FAMILIAR SCENE
GM Popp stepping aside is part of Als history
It’s hard to believe the Jim Popp head coaching era has come to a close in Montreal.
Oh, wait. No, it’s not. It’s happened four times now. Never mind. Anyway, Popp said earlier this month he wouldn’t be back as Alouettes head coach next season, but he, or perhaps the organization, made the right move in speeding that process up after a 3-9 start.
Popp’s head coaching record is 22-36 over his four stints since 2001, and it was clear it wasn’t going to get any better. It’s time for the Alouettes to find the person who is going to end their CFL long Grey Cup appearance drought, which will likely reach six years this November.
And who will that be? Let’s examine the possibilities:
Jacques Chapdelaine: The receivers coach and special assistant to offensive co-ordinator Anthony Calvillo got the interim title, which never usually leads to the permanent gig.
Then again, Chapdelaine’s specialty is offence, and his immediate task will be to get the Alouettes scoring points. If he can somehow perform that magic trick over the last seven weeks with Rakeem Cato at the controls, maybe he should get the job.
Anthony Calvillo: It’s clear Alouettes owner Robert Wetenhall wants the CFL’s career passing yards leader to one day lead the organization, but it can’t be now. Calvillo can’t even get his players to respect his offensive game plan (see Carter, Duron), so he needs to get that house in order first.
The presence of Calvillo is actually interesting, because the new head coach should be able to hire his own offensive co-ordinator. If he isn’t given that freedom and is forced to keep Calvillo, the Gong Show continues. If Chapdelaine gets the job, however, he can continue to groom Calvillo.
Noel Thorpe: Thorpe tried to flee the organization after last season and join the Eskimos coaching staff, but the move was denied since it wouldn’t have been a promotion and he grudgingly returned to the Als. He will still have a year left on his contract, but it’s hard to see him being the pick when he’s been passed over so many times before.
Kavis Reed: Montreal’s special teams co-ordinator and assistant head coach is said to be revered by the players, but his stint as the main man in Edmonton resulted in a 22-32 record over three seasons. That’s only slightly better than Popp’s career mark.
Danny Maciocia: The former Eskimos head coach, who spent six years as an Alouettes assistant, is having plenty of success on the other side of Mount Royal with the University of Montreal Carabins, but will he want to give up the security that comes with CIS football to have another crack at the pros?
One of the Blitz’s insiders said a couple weeks ago that Maciocia was rumoured to be Montreal’s next head coach. His specialty is offence, and he was also Calvillo’s offensive co-ordinator.
CLEAR CUT NO. 1
Most of the leaves are still on the trees, and the Stampeders have already clinched a playoff spot.
That is what they do in Calgary, as this is the 12th consecutive campaign the organization has punched its post-season ticket.
The Stampeders have a fivepoint lead atop the overall CFL standing, and you’d have to go all the way back to 2009 to find a team that was this far ahead of the pack at this point of the season. That year the Alouettes were 10-2 and had a six-point edge on the Roughriders and Stampeders, who were both 7-5.
The most dominant performance before that was the Lions of 2005, who were 11-0 and six points clear of the next best team through 13 weeks. Unfortunately for them, they were nowhere to be found two and a half months later when the Grey Cup was played in their own stadium.
The Stampeders will put their nine-game winning streak and 11-game unbeaten run on the line Saturday afternoon at home against the Bombers, who have won seven straight.
WHAT A COMEBACK
The home team won all four games in Week 13, which was the first time this season that has happened.
The visitors still hold an edge over their home counterparts with a 28-24-1 record, but the big lead the invaders enjoyed earlier in the season is slowly but surely slipping away.
FEWER FLAGS
A bane of fans’ existence is on the decline, as penalties hit a season low in Week 13. There was an average of only 14.5 penalties per game on the weekend, which bettered the previous benchmark of 17 per contest in Week 6.
It happens every year. Players and coaches spend the first half of the season figuring out the standard, and then they adhere to it for the rest of the way when the games get more important.
LATE HITS
The roughing the passer penalty needs a revamp in the off-season. The slaps to the head and defensive players holding up when their momentum carries them into the quarterback aren’t worth 15 yards ... Who else is loving Kent Austin’s new tinted glasses? Still trying to figure out if they make him look more mean or less mean, though ... Quirky stat of the week: The Redblacks have converted all seven of their thirdand-short situations (one or two yards) this season and allowed all 14 against, too. No other team is at 100 per cent in either category ... For those wondering about the whereabouts of TSN panellist Chris Schultz, the network says he’s taking some personal time and should be back around Thanksgiving.