Deland McCullough

[Waffler]

I was watching the documentary series Here Come the Irish to get some football in the offseason. And who should appear but former Bomber RB Deland McCullough who was coaching rbs at Notre Dame.  I don't want to spoil it for those who don't know his story.

This is his segment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXrEMSGQq-I

[BomberFan73]

Name isn't familiar...

[markf]

That is a Remarkable life path.

And those are Impressive admirable people.

His playing highlights remind me of the running style of pinball. Maybe it's the huge pads.

Thanks for posting it, we need positive stories.

[Waffler]

1999. McCullough on Friday night football. Ritchie was the coach.  Not sure who the 2 guys above him are. Kidding. OMG! to have that receiving group today....

[TecnoGenius]

1999. McCullough on Friday night football. Ritchie was the coach.  Not sure who the 2 guys above him are. Kidding. OMG! to have that receiving group today....

We actually had both Milt & Geroy on our team at the same time?  And we didn't win cups??

[ModAdmin]

We actually had both Milt & Geroy on our team at the same time?  And we didn't win cups??

Simon played for the Blue Bombers for 2 seasons - 1999 and 2000 at the beginning of his CFL career.

Word at the time was he did not want to compete with Milt Stegall for the #1 receiver with the Bombers and therefore moved on to the Lions.

[Waffler]

We actually had both Milt & Geroy on our team at the same time?  And we didn't win cups??

Oh, it gets even more interesting. Geroy left to try the NFL and his replacement was Arland Bruce. Imagine if we also could have gotten Geroy back after that.

I googled up an article about it. Globe and Mail.

Simon played for the Bombers in 1999 and 2000, and after two decent
seasons, he tried his hand with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. When he
was cut, Simon contacted Taman, then GM of the Bombers, hoping to
return to the only CFL organization he had known.

But there was one problem. The 2001 Bombers were one of the best teams
in recent CFL memory, and are high on the list of greatest teams that
failed to win a Grey Cup.

They went 14-4 that season, and when Simon called looking for a job,
they were in the midst of a 12-game winning streak, fuelled in part by
a loaded receiving corps that featured Milt Stegall, Robert Gordon and
an impressive rookie named Bruce.

"I flat out told Geroy that we were playing real well, that he needed
to play, and that our coaches weren't going to make a change," Taman
recalled. "Shoot, if we had lost five in a row, he would have been on
the next plane."

Taman admits that, selfishly, he should have just signed Simon and
kept him around until an opening came up at receiver. But he had
always respected Simon – not to mention begged him to stay on the
practice roster on two separate occasions during his rookie season –
and the conversation was more of a man-to-man chat, with the GM
serving the player with fatherly advice.

Had Simon stuck in Winnipeg, the offence would have been downright
scary. Besides the elite receivers, quarterback Khari Jones was the
league's most outstanding player in 2001, while running back Charles
Roberts was on his way to being one of the best ever at his position.