Jason Maas, head coach of the Alouettes, and Mike O’Shea, his counterpart on the Blue Bombers, drank together at the Gray Cup in 2012. Whether only one of them will have that chance on Sunday at the end of the scheduled final in Hamilton, they will never erase their memories of their time with the Toronto Argonauts.
“We have memories that we share forever and no one can ever take them away from us,” agreed Maas, who was in his first year as a coach in the Canadian Football League with the Argos.
So the two men showed open camaraderie on Tuesday morning during the traditional coaches’ conference that precedes every Gray Cup final. They took turns taking out the violin and talking over each other.
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“He’ll never admit it, but he’s a legend of our sport,” Maas said of O’Shea. I’m not afraid to say it, he’s fantastic.”
It must be acknowledged that O’Shea is making his fourth straight Gray Cup appearance with the Blue Bombers. Former Alouettes coach Don Matthews is the only person to achieve such a feat, although he did it between 1994 and 1997 with two different teams, Baltimore and Toronto.
“I would never dare compare myself to these greatest legends,” O’Shea replied 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 hinted that the Blue Bombers head coach was one of those who influenced the way he led. In 2012, O’Shea ran the Argos’ special teams while Maas oversaw the quarterbacks.
“Before as a player and now as a coach, we experience his professionalism and commitment to his team every day,” said Maas. Osh is also a great person and it shows when you meet him every day. It’s nice to be with him and in my first year as a coach, having him by my side and talking about football all the time, but about life in general I’ve really enjoyed it. In a season where there are ups and downs, you want to be surrounded by extraordinary people. It makes your job easier and that’s what we find at Osh.”
“I understand why he is so successful as a head coach,” praised Maas. He cares about his players and other coaches because of his attention to detail and the way he interacts with the people around him. In my opinion, that’s what you need to win and he has it all.”
One would have thought that Maas was describing himself without meaning to.
“We were younger, of course, but we had a lot of fun together,” O’Shea noted of Maas. I quickly realized what a competitor Jason was. Sometimes I would come home and he would be working alone at his desk for hours.”
Darnell Sankey is drawing attention
Later Tuesday, Alouettes players showed up at Tim Hortons Field. The Montreal club did not hold training, but some members of the team were present for the media. Of all of them, inside linebacker Darnell Sankey, the true general of the defensive unit, caught the attention.
“We know what we can bring,” Sankey noted, expressing confidence that the Alouettes’ defensive unit can win again against the Blue Bombers’ attack on Sunday. We want to have fun in every game and establish ourselves through a dominant defense. We can create turnovers and not just make tackles.”
Personally speaking, Sankey has never been closer to an extraordinary achievement. He could actually win two championships in a single year. Even Mike O’Shea has never achieved this feat.
In Sankey’s case, remember that he won the XFL championship with the Arlington Renegades last May before joining the Alouettes and helping them qualify for the Gray Cup.