Hall in it for the long haul Big Blue’s longtime defensive co-ordinator’s contributions to club’s success go far beyond the basics By: Taylor Allen Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022

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This article was published 12/10/2022 (707 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Football co-ordinators typically don’t stick around one place for very long.

If you look across the CFL, you’ll see eight of the nine teams have made at least one coaching change at defensive co-ordinator since 2019.

The lone exception to the rule has been Richie Hall and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

When the Saskatchewan Roughriders decided to let Hall go after the 2014 campaign, an inexperienced head coach named Mike O’Shea was there waiting in the wings. In O’Shea’s first season at the helm, which also happened to be 2014, the Bombers finished in last place in the West Division after surrendering a league-worst 26.7 points per game under Gary Etcheverry. Etcheverry was let go in December and one month later, O’Shea introduced Hall as the new leader of the defence.

The two had no prior experience working together, but it ended up being a perfect fit.

“As a matter of fact, we sat together at a coaching convention on linebackers, and that was probably the most communication I had with (O’Shea), sitting next to him at a clinic,” Hall told the Free Press after Thursday’s closed practice at IG Field. The Bombers will play the B.C. Lions in Vancouver on Saturday.

“But the big thing was him reaching out to me and him being a young coach. I felt there were things I could bring to the table, whether it was this organization or any organization, just because of my experience. It just appealed to me… trying to build that foundation. He had already started it, and I’m a process person, and I like being a part of those types of processes as far as developing and building.”

It goes without saying, but Hall has played a massive role in the process of getting the Bombers to where they are today. In terms of Xs and Os, Hall deserves credit for his ability to evolve and change the look of his defence over the years. But for O’Shea, there’s a more important explanation behind Hall’s successful tenure with the Blue and Gold.

“It just appealed to me… trying to build that foundation. (O’Shea) had already started it, and I’m a process person, and I like being a part of those types of processes as far as developing and building.”–Richie Hall

“The players absolutely, very, very quickly understand how much he cares about them. I think no matter what he’s calling or the defence he’s employing for a season or how he’s moving that around, the most important thing I think is the players are going to buy into Richie and they’re going to do whatever he asks them to do and they’re going to try to do it to the best of their abilities because he’s going to try to put them in the right position,” said O’Shea.

“But also, a big factor in that is he’s just such a good man that they believe in him.”

You wouldn’t be able to tell by their 14-2 record, but it’s been a challenging year for the defence as they’ve been hammered by injuries all season long. They dominated the league a year ago and gave up just 13.4 points per game, and while that number has risen to 20.1 this year, it’s still the lowest mark in the league.

Defensive tackle Jake Thomas is one of two players on defence, linebacker Jesse Briggs being the other, who have been with the Bombers since Hall’s first day on the job.

“He’s very interesting, very intelligent. He’s been in this league forever… He’s just so calm back there and he believes in coaching everyone. It’s not just the starters that he coaches, he coaches every guy up. I think that’s why we’ve been very successful in being able to deal with injuries,” Thomas said.

“And I’ve had many one on one conversations with Richie. He’s a great guy to bounce ideas off of. For me, he’s been great. He’s always given me a chance. He never gets too lost in passports. Whoever he thinks can play, plays, which has been really great for my career.”

Forever might be a stretch, but Hall has been in the league for a while. He played defensive back for nine CFL seasons, five with Calgary followed by four in Saskatchewan, between 1983-1991. Hall began coaching in 1994 as the defensive backs coach for the Riders and spent 15 seasons in Regina, which is where he now resides, before Edmonton hired him to be their head coach in 2009.

“The players absolutely, very, very quickly understand how much he cares about them.”–Mike O’Shea

He’d last two seasons in Edmonton, going 16-20, before getting fired and returning to Saskatchewan for a few years. He’s won three Grey Cups as a co-ordinator since, one with the Riders in 2013 and two with Winnipeg the past two seasons, but hasn’t been given an opportunity to wear the main headset again.

It’s not something Hall dwells on, and he’s thankful he had the opportunity to do it in Edmonton, even though it didn’t last long.

“You know something, more people think about it than I do. I really don’t think about it. I didn’t think about it going in when I had interviewed (for several head coaching jobs before the Edmonton gig), but I enjoy what I do,” said Hall.

“I enjoy coaching and it doesn’t matter what my role is. I’ve been a position coach, a co-ordinator, and I’ve been a head coach, but I just enjoy being around football.”

With five Grey Cup rings, one as a player and four as a coach, Hall has more championships than some of the biggest names in the history of three-down football. Now 62, retirement is in the conversation, but for right now, Hall isn’t done giving opposing quarterback’s headaches.

“I like to think I still have the desire to do it and I still think I communicate with the young players. I don’t think the game has passed me by, but I also know that there’s other things to do in life,” said Hall.

“There is being able to have summers off and things like that, but I like what I’m doing. I’m in a great situation working with the staff on defence and still having fun, and that’s the key thing. I’m having fun and enjoying doing it.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31