Argos get permission to speak with Blue Bombers’ O’Shea

The Toronto Argonauts have requested and received permission to speak with Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea, according to TSN Football Insider Dave Naylor.

This comes less than one week after the Ottawa Redblacks hired Argos head coach Ryan Dinwiddie as their head coach and general manager.

Naylor reported over the weekend that the Argos and O’Shea could be a fit.

“I expect those conversations to begin with offering him the head coaching opportunity, but it could involve other titles and responsibilities if that’s what it takes for the Argos to land O’Shea,” Naylor said on SportsCentre.

Naylor also mentioned Auburn’s Kent Austin and Hamilton Tiger-Cats president Orlondo Steinauer as other potential candidates.

Austin was working under Hugh Freeze at Auburn before Freeze’s firing earlier this month. Austin has one year left on his contract with the Tigers.

He served as head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Tiger-Cats and worked on the offensive coaching staffs of the Argos and Ottawa Renegades.

Steinauer coached the Ticats before moving upstairs. However, as Naylor notes, Toronto would not yet be able to ask for permission to speak with him for another week since the Tiger-Cats were only eliminated from the CFL playoffs on Saturday.

“But absolutely their No. 1 candidate is Mike O’Shea. As I say, I expect them to make an aggressive push at O’Shea this week,” Naylor said.

The 55-year-old played linebacker for the Argonauts from 1996 to 1999 and then again from 2001 to 2008. He won Grey Cups with the Argos in 1996, 1997 and 2004 and was the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian in 1999.

The North Bay, Ont., native has been head coach of the Bombers since 2013, winning Grey Cups in 2019 and 2021. He and the Bombers had reached five Grey Cups in a row before being eliminated in the Western Semi-final this season.

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