Bisons hope to give coach Dobie’s career a storybook ending with a Vanier Cup title

Spending portion of his puerility surviving successful a bunkhouse without moving h2o impacted Brian Dobie’s outlook connected life.

The University of Manitoba football manager gained an knowing that everyone faces challenges, and radical merit a accidental to scope their afloat potential.

Dobie has shown that to his players passim his 29-year vocation arsenic caput manager of the Bisons, which is ending with the 71-year-old’s status aft this season.

“Everyone knows he’s a bully feline and that’s wherefore he’s specified a bully coach,” fifth-year linebacker Nick Thomas said.

“It wasn’t that helium had each these brainsick schemes oregon anything. The idiosyncratic that helium is and the relationships that he’s built is wherefore he’s specified a bully coach.”

Dobie’s seventh-ranked squad has qualified for the U Sports playoffs. The Bisons (7-1) topped the Canada West league and big the fourth-place University of Regina Rams (3-5) successful 1 of Saturday’s 2 league semifinal games.

It’s a measurement toward what his players anticipation volition beryllium a storybook ending for their manager — capturing the Vanier Cup nationalist rubric for the 2nd clip successful Dobie’s career.

“When helium told america successful his code (at grooming camp) that helium was retiring, it benignant of lit a occurrence nether each of our butts,” Thomas said. “It would beryllium truthful awesome (to win).

“Everyone’s playing for him. We’ve got a intent bigger than ourselves, bigger than idiosyncratic accolades astatine this point. I consciousness similar that’s going to thrust america successful the playoffs.”

Dobie, known for his acquisition of the gab, shared portion of his beingness communicative astatine that squad gathering which ran 90 minutes.

He was calved successful Ottawa and adopted astatine birth. He and an adopted sister didn’t person overmuch stability, partially due to the fact that their begetter struggled surviving with polio.

His parents separated for a while, and his parent moved them backmost to her location state of Manitoba. They lived successful tiny towns, including 1 wintertime successful a bunkhouse connected a workplace erstwhile Dobie was successful Grade 2. His ma hauled h2o from the main location and their tiny abstraction was heated with a wood stove.

“We had nothing,” Dobie said. “We were (in) literal poverty. That went connected for a fewer years.

“It made maine aggravated that my ma had to spell done that. It ne'er near me. She ever wanted for america to beryllium and person amended than that. My ma was an unthinkable motivator.”

They settled successful Winnipeg erstwhile Dobie was successful Grade 9 and helium was capable to play sports and marque longtime friends.

He became a U of M receiver, past caput manager astatine Churchill High School for 21 years, making this play his 50th astatine the helm of a shot team.

His 3rd clip applying for the Bisons’ head-coaching occupation was palmy successful 1996. His teams made it to the Vanier Cup twice, losing to the Saint Mary’s Huskies successful 2001 but beating the Huskies successful 2007.

Sixty-four of his Bisons person been drafted successful the CFL, portion 3 (Israel Idonije, David Onyemata and Geoff Gray) signed successful the NFL. Idonije played 11 seasons and went to the Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears successful 2007. Onyemata is with the Atlanta Falcons and was the archetypal Bison drafted successful the NFL (New Orleans, 2016).

“Everybody refers to Israel Idonije and David Onyemata arsenic our top successes, and I get that,” Dobie said. “What those 2 accomplished is incredible, truthful they are large examples.

“But nary much than that feline and that feline who are retired determination being large fathers and doing a large occupation astatine their jobs and coaching their small kids’ shot teams and being large partners to their woman oregon their woman oregon whomever.

“All those relationships, they each count. They each mean a batch to me. What we’re doing present not conscionable counts, it matters. It affects people’s lives, it changes people’s lives.”

Thomas, drafted by the Saskatchewan Roughriders past twelvemonth (60th overall), is grateful Dobie gave him a chance.

He and his sister lived successful astir 10 foster homes successful B.C. He switched to shot from rugby successful Grade 12 and was recruited by the Bisons aft sending Dobie portion from his Langley nine team.

Thomas redshirted his archetypal twelvemonth successful 2017 and struggled with schoolwork. He considered quitting, but Dobie gave him encouragement and resources.

“He’s astir similar a begetter fig successful my life, thing constant. He’s ever there,” said the 26-year-old, who’s graduating with a large successful psychology.

“He’s precise relatable. His perseverance and overcoming adversities, he’s precise bully for proposal — idiosyncratic and beingness proposal arsenic well.”

Dobie besides broke down immoderate sex barriers.

Defensive backmost Reina Iizuka was the archetypal pistillate U Sports shot subordinate erstwhile she was connected Manitoba’s roster from 2018-20, but she ne'er dressed successful a regular-season game.

Current Bisons kicker Maya Turner became the archetypal to play and people successful a regular-season U Sports shot crippled successful September 2023.

“It helps knowing that (Dobie) believes successful me,” Turner said. “He’s communicated that to maine since the beginning.”

Dobie is 4th successful combined regular-season and playoff wins among progressive U Sports shot coaches with 128. University of British Columbia’s Blake Nill is 3rd (177), Western’s Greg Marshall 2nd (210) and Laval’s Glen Constantin sits archetypal with 217.

Nill was caput manager of Saint Mary’s erstwhile it downed Dobie’s squad successful the 2001 Vanier Cup. He moved to the University of Calgary successful 2005 and is presently successful his 10th play guiding the third-place Thunderbirds (5-3) successful his 27th wide season.

“He’s a tremendously caring individual, ever reasoning of the different person,” Nill said of Dobie successful a telephone call.

“It’s going to beryllium a antithetic assemblage country without manager Dobie. He’s softly for astir 3 decades gone astir his profession. The University of Manitoba and the full federation is amended for him. Certainly the crippled of shot is.”