WINNIPEG

It was clearly a matter of when, not if, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers would fire head coach Tim Burke.

The hammer finally fell on Wednesday, one day after Wade Miller was made the organization’s permanent president and CEO.

“Tim Burke was in an extremely tough spot when he took over,” Miller said during a press conference at Investors Group Field. “Any interim coach or coach who takes over in the middle of the season is going to have a tough turnaround, and that was made very difficult as well with the actions of the general manager prior (Joe Mack).

“It was the right step for this organization. Typically a new general manager’s going to want to hire his own person, and I believe now that we’ve set that path for a new general manager to be able to make his own determination of who his head coach should be.

“And also, I didn’t feel that it was appropriate to have Tim waiting for the next three or four or five weeks in determining what his future was with the organization.”

Burke, who has one year left on his contract, was 7-21 as Winnipeg’s head coach, including 4-5 as the interim boss after taking over for the fired Paul LaPolice eight games into the 2012 campaign. Winnipeg was 3-15 this season and missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time in Winnipeg and am grateful for the opportunity this franchise gave me,” Burke said in a press release. “The fan support in this city and province is just really remarkable, and it is one of the greatest things I can take away from this experience in Winnipeg.”

Interestingly, Miller said the Bombers would be interested in having Burke as their defensive co-ordinator next season if the new head coach were up to it. Burke joined the Bombers originally as their defensive co-ordinator in 2011 and helped guide the team to the Grey Cup. It was the fourth consecutive Grey Cup trip for Burke as a defensive co-ordinator.

“We’d be lucky as an organization to have Tim back as a defensive co-ordinator,” Miller said. “That’s a decision that the new head coach and general manager will make, but that is definitely something that Tim and I discussed. He has a record as a defensive co-ordinator, going to the Grey Cup four years in a row, winning two of those, so that’s something that is definitely open.”

Firing Burke before hiring a general manager is a bit of a backwards move, especially if the new GM wanted to keep Burke on as head coach.

“I guess if he wants to interview Tim Burke, he would,” Miller said. “I’m not sure what to say.”

The new boss in 2014 will be the club’s fifth in seven seasons, following Doug Berry, Mike Kelly, LaPolice and Burke. Miller said the new head coach will bring “an attitude, bring leadership, bring a vision of where we need to go along with the general manager.”

Many across the CFL believe Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterbacks coach Khari Jones, who was Miller’s Bomber teammate and a business partner, will get the job to replace Burke, but Miller didn’t bite.

“I’m not going to talk about potential candidates,” Miller said. “People that know me know I care about being competitive, and personal relationships wouldn’t impact decisions that I make.”

Other potential candidates could include current Bombers offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille, B.C. Lions OC Jacques Chapdelaine and Toronto Argonauts defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones. More than half of the respondents of The Sun’s annual You Be The Boss poll want Calgary OC Dave Dickenson, but all signs point to him waiting for John Hufnagel to leave the sideline and move into the GM chair full-time so he can take over as head coach in Cowtown.

kirk.penton@sunmedia.ca

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