Winnipeg’s incredible 2024 turnaround can be attributed to something well known among Blue Bombers fans — the Mike O’Shea Way.

The league’s longest-tenured head coach has always done things his own way, no matter how it may be interpreted, or understood, or even misunderstood by those outside the football club.

“You either win or you learn,” O’Shea said earlier this season, and clearly, his team has.

A season-opening flop at home in a highly-anticipated Grey Cup rematch with Montreal began Winnipeg’s baffling spiral to 0-4. Then, in late July at a roughshod 2-6, an epic seven-game win streak began, elevating the Blue Bombers from worst to first in the CFL’s West Division as we enter October.

Some may have excused the Blue Bombers to have a ‘re-tool’ year in preparation for 2025 where they will host the 112th Grey Cup. But no one excused, or expected, the start Winnipeg had. And similarly, no one expected the Big Blue’s 180 since the calendar flipped to August.

But should we be surprised? Even with hindsight being 20/20. This is a Mike O’Shea team after all. Just like their coach, the team remained even-keeled. And they learned.

Winnipeg’s 55-27 beatdown of the Elks on Sep. 27 secured their spot in the playoffs for a franchise-record eighth-straight season. And at 9-6 with three regular season games remaining, they are one victory shy of an eighth-straight double-digit win season — all under O’Shea.

His team, from the humbling struggles of the 2014 and 2015 seasons, has evolved into the flagship franchise of the Canadian Football League. But how has O’Shea found this sustained level of success? It must take a rock solid and well-defined M.O. — the modus operandi, or in layman’s terms, the habits and manner of operating.

So, what exactly is the M.O. of Mike O’Shea?

Winnipeg running backs coach Jason Hogan mentioned O’Shea’s “pillars” in speaking with Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press recently.

Hogan said, “The four pillars we stand by were hand-written by [O’Shea] on a whiteboard in our team meeting room, and that’s been enough to get the best out of a room full of high-end competitors each and every day.”

Damn. Simply written on a whiteboard — oh so O’Shea. No flash. No glamour. Simply workmanlike, blue collar — emblematic of the head coach’s trademark sideline attire of shorts and a chewed-up ball cap, appearing ready to take on a hard day’s work.

These four pillars — the still-mysterious tenets that guide the ways of Mike O’Shea’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. I say mysterious because, in the ten years of O’Shea’s tenure in Winnipeg, after countless interviews held and articles written, never once have we seen them spelled out.

While we on the outside don’t know specifically what these four pillars are, I will gather a theory and present it here.

Love the game.

When describing his players, O’Shea often begins by saying, “He loves football.” It might sound trite or cliche. But it’s not. O’Shea clearly values players who want to be there, who want to work, and who love the process of it all. It took years, and like moths to a flame, O’Shea began attracting the right players. The facility is now filled with hyper-competitive grinders, and it’s just one reason why this team is built to handle adversity and uphold sustained success.

Everyone is a starter.

It’s become clear through the years that it’s not just star players who make O’Shea’s Blue Bombers tick. Everyone contributes, and each and every person in the building works to “go 1-0” every week. O’Shea hates the word “backup.” He’s been clear, he doesn’t see football that way. In football, injuries happen, and a “backup” will need to step in and step up. Look at what “backup” linebacker Tony Jones has done over the past month, including his eye-opening stat line from Week 16; 7 total tackles, a pass knockdown, a sack, and an interception. In that 27-14 Week 16 win in Edmonton, fellow “backup” and rookie Michael Ayers had a key interception to help secure the Bombers’ victory.

Do the little things right.

It is obvious that Mike O’Shea is driven by winning. The first ballot Canadian Football Hall-of-Fame linebacker won three Grey Cups as a player and was known for his hyper-competitive drive on the field while playing to the absolute edge. He’s stated countless times; the difference between winning and losing often comes down to just one or two plays. The details matter.

I remember a few years back, with the Bombers already up big in a game, O’Shea took Andrew Harris aside following a seemingly routine play. Harris was pushed out-of-bounds after a big run, and there to my surprise, was Mike O’Shea coaching-up the future Hall-of-Famer despite the team holding a multi-touchdown lead. Why? Well, Harris went out of bounds backwards instead of forwards, keeping the clock running. A small detail, seemingly inconsequential at the time. But O’Shea felt it important to coach in that moment as it could possibly be the difference between three and seven points, had the game been close.

Football is made up of countless split-second decisions, any one of which could be the difference in a game. For O’Shea, it’s important to be on top of all of the details. It can be the difference between winning and losing.

Honour your teammates.

You hear it all the time in interviews when players talk about their “brothers.” Look at how excited his teammates were when Brady Oliveira secured his first touchdown of the season a couple weeks ago, sparking the “Chicken Box” meme. Football is widely, and rightly, regarded as the greatest team sport. Plays that seem simple are a complex symphony of minute details. A receiver isn’t wide open deep down field if his teammate doesn’t draw the safety away. If the offensive line doesn’t contain the pass rush, the quarterback can’t deliver the ball accurately and on time. The best football is a symphony of sacrifices for your teammates — Mike O’Shea the silent conductor.

I don’t know if these “four pillars” are as they were written on O’Shea’s whiteboard. I do know, however, that whatever they truly are, they provide a fan like me a very secure sense that foundational and enduring principles for winning football guide my team.

From a 13-28 record in his first 41 games as Blue Bombers head coach, O’Shea has gone 92-39 since, and hoisted two Grey Cups for Winnipeg. O’Shea’s done a lot of winning. He’s also done a lot of learning. And that, in itself, might just be the scariest part for any team facing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers; Mike O’Shea is becoming a better head coach, and his troops a better team, with every win and every loss.

Love the game. Everyone is a starter. Do the little things right. Honour your teammates. And in the end, “You either win or you learn.”