BLUE BOMBERS PROMOTE PIERCE TO A NEW ROLE
Now that Winnipeg has offensive co-ordinator, focus turns to keeping Collaros as starting QB
The general manager and head coach were re-signed last month, and now the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have anointed Buck Pierce to draw up the game plans and call the offensive plays.
That means it’s full steam ahead on signing a starting quarterback to defend the franchise’s first Grey Cup championship in 29 years.
Forced to choose between veteran Bomber Matt Nichols and Grey Cup winner Zach Collaros, at least to start, the Bombers have zeroed in on Collaros.
Postmedia has learned contract talks are underway with the man who led Winnipeg to the promised land, even if the team’s newly minted offensive co-ordinator wouldn’t confirm it on Tuesday.
“We’re not going to comment on any reports out there,” Pierce said. “Listen, all three guys, all our quarterbacks, have the ability to win football games. They’ve proven that. Everybody would like to have all three back.”
That was never a very good possibility, and it’s looking even slimmer with NFL interest in versatile No. 2 man Chris Streveler, who has several workouts lined up south of the border.
“We’ll see what happens with that,” Pierce said. “I hope he’s back with us, but I also want what’s best for the individual.”
It’s not impossible both Collaros and Nichols return, but it’s become clear this week the Bombers’ brain-trust has made Collaros Priority 1.
He’ll be 32 in August, a year younger than Nichols, and Nichols is coming off major surgery on his throwing shoulder that ended his season prematurely and forced the Bombers to acquire Collaros at the October trade deadline.
A deal is not imminent with Collaros, and there’s still lots of time before he, Nichols and Streveler become free agents at midnight, Feb. 11.
The uncertainty won’t hamper his planning, Pierce said, as he prepares to fill the rather sizable shoes left by former offensive co-ordinator Paul Lapolice, now Ottawa’s head coach.
Last season, Lapolice put together the most unusual game plans the CFL has seen in years, utilizing, first, the defence-reading ability of Nichols with the power running of Streveler, then combining the passing touch of Collaros with Streveler’s change of pace.
That latter one-two punch launched the Bombers on a historic, four-game win streak, beginning with a regular-season finale that injected belief into the team and ending with a Grey Cup triumph over the Hamilton Tiger-cats that ended more than a generation of frustration for Manitobans.
As an adopted Winnipegger for nine years and counting, Pierce, the former quarterbacks coach, had felt that angst, firsthand.
“It was all that I expected it to be,” he said of the city-wide relief and celebration. “When we won and the aftermath of all that, being a Winnipegger now, it’s pretty cool to hear all the stories out there from everybody and the joy it brings to people. I always envisioned what it would be like when we won. Very exciting, emotional time.
“Now the dust has settled and we’re getting ready for another year.”
A former quarterback himself who never saw a hit he didn’t mind taking on, Pierce inherits one of the best offensive lines in the CFL and the league’s leading running back three years running, in Andrew Harris.
So how different will his offence look than former coach Lapolice’s run-heavy attack, with its misdirection, jet sweeps and the occasional trick play thrown in for good measure?
“The players will dictate that,” Pierce said. “Players like to be challenged. We’re going to be physical. And we’re going to continue to push the boundaries ... continue to build on that football IQ, and be as creative as our players allow us to be. If we’ve gotta throw it, we throw it. If we can run it, we run it.”
And if the quarterback starts throwing to the wrong guys or the O-line looks more like a turnstile than a blocking front, he’ll face the brunt of the heat.
Co-ordinators are available to the media once per week, and Lapolice used to joke about how he was only in demand when the going got tough.
“Your first time doing it, there’s probably some unexpected things that are going to come up,” Pierce said. “You trust your process. And you attack it like you attack anything else. I’m a confident guy, and I understand the demands. And I’m excited and ready for it.
“I’ve lived this profession my whole life. Nine years as a player, six as a coach now. I understand that responsibility.”
He’ll also understand you’re only as good as your quarterbacks.
All three guys, all our quarterbacks, have the ability to win football games. They’ve proven that. Everybody would like to have all three back.