blue Bomberville, the usual training camp sights and sounds greeting me: large men grunting, coaches barking and the occasional whistle interrupting the festivities.

 

In the middle of it all stood the man charged with turning this leaky vessel around, holding a piece of paper and wearing a T-shirt and shorts, even as a chilly, wind-aided rain pelted the last half hour of the proceedings.

 

There would be no rain jacket or pants for Mike O’Shea or his coaching staff.

 

Muzzles, on the other hand, have already been deployed.

 

Ripping a page from ex-coach Mike Kelly’s book — the one copy that hasn’t been burned, I suppose — O’Shea has banned his assistant coaches from doing interviews.

Not just on Monday, not just this week, not just during training camp — but for the entire season.

 

If you eventually want answers from offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille about why his air attack sucks like a shop-vac, sorry, you’re out of luck.

 

If down the road Gary Etcheverry’s confusing defence is confounding his own players more than the opposition, well, we won’t be able pick his brain about that, either.

 

New running backs coach Buck Pierce? Muzzled.

 

The always smiling Marcus Howell, the pride of St. James? Off limits.

 

Part-time magician and O-line guru Bob Wylie? He felt guilty even saying hello to one wag on Monday.

 

It’s a startling bit of control freakishness in the normally accessible world of three-down football. Rare, if not unheard of.

So, what gives, coach?

 

“It wasn’t hard to come up with that,” O’Shea explained to the dunces taking notes. “My decision was easily just to control the message, and make sure you’re only hearing one voice and only one opinion. That way there’s no confusion for the players.”

 

Control the message? Good lord, I’m having a flashback.

 

Wasn’t that one of Kelly’s mantras in that gong show of a 2009 season?

 

But not even The Professor went this far in his war with the inked-stained wretches of the press. He only wanted to mimic the NFL by limiting his co-ordinators to one day of access per week.

 

O’Shea doesn’t want his hired help to utter a peep from now until November.

 

“I’m trying to serve the players as best I can,” he continued. “If it comes from me, and only me, then they can come into my office and talk about that with me. They don’t have to worry about talking to their position coach and then the co-ordinator and then myself about three different interviews that were done after a practice or a game. It’s important.”

 

Ah, I’m starting to see where the seed for this petty notion was planted.

 

If that bit about players answering to mixed messages from their coaches sounds familiar, it’s because it is: it happened here during last season’s train wreck.

 

Head coach Tim Burke one week deferred the decision about who to start at quarterback to co-ordinator Gary Crowton, leading to Justin Goltz feeling “betrayed” and Pierce throwing up his hands wondering who was calling the shots.

 

“Watching from afar for the last bunch of years... it was an easy decision, I’ll put it that way,” is all O’Shea would say.

Curiously, no other CFL head coach has found it necessary to make that easy decision.

 

Former Montreal boss Marc Trestman implemented a ban to deflect from the hiring of controversial assistant Jeff Reinebold early in the 2012 season, but it was short-lived.

 

Kent Austin runs an airtight ship in Hamilton, but doesn’t have a problem with his assistants opening their mouths in front of a microphone.

If you hire assistants with the same philosophy, what’s the issue?

 

A strong leader, and by all accounts O’Shea is one, should have no trouble with this concept.

 

It’s not like Bellefeuille and Etcheverry are prone to flapping their gums wildly in the breeze. Both have been head coaches. They know the drill.

 

Muzzles are fine for pit bulls.

 

They don’t look so good on people.

paul.friesen@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @friesensunmedia

 

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/06/02/new-bombers-coach-oshea-doing-everything-possible-to-control-the-message

It's not just that Friesen took a stupid premise for an article, it's that it's a horribly written article too. Guy just has no talent and I hate to see untalented hacks being gainfully employed. I dare say there's a good number of people on this site could write circles around Friesen if they had the opportunity. 

 

Now as for O'Shea not letting coordinators talk to the media, that I like, especially when you actually listen to the way he explained his reasoning. This is a guy who the players are going to love I think. Already seen him stand up and put himself between the media and the players more than Burke ever did. 

