The Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced on Friday night that Head Coach Mike O’Shea and General Manager Kyle Walters will return for the 2026 season.
Mike O’Shea is 55 years old and is from North Bay, Ontario. He will return for his 12th season as the Blue Bombers’ head coach. He is the winningest head coach in Winnipeg history with a 117-77 record, winning five West Division championships, and appearing in five straight Grey Cups, winning two of them in 2019 and 2021.
This season, the Blue Bombers went 10-8, finishing third in the West Division. It was the ninth consecutive double-digit win season. The Blue Bombers hired O’Shea on December 4, 2013.
Before becoming a head coach, Mike O’Shea was the Special Teams Coordinator for the Toronto Argonauts from 2010 to 2013, winning the Grey Cup in 2012. As a player, he played 271 games with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts, making 1,320 tackles, 169 tackles on special teams, 30 sacks, 22 interceptions, and 11 fumble recoveries.
He was inducted into the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame in 2017. O’Shea was named a four-time CFL East All-Star, Northern Division All-Star, CFL All-Star, Rookie of the Year, Most Outstanding Canadian, and a three-time Grey Cup champion. He played college at the University of Guelph.
Kyle Walters is 52 years old and is from St. Thomas, Ontario. He will enter his 12th season as the Blue Bombers’ General Manager. He previously served four seasons as the Blue Bombers’ Assistant Coach and Assistant General Manager. Walters also won a Grey Cup as a player for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1999.
As a talent evaluator, Walters’s success in the CFL Draft, trades, and free agent signings has led the Blue Bombers to become one of the most successful teams in the last decade.
