Bonded by shared championship, Grey Cup coaches now face off from opposite sidelines

Mike O'Shea looked aghast, paused and then laughed Tuesday when a veteran columnist suggested that a fourth straight trip to the Grey Cup with the same team had led him to coaching legend status in the Canadian Football League.

Hugh Campbell aside, no one else had done it, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers coach was reminded. But O'Shea wanted no part of the kudos, saying coaches like Campbell, Don Matthews and Wally Buono were on another level.

"That just sounds goofy," he said. "I could never think that way. I hold those coaches in very high regard. I've had interactions with all of them and I would never think of myself in the same light or conversation with those guys. Ever.

The bond between the two, who won the 2012 cup together as members of Scott Milanovich's 2012 Argonaut coaching staff, was plain to see.

Asked if they had shared a drink together out of the cup that year, O'Shea drew laughs when he immediately replied "No doubt."

"I know when you win one it's forever. Those memories are forever," said Maas.

O'Shea, whom he referred to as Osh, was a "lifelong friend," he added.

"You talk about legends and all that stuff. He won't say it but he is a legend in our sport and I'm not afraid to say it. He's tremendous. And I'm thankful to know him."

Both men seem cut from the same cloth. Which was all about comfort Tuesday with O'Shea in jeans and a black shirt and Maas in jeans and a short-sleeved Alouettes hoodie, with tattoos peeking out of one sleeve.

The two also showed off a down-to-earth view to coaching.

"Over time I've recognized that my role, more and more, is about just trying to deal with people before you deal with them as players," said O'Shea.

Maas called the players "the most important part of your