Jason Maas, head coach of the Alouettes, and Mike O’Shea, his counterpart with the Blue Bombers, already drank together in the Gray Cup in 2012. If only one of them will have this chance on Sunday at the end of the final planned in Hamilton, they will never erase their memories lived at the time with the Toronto Argonauts.
“We have memories that we share together forever and no one can ever take them away from us,” agreed Maas who, with the Argos, was in his first year as an instructor in the Canadian Football League.
The two men thus showed a frank camaraderie on Tuesday morning during the traditional coaches’ conference which precedes each of the Gray Cup finals. They took turns taking out the violin while talking about each other.
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“He will never admit it, but he is a legend of our sport,” Maas said of O’Shea. I’m not afraid to say it, he’s fantastic.”
It must be recognized that O’Shea is making his fourth consecutive appearance in the Gray Cup with the Blue Bombers. Former Alouettes coach Don Matthews is the only one to have achieved such a feat, but he did it with two different teams, Baltimore and Toronto, between 1994 and 1997.
“I would never dare compare myself to these greatest legends,” replied O’Shea, when an English-speaking colleague put his name in the same sentence as Matthews and Wally Buono.
Similar philosophies
By throwing flowers to O’Shea, Maas suggested that the Blue Bombers head coach is one of those who influenced his way of leading. In 2012, O’Shea led the Argos’ special teams while Maas handled the quarterbacks.
“Previously as a player and now as a coach, we see his professionalism and dedication every day for his team,” noted Maas. Osh is also a magnificent person and we realize this by meeting him on a daily basis. It’s nice to be with him and in my first year as coach, to have had him by my side and to have constant conversations about football, but about life in general, I really enjoyed it. In a season where there are ups and downs, you want to be surrounded by extraordinary people. It makes your work easier and we find that with Osh.”
“I understand why he is so successful as head coach,” Maas praised. It’s because of his attention to detail and the way he interacts with the people around him, he takes care of his players and other coaches. In my opinion, that’s what it takes to win and he has all that.”
One would have thought that Maas, without meaning to, was describing himself.
“We were younger, obviously, but we had a lot of fun together,” noted O’Shea, regarding Maas. Quickly, I realized how much of a competitor Jason was. Sometimes I would come home and he would continue working for hours, alone at his desk.”
Darnell Sankey draws attention
Later, Alouettes players showed up at Tim Hortons Field on Tuesday. The Montreal club did not hold training, but a few members of the team were present for the media. Of the lot, inside linebacker Darnell Sankey, true general of the defensive unit, attracted attention.
“We know what we can bring,” noted Sankey, expressing confidence that the Alouettes’ defensive unit can win again on Sunday against the Blue Bombers’ attack. Every game, we want to have fun and establish ourselves by dominating defensively. We can create turnovers and not just make tackles.”
On a personal note, Sankey has never been closer to achieving an extraordinary feat. He could indeed win two championships in a single year. Even Mike O’Shea has never achieved this feat.
In the case of Sankey, remember that he won the XFL championship last May with the Arlington Renegades before joining the Alouettes and contributing to their qualification to the Gray Cup.