Alouettes’ problems begin at the top, says Larry Smith
Gone but not forgotten, Larry Smith still fields occasional phone calls from Montreal media members perplexed over the plight of the Alouettes, using him as a sounding board.
And whenever he’s in the city, people still stop him to ask if he will eventually return to the organization for which he played from 1972-80, then spent a dozen years as team president over two terms. Officially, Smith claimed the thought has never crossed his mind, and it’s doubtful the Wetenhall family — owners Robert and son Andrew — would venture down that path a third time.
“It’s interesting to see the dynamics and I’m flattered to see that people think of me,” said Smith, 66, a Conservative senator based in Ottawa since 2011 and, since last April, the Leader of the Opposition in Senate.
After serving as the Canadian Football League’s eighth commissioner, Smith was instrumental in overseeing the relocation of the Baltimore Stallions to Montreal in 1996, where they were resurrected as the Als. He became team president the following year before becoming publisher of the Montreal Gazette in 2002. He returned to the team in 2004 for another seven-year run.
Smith was an amalgam of many things — part sideshow carny, part used-car salesman, full of bluster and bravado — but he knew how to push a product and improve the brand. And he oversaw some of the most successful times in team history, on and off the field.
Smith, who said he still watches every CFL game, is disheartened to see how the Als have plummeted in a relatively short interval. This team, which once boasted 105 consecutive sellouts at Molson Stadium while making eight trips to the Grey Cup over 11 years, is averaging 19,523 spectators — 3,900 below capacity.
The Als, 3-9 and on the verge of missing the playoffs a third successive season, have lost five consecutive games, including last Sunday in general manager Kavis Reed’s first game as interim head coach.
“The problems need to be identified and acted upon. It’s not for me to criticize anything,” Smith said, choosing his words carefully. “Bob Wetenhall gave me a great opportunity, and I’ll always respect him for that. We had a great run … 12 years … the most successful team in that decade.
“There’s two issues, management and performance. It’s clear. It’s not me speaking against the Wetenhall family. They’re going to have to put their heads together. I hope Kavis can recover and get this thing going.”
When Smith was president, there always seemed to be a clear chain of command. It started with the elder Wetenhall, then came Smith, former GM Jim Popp and the head coach. The key, Smith said, was everyone in the organization understood their roles and the expectations that came with them.
He believes the current regime is suffering from an alignment problem over how the club’s operated, but didn’t elaborate. He didn’t have to. The Wetenhall family has become overly meddlesome and impatient, while president Patrick Boivin doesn’t have the same personality, and by extension exposure and popularity, that Smith enjoyed. But then neither did Boivin’s predecessor, Mark Weightman.
“If there’s any criticism of the players themselves, because there’s a good mix of veterans and youth, when do they accept responsibility?” Smith asked. “One of the clear issues you can see, the team’s undisciplined on both sides of the ball, particularly on defence.”
If Smith remains disheartened, Peter Dalla Riva is virtually apoplectic as he faces the likelihood of another season without playoff football in Montreal.
“It’s frustrating. Maybe I take it a little bit to heart too much,” said Dalla Riva, a former tight end with the Als from 1968-81 who serves as a team ambassador. “But I’ve spent 50 years in Montreal and football. It’s my life. It got me out of the steel mills (in Hamilton). A lot of good things happened to me because of football.
“That’s why I get my back up. I’m a fighter. When you play ball, you can’t quit, you can’t roll over and die. You have to keep going. It frustrates me, but sometimes there’s things beyond your power. You just hope it works out.”
When Dalla Riva arrived with the Als, they were in the middle of a stretch that saw them miss the playoffs three consecutive years while winning only seven and tying four of 42 games. Sam Etcheverry arrived as coach in 1970, the 32-man roster was virtually overhauled and Montreal upset Calgary for the Grey Cup.
Things can change that quickly, Dalla Riva stated.
“You can get it going with good teamwork, coaching and bring everybody together, as long as everybody understands what they have to do,” he explained. “Everything changed for us in 1970. We believed in each other, stuck together, played hard and got a few breaks along the way.”
While Dalla Riva said mid-season coaching changes are tough on everybody, he’s not ready to bail on this season.
“In the East Division you definitely have a chance. It’s not like anybody’s running away with it,” he said. “It’s open for the playoffs. You win a couple of games and you’re in the middle of it. You have to believe because you have a chance. When you have a chance, that’s all you can ask for.”