For a columnist people refuse to read he has a lot of readers.

If you want good articles... Include the media, don't fight with them.  Work with them.  Give them what they want.  Make their jobs easy.  Don't tell them no unless you absolutely have to.  Make them an extension of the team.  Treat them like friends.  

 

Almost all of the articles written this offseason have been positive.  Walters understands what working with the media is and he hasn't had a single bad story that I can think of.  Miller has only one bad story and that's when he refused to work with the media on the leaky stadium issue.  O'Shea hasn't had any bad articles up to now and they've given him the benefit of any doubt.  For example: They could have written about how O'Shea flip flopped on Smith over a 2 day period, but they didn't.  

 

Now O'Shea says he's going to control the message and no one else will be allowed to talk with the press.  That sets up an adversarial situation with the media.  When you do that, don't act surprised or complain when the media starts treating you like an adversary.  

As Bauming said this morning if you simply ask O'shea anything you want to know he will tell you.  If you don't ask he's not going to say anything.  Pretty simple if you ask me.  

For a columnist people refuse to read he has a lot of readers.

And Friesen has produced the exact effect he wanted.

 

I stood behind Friesen for almost a half an hour at noon today and not once did I see him glance at the field more then 10 seconds. All he did was as he puts it "Flap his gums" to all the other media guys there.

So was this his first day at practice? Did he bother to show up for rookie camp? Because if he is comparing Kelly to O'shea after maybe 3 min of watching practice I have lost the last ounce of respect for that guy.

Whoa whoa whoa WHOA!!!

You actually had some respect for him?

 

 

Whoa whoa whoa WHOA!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You stood behind Friesen and you didn't sucker punch him!?!?!!  WTF DUDE!!!

 

I stood behind Friesen for almost a half an hour at noon today and not once did I see him glance at the field more then 10 seconds. All he did was as he puts it "Flap his gums" to all the other media guys there.

So was this his first day at practice? Did he bother to show up for rookie camp? Because if he is comparing Kelly to O'shea after maybe 3 min of watching practice I have lost the last ounce of respect for that guy.

Whoa whoa whoa WHOA!!!

You actually had some respect for him?

 

Well yeah I had respect for him.......i'd never want to write anything in the paper relating to Sports in Winnipeg.  It's not easy to write an article and make everyone like it.  But it's really easy to write down anything you want and just put it to print.  It takes a skilled writer to see both sides and be able to write a balanced article.  

 

I don't even care what Friesen wrote in this article but to come out and compare MO to MK after barely watching a practice is laughable.  The ONLY thing these two coaches have in common is their first name!  After that it's a sheer drop off.

So mealy mouth Friesen is at it again.The season is in it's infancy and this guy is on a neg. rant about the Bombers. No surprise really. He can't get coaches to contradict each other when he's only getting one message from the top. No more playing both ends against the middle. Too bad for the pot-stirrer, I guess he'll have to be a little more positive in his articles and that hurts. Message to Friesen, times have changed and Mike O. IS NOT Mike K. AND does not resemble him one bit. I suppose he's getting his kicks just getting the kind of response most fans and the team are giving this latest drivel. I read it and filed it under garbage.

When Freisen asks a question give him the same answer all the time. Players coaches alike.

"We are going to go out and win one for the Gippper". End of story .

Even if he asks what day they plan on travelling.

The FreeP version of this story is much better, and MOS actually makes a lot of sense with what he's saying. No mixed messages and no confusion as to who said what. Sounds logical to me.

For a columnist people refuse to read he has a lot of readers.

Yup, he sure does get people talking and reading his garbage. Not me though, I don't read the Winnipeg Sun at all.

When Freisen asks a question give him the same answer all the time. Players coaches alike.

"We are going to go out and win one for the Gippper". End of story .

Even if he asks what day they plan on travelling.

