Popp inks three-year contract extension with Als
GM plans to stay in Montreal until he leaves game
MONTREAL— The speculation about Jim Popp’s future can be put to rest — at least until, or if, another rumour surfaces, linking him to a National Football League team.
The only general manager the Alouettes have known since their return to the Canadian Football League in 1996 has been signed to a three-year contract extension — one that begins next season and takes him through the 2017 campaign.
Popp, of course, was in the finalyear of his four-year deal. No matter how you spin the scenario, that made him a lame-duck GM and it didn’t look good on the organization, specifically owner Robert Wetenhall. Wetenhall’s a different cat who does things his own way, on his own time frame. And the fact he’s the one signing the cheques affords him that luxury. He told Postmedia News weeks ago, informally, the deal would get done — and now it has.
And, if anyone cares to remember, the last time Popp was in the final year of his contract, 2010, his new deal wasn’t announced until August. So, Wetenhall and the organization actually are ahead of schedule.
The supposed haggling last winter over the length of the deal — and whether Popp would remain head coach after replacing Dan Hawkins five games into the season — seems rather trivial.
“I hope to grow old with this organization,” said Popp, who turns 50 in December. “I plan to be here. Mr. Wetenhall knows that. I plan to be here, to fulfil my contract. I do everything I can to have success, no matter what’s going on, no matter what.
“There was never any doubt or worries from my end that these discussions would take place. It was a matter of when. I have a contract to the end of the year. There’s no rule that says you have to extend somebody until that contract’s almost completely done. It’s up to the owner when and how he goes about it.”
Publicly, at least, Popp was saying all the right things. But last winter — when he wanted a shorter deal and Wetenhall insisted the contract be longer, and when Popp was left swinging in the wind, believing he would return as coach as the days and weeks continued to pass without an announcement — potentially has taken its toll, no matter what anyone says.
If the relationship between Popp and Wetenhall — or perhaps between Popp and Andrew Wetenhall, who eventually will assume ownership — isn’t strained, it may well have been altered. Forever. The fact Popp’s no longer coaching the Als means little in the grand scheme of things. But the fact he wasn’t involved in the selection process before Tom Higgins was named head coach, is abnormal.
“No hard feelings. It’s a business. It’s his team. He makes the decisions,” Popp said. “I never asked to be the head coach. I knew the entire time I might not be the head coach.”.
Rest assured the next time the Als are seeking a head coach, Popp’s input will be required. Popp wouldn’t disclose whether his new deal contains an escape clause — and he didn’t have to. When an employee devotes nearly two decades of unparalleled service to an organization, no boss will prevent him from seeking a promotion, should one be presented.
Popp has come close. In January 2012, he was interviewed by the Indianapolis Colts. That same winter, his name was linked to the New York Jets. And a year later, he was one of four finalists in Carolina.
“Whether it happens or not, I don’t sit and dwell and worry. I just don’t,” said the North Carolina native. “I’m very fortunate to have a job. There’s really just two pro football leagues, 41 GM jobs — and I’m one of those people. I’m very fortunate, and I know it.
“Not a lot of things could be much better.”