Well that did not take long. The Winnipeg Sea Bears have announced today that Mike Taylor will not be returning as head coach and general manager of the Winnipeg Sea Bears. They are letting his contract run out and will not be renewed. In his place, they have appointed Mike Raimbault, current Sea Bears assistant coach and head coach of the University of Winnipeg Wesmen. He will take up both the head coach and general manager duties effective immediately. The decision comes after Winnipeg failed to win the Western Conference Final at Championship Weekend last week. Taylor had a record of 32-32 in his three years with the Sea Bears, and an 0-3 playoff record. Taylor was the first head coach appointed in franchise history and was an integral part in building the organization into a place that they are today. His contributions should not go unnoticed and he should be overall appreciated for the work he has done.

With that being said, it’s time to dive into what can be expected from Mike Raimbault. In his 17 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has a 283-211 record, been to the U Sports Final 8 the last two seasons, along with two Canada West second places and two third places. The last three seasons especially have been very fruitful for the Wesmen and Raimbault, competing at the top of the Canada West conference and have been inside the top 10 rankings in the country. On this most recent run, the Wesmen’s calling card has been defence. Raimbault has had his teams be some of the best in the country, statistically, analytically and with the eye test. That is really where they hang their hat is on that end of the floor, which has been an area that the Sea Bears have not been good at since joining the CEBL. Unlike Taylor, Raimbault employs more modern tactics that should better fit to defend the modern player and game plan. The offensive end of the floor is a bit of a different story. While he has had to mold his play around having good post players the last few years, he has also shown the ability to make changes on the fly and adapt to different situations. Raimbault has shown the willingness to play more pick and roll, going smaller, or even going bigger. But the biggest caveat to that last point is making sure he isn’t sacrificing shooting to do so. All of his bigs that play can step out and shoot open threes, and be mobile, which I think will translate really well to the pro level. He’s shown that old school flair at times, mostly due to roster construction, but he is a very adaptable coach that plays a more modern style. It should be a decently big change from what Sea Bears fans are used to from Taylor. We will have to wait and find out how it truly all comes together, how he constructs this roster, and how he wants to play at the pro level, but it should be a welcomed change.