I sort of like......."It's a Non-Issue......It's Handled Internally......I'm not going to talk about it.....next question......."

 

If you want good articles... Include the media, don't fight with them.  Work with them.  Give them what they want.  Make their jobs easy.  Don't tell them no unless you absolutely have to.  Make them an extension of the team.  Treat them like friends.  

 

Almost all of the articles written this offseason have been positive.  Walters understands what working with the media is and he hasn't had a single bad story that I can think of.  Miller has only one bad story and that's when he refused to work with the media on the leaky stadium issue.  O'Shea hasn't had any bad articles up to now and they've given him the benefit of any doubt.  For example: They could have written about how O'Shea flip flopped on Smith over a 2 day period, but they didn't.  

 

Now O'Shea says he's going to control the message and no one else will be allowed to talk with the press.  That sets up an adversarial situation with the media.  When you do that, don't act surprised or complain when the media starts treating you like an adversary.  

As Bauming said this morning if you simply ask O'shea anything you want to know he will tell you.  If you don't ask he's not going to say anything.  Pretty simple if you ask me.  

 

 

Well, that's the story right there.

Mike O'Shea has been totally accessible and forthright, he is working with, and including the media.

Give him the respect he deserves and he will do the same.

You don't make friends by kicking someone in the shins, and hiding behind press credentials.

 

 

If you want good articles... Include the media, don't fight with them.  Work with them.  Give them what they want.  Make their jobs easy.  Don't tell them no unless you absolutely have to.  Make them an extension of the team.  Treat them like friends.  

 

Almost all of the articles written this offseason have been positive.  Walters understands what working with the media is and he hasn't had a single bad story that I can think of.  Miller has only one bad story and that's when he refused to work with the media on the leaky stadium issue.  O'Shea hasn't had any bad articles up to now and they've given him the benefit of any doubt.  For example: They could have written about how O'Shea flip flopped on Smith over a 2 day period, but they didn't.  

 

Now O'Shea says he's going to control the message and no one else will be allowed to talk with the press.  That sets up an adversarial situation with the media.  When you do that, don't act surprised or complain when the media starts treating you like an adversary.  

As Bauming said this morning if you simply ask O'shea anything you want to know he will tell you.  If you don't ask he's not going to say anything.  Pretty simple if you ask me.  

 

 

Well, that's the story right there.

Mike O'Shea has been totally accessible and forthright, he is working with, and including the media.

Give him the respect he deserves and he will do the same.

You don't make friends by kicking someone in the shins, and hiding behind press credentials.

 

Here we go with that C word again......I'm fairly Certain my 5 year old has more Credentials.....

 

For a columnist people refuse to read he has a lot of readers.

Yup, he sure does get people talking and reading his garbage. Not me though, I don't read the Winnipeg Sun at all.

 

 

But that really isn't it though is it?

If you want first class information and a good source for breaking news, you certainly don't go to Paul Friesen.

I can think of nobody who seeks out PF unless you have read/heard something like today, where he spews from the mouth into his typing hands.

 

And in such a long off-season, people are inclined to read anything football related, especially on the Bombers.

 

So, for Zontar to peddle that oft used line is silly when you know the reasons behind these comments.

 

* Yeah, credentials.

Don't forget, any slough can get press credentials, but it's another matter to be accredited with proper respect.

Huff has the same rules in Calgary, Trestman had the same rules in Montreal. It's someone reaching trying to stir the pot. End of story.

 

You're 100% bang on... first thought I had was "I like how he's comparing this tactic to Kelly rather than someone like Marc Trestman"... it helps strengthen his very weak point

Does anyone know which other CFL teams employ this method of communication?  

 

Huff in Calgary...

Milo in Tor? (suspected)

Jones in Edm? (suspected)

I would guess Austin is the same way in Hammy

Friesen has a bit of slack by slagging MOS cuz the bombers still aren't strong enough to win more than a handful of games. Maggot Kelly won 7 games before he got his face stained on the blotter. O'Shea might not be able to get to that level, unfortunately!

