With the announcement today of the hiring of Joe Mack as Vice President and General Manager of Football Operations, one question hanging over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ offseason has been answered, while far too many remain unanswered. The question marks still looming seem obvious:
1. What will happen with John Murphy? Murphy’s first year in Blue and Gold was a productive one, albeit one that got off to a shaky start. Given how long it’s been since Mack had any involvement in three-down ball, keeping Murphy in the fold will be important for the Bombers to have a smooth transition.
2. Will Greg Marshall be wearing white? Marshall’s name appears to be at the top of the list to replace Kelly as the new head coach while anyone with respect for the man hope that one of the top defensive coaches in the CFL doesn’t get overlooked for the third time. Choosing a coach with Marshall’s experience in the CFL would go a long way to reassuring folks concerned about Mack’s credentials, while his reputation in the community should factor in mending the rift between the team and Bombers fans created by Kelly.
3. If Marshall gets the nod, where does that leave Mark Nelson? This is a question that I’m not hearing that often, and perhaps it’s not a big concern given Marshall’s credentials on the defensive side of the ball. But Nelson’s troops did a masterful job keeping the Bombers competitive with little help if any from the offense most games and it would be a shame to see him jump to replace Marshall in Hamilton or elsewhere.
4. Whose holding the ball? Michael Bishop’s half-year in Winnipeg bore a striking resemblance to the rest of his career – when he’s on, he’s on; but when he’s off, he stinks like nobody’s business! There’s a lot of pressure on the entire Bomber organization to bring in someone to reassure the masses. The current crop of QBs backing-up Bishop – Casey Bramlet, former Alouette Ricky Santos and Stefan LeFors – are less than certainties and the team is almost certain to seek out a bona-fide starter for training camp. Jyles is the only free agent QB this spring, while McPherson has requested a trade from Montreal, fearing that Anthony Calvillo may play into his seventies. I wouldn’t personally be surprised to see the Bombers trade for McPherson and continue their collection of Alouettes QBs that began with Santos.
It has been twenty years since the Blue Bombers won the Grey Cup. That’s a long, long drought, especially in a league with ten teams or less for most of that period. Keeping the faith in Bomberville hasn’t been an easy task over these last couple of decades. But for those of us that have managed to hang on to the bandwagon through these oft troubled times, all we can do is continue to be patient and hope that these questions are all resolved favourably over the next couple of months. And pray.
