Alouettes turn page on Chapdelaine era
GM Reed takes reins as head coach; Calvillo is offensive co-ordinator
On the first morning of the rest of his life, Jacques Chapdelaine and his wife went for a bike ride in Old Montreal.
His day on Wednesday began hours before sunrise. Indeed, he and his offensive assistants were in a meeting at 6:15 a.m. when he was informed by general manager Kavis Reed the organization was going in a different direction, and that Chapdelaine had been relieved of his duties as head coach.
According to Chapdelaine, Reed “made it sound like someone else made the decision.” Reed told a media scrum the decision was his, “approved by upper management.”
And so, for the final time this season, it appears the two weren’t on the same page — a scenario that began on the second day of training camp, when the duo appeared diametrically opposed to the release of Bear Woods, or at least the timing of the move.
“I wouldn’t chase conflict of personality storylines. The reality is we have a 3-8 record. We didn’t produce when we needed to. A business decision was made. That’s as simple as it gets,” Chapdelaine told the Montreal Gazette by telephone later on Wednesday. “I always had direct, frank, honest and cordial lines of communication (with Reed). I never had issues that way.”
Although Reed now becomes the Als’ interim head coach, he denied he has any desire to return to the sideline. He spent three seasons as Edmonton’s head coach, then was away from the game for a year before joining Montreal as special teams coordinator in 2015. Reed said he expects to remain the team’s GM into next season and will be responsible for finding Chapdelaine’s successor.
Chapdelaine coached the Als on an interim basis for the final six games last season, going 4-2. When the organization announced the promotion of Reed last December, it stated Chapdelaine had earned the right to return in 2017. Now, less than a year later, he has been fired.
“Jacques Chapdelaine was the choice of Kavis Reed. He was the right choice when we made that choice,” Reed said.
Anthony Calvillo will replace Chapdelaine as offensive coordinator while Greg Quick, who was a senior defensive assistant, replaces Noel Thorpe as defensive coordinator. Chapdelaine’s son, Justin, the receivers coach, wasn’t at practice Wednesday. Reed said he was excused for personal reasons, but has been extended the opportunity to remain in the organization in his current capacity.
It’s no secret the Als’ offence frequently struggled under Chapdelaine’s play-calling. It ranks near the bottom of many Canadian Football League statistical categories and failed to produce an offensive score in two of 11 games. Now we’ll begin to discover whether it was Chapdelaine who was at fault or the players he inherited from Reed.
“We tried to work with the elements we had every week,” said Chapdelaine, forced to deal with his share of injuries. “I put my best foot forward with the best elements that were available to us.
“I stand by what we taught and did. I understand we lacked production at times, but there are some good elements in the offence. Is it suited for all the players we had?”
Veteran slotback Nik Lewis claimed he hasn’t opened his playbook in eight weeks. “It can’t be too complex,” he stated.
Quarterback Darian Durant will remain the Als’ starter and, according to Reed, will have more of an input in the team’s offence and game-planning. Durant wouldn’t comment on whether he was eliminated from that process by Chapdelaine, stating it was time to move forward.
“We all feel accountable. We’re responsible for the results,” Durant said. “I think A.C. is going to adapt a little bit to the guys’ strengths and weaknesses and make it better suit the players. My job is to tell him what I like and don’t like. He makes a plan based on that. With the input, it’ll help us all.
“I think our relationship will be good. I think we see the game the same way with us both being quarterbacks. That will help transfer over to his play-calling.”
This marks Calvillo’s third stint in an offensive coordinator’s capacity in only his third season as a coach. When Chapdelaine was named interim coach last September, he removed play-calling duties from Calvillo, who was appointed the quarterbacks coach this season.
But despite his lack of coaching experience, Calvillo said he has always been comfortable calling plays, creating his own call-sheet this season for experience.
“The experience I’ve gained has really helped,” he said. “I’m going to adjust the way we look at certain things. How can I put these guys in the best position?”
Calvillo will be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame Thursday night in Hamilton. He said he would now skip the ceremony under the circumstances, while Reed maintained Calvillo would be forced by him to attend.
Reed said two coaches with CFL experience will be added on Thursday, but denied one would be longtime defensive guru Rich Stubler, who’s recovering from hip surgery and remains under contract to Toronto.
Finally, veteran rush-end John Bowman suffered a fracture to his left hand against B.C. last Friday. But Reed said he’ll play Sunday, against Ottawa, wearing a partial removable cast.