Whenever media, not just Friesen, perceives you're cutting off access you're going to get some push-back. Mindset of the media is they have a gawd-given right to know and to ask and genuinely believe are equal partners with the team's efforts to communicate with fans.

 

The Don and Popp cut the MTL Gazette off once years ago. And their columnists and reporters threw a hissy far far more petty than this and went on a vendetta for months.

Does anyone know which other CFL teams employ this method of communication?  

 

Huff in Calgary...

Milo in Tor? (suspected)

Jones in Edm? (suspected)

I would guess Austin is the same way in Hammy

When Trestman first brought back Jeff Reinbold he duct-taped Reinny's mouth cuz of the bad reputation for verbal-vomitting Jeff had!

Does anyone know which other CFL teams employ this method of communication?  

 

Huff in Calgary...

Milo in Tor? (suspected)

Jones in Edm? (suspected)

I would guess Austin is the same way in Hammy

 

Penton is trying to claim NOBODY does it.

There is some truth, I am sure, to the idea Friesen just wants to stir the pot and when he gets people riled up, he is content.  There are load of media like that, especially in politics.  The the really good ones report in such a way to create discussion and debate, play devil's advocate etc.  Friesen just seems that he relishes some gimmick he has created for himself as Winnipeg media's bad boy but the reality is he just seems like a really lazy journalist who could probably file most of his stories without even getting out of bed.

Whenever media, not just Friesen, perceives you're cutting off access you're going to get some push-back. Mindsett of the media is they have a gawd-given right to know and to ask and genuinely believe are equal partners with the team's efforts to communicate with fans.

 

The Don and Popp cut the MTL Gazette off once years ago. And their columnists and reporters threw a hissy fit that pales to this and went on a vendetta for months.

I havent seen Gary Lawless whining about his access.  Good, respected journalists dont need the Coach to go out of his way to come over and feed them info.  A good journalist probably isnt all that concerned about "official" access because he's going to get the story he needs one way or another.  Friesen is probably worried that if he cant get official scrums how will he get any info at all.

Have to say, I'm a little disappointed in Penton.

 

Sean Oleksewycz @seanoleksewycz

@PentonKirk @mike_wpg i know that bama head coach nick saban does that same thing at bama... Cant argue with that guy

 

Kirk Penton @PentonKirk

@seanoleksewycz We're talking about professional sports organizations

 

MIKE @mike_wpg

@PentonKirk @seanoleksewycz NCAA coaches are professionals and that's what you're talking about - coaches. No difference.

 

Kirk Penton @PentonKirk

@mike_wpg No, I'm talking about pro sports versus college sports. They're big boys who can handle themselves

 

MIKE @mike_wpg

@PentonKirk @seanoleksewycz so you're implying NCAA coaches aren't "big league" compared to CFL? and they can't handle themselves?

 

Whenever media, not just Friesen, perceives you're cutting off access you're going to get some push-back. Mindsett of the media is they have a gawd-given right to know and to ask and genuinely believe are equal partners with the team's efforts to communicate with fans.

 

The Don and Popp cut the MTL Gazette off once years ago. And their columnists and reporters threw a hissy fit that pales to this and went on a vendetta for months.

I havent seen Gary Lawless whining about his access.  Good, respected journalists dont need the Coach to go out of his way to come over and feed them info.  A good journalist probably isnt all that concerned about "official" access because he's going to get the story he needs one way or another.  Friesen is probably worried that if he cant get official scrums how will he get any info at all.

 

But teams use reporters by dangling stories for them in return for love. If Bombers struggle and Lawless seems patient and understanding while the rest of football media is critical then you'll know Lawless is their man.

 

Does anyone know which other CFL teams employ this method of communication?  

 

Huff in Calgary...

Milo in Tor? (suspected)

Jones in Edm? (suspected)

I would guess Austin is the same way in Hammy

 

Penton is trying to claim NOBODY does it.

 

HAM beat reporter has had interviews with assistants but not often.