Calvillo’s retirement began Als’ descent into CFL’s basement
Since Hall of Fame QB left in 2014, team is 32-60, has fewer fans in stands
These are indeed troubled times for the Montreal Alouettes.
They’ve lost six straight games and appear destined to miss the playoffs for a fourth straight season. It’s been a quick fall from grace for a club that long ruled the East Division and was one of the CFL’s model franchises.
From 2000-12, the Alouettes finished atop the East nine times. They appeared in eight Grey Cup games, winning three.
“(Owner) Bob Wetenhall did a great job of helping to save the CFL and the Alouettes and I was just so proud to play a role in it,” said Larry Smith, the former Als player and CFL commissioner who later served as Montreal’s president. “It troubles all of us who had anything to do with the CFL, no matter what position, to see the Alouettes and the plight they’re in today.”
Much of that success came with Anthony Calvillo as the starting quarterback. Signed as a free agent in 1998 after being released by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Calvillo first served as Tracy Ham’s backup before taking over the reins two years later.
Calvillo went on to become the most prolific quarterback in CFL history, leading Montreal to a Grey Cup win in 2002, its first in 25 seasons. Two more championships followed (2009-10) and Calvillo was named the league’s most outstanding player three times.
Calvillo suffered a career-ending concussion during a 24-21 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Aug. 17, 2013. When he retired in January 2014, Calvillo left as pro football’s all-time passing leader (79,816 yards) and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame three years later.
Following his retirement, Calvillo became an assistant coach with Montreal, serving as a receivers coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator from 2015-17. He’s a quarterbacks coach in Toronto on former Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman’s staff.
Since its 21-18 Grey Cup win over Saskatchewan in 2010, Montreal has compiled a 55-80 regular-season record. The Alouettes haven’t been to the playoffs since losing 40-24 to Hamilton in the 2014 East final.
What’s more, Montreal is 17-46 since that playoff loss and finished last in the East in 2015 and 2017.
While Calvillo was instrumental in the Alouettes’ on-field success, Smith was a pivotal figure behind the scenes. He oversaw the relocation of the Baltimore Stallions to Montreal as CFL commissioner in 1996 before becoming team president the following year.
Smith, a Montreal native, left to become publisher of the Montreal Gazette in 2002, but returned to the Alouettes in 2004 and remained through 2010.
Smith, the leader of the opposition in the Senate, made over 200 appearances annually throughout Quebec promoting the Alouettes.
There was also consistency on the Alouettes’ active roster with such players as Calvillo, slotback Ben Cahoon, offensive-lineman Scott Flory ( both Canadians) and kicker Damon Duval. Montreal’s lineup also featured a number of francophone players like running-backs Éric Lapointe and Bruno Heppell, receiver Éric Deslauriers and safety Étienne Boulay, to name a few.
During Smith’s tenure in the front office, Montreal registered 105 straight sellouts at Molson Stadium, which has a seating capacity of roughly 23,500. After averaging just over 19,500 fans last season the Als are attracting 17,862 in 2018.
“The connectivity to the community was very strong too,” Smith said. “In Montreal, you must have a great product but you also have to have the connectivity with the two types of communities.
“There’s a community of business people, which Bob did a great job with his relationships. The second thing is we had the connectivity in terms of the population.”
When Smith was with the Alouettes, he’d meet two or three times weekly with Wetenhall. Wetenhall’s son, Andrew, has taken over as lead governor, but still consults with his father on major decisions.
Montreal also had front-office stability with Jim Popp, who served as GM/football-operations director from 1996-2016. Popp is entering his second season as Toronto’s GM, building a Grey Cupwinning team in 2017.
But for all of his success, Popp couldn’t find a suitable replacement for Calvillo. Antonio Pipkin started Montreal’s 40-24 road loss in Edmonton last Saturday, the 16th quarterback to start for the Alouettes since Calvillo’s injury.
Montreal is 32-60 since Calvillo’s last game. And Pipkin became the fifth starter and sixth quarterback to play for the club this season (Drew Willy, Jeff Mathews, Matthew Shiltz, Vernon Adams Jr. and Johnny Manziel).
“I think that (no replacement for Calvillo) is one key element, there’s no question because you have to have the general,” Smith said. “But you have to make sure you have a team that stays together.
“When you look at our run from 2000-10, we had many of the same names that made their careers with the Alouettes and the turnover, in my mind, has been an issue in this latest seven-, eight-year period. If there’s any good news right now, it’s they probably have three young quarterbacks with tremendous upside with Manziel, Adams Jr. and Pipkin.”
The Alouettes have struggled to duplicate the success they enjoyed under Trestman. He compiled a 59-31 regular-season record and was 7-3 during the playoffs from 2008-12, reaching the Grey Cup three times and winning twice.
Trestman left after 2012 to become the head coach of the NFL’s Chicago Bears. Montreal has had six head coaches since, including Popp twice (2013, 2015-16), Dan Hawkins (2013); Tom Higgins (2014-15); Jacques Chapdelaine (2016-17); Kavis Reed (2017); and Mike Sherman.
“They (problems facing Alouettes) can be fixed, absolutely,” Smith said. “The issue is, right now, how do you do it?”
If there’s any good news right now, it’s they probably have three young quarterbacks with tremendous upside.