The theme song for the Montreal Alouettes rebuild this upcoming off-season should be The Clash’s 1981 hit song, “Should I Stay or Should I Go”. Owner Bob Wetenhall and general manager Jim Popp (should he stay), will need to carefully examine the roster player-by-player and ask themselves: should he stay or should he go?
After 19 consecutive seasons of making the playoffs, the Alouettes missed the post-season for the first time in franchise history. During their run, they have played in the East Final 15 times, advancing to the Grey Cup eight times and winning three championships. They dominated the East Division last decade but the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts have taken control of the division in the past few seasons.
All good things must come to an end and for the Montreal Alouettes, their fantastic streak, unseen in pro sports, finished when they lost to the Edmonton Eskimos 40-22 at Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday. The scoreline was fitting for their disastrous 2015 campaign.
In order to get back to the playoffs, the team will need to go through a massive rebuild, starting immediately following their regular season finale next week.
Should He Stay or Should He Go?
Who stays? Who goes? First man out should be Jim Popp. This was Popp’s third stint as interim head coach after firing Tom Higgins in week nine. He led his team to a very unimpressive 3-5 record- the same record that Higgins had before getting sacked. Popp is a good general manager, but not the best. He built two championship teams in 2009 and 2010 and was the mastermind behind the hiring of Marc Trestman in 2008. But then again, he hired Dan Hawkins in 2013, who fits in the league as much as a horse fits inside a pigsty.
Popp failed to develop a young quarterback when Anthony Calvillo was nearing the end of his career, and because of that mistake, ten different quarterbacks have played in the past two years.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have reportedly asked to talk to Popp about their opening at the general manager position. This is an ideal situation for both clubs as change is always good. Popp has been with the Alouettes since they returned to the league in 1996 and it is time for him to leave. He was formerly the wide receiver coach and director of player personnel for the Riders in 1992 and 1993 and would fit right back into that organization.
In order for the Alouettes to start winning again, they need a new face of the organization and Jim Popp is not ideal. He should go.
Defensive coordinator Thorpe is a perfect candidate to replace him as head coach. With Popp uable to travel to Edmonton, Thorpe was the acting head coach and he called a good game. After letting both Chris Jones and Scott Milanovich walk and become head coaches elsewhere, the Alouettes cannot afford to let this defensive coordinator go.
Receivers
With an average age of 28.6 years between the slotbacks and wide receivers on the roster, the Alouettes are just too old. Their top four producers in S.J. Green, Sam Giguere, Fred Stamps and Nik Lewis have an average age of 31.5 years. Stamps and Giguere have both underachieved this season and need to go in 2016. Stamps was acquired in a trade for the young Kenny Stafford, who has been putting up stellar numbers for Edmonton. The Alouettes need a young receiver like that.
The team could use their high draft selection on a wide receiver, such as Iowa’s Tevaun Smith, who is the number one ranked prospect by the CFL’s Scouting Bureau. The Alouettes can learn from the Riders, who drafted Nic Demski with the sixth pick in the 2015 draft, to what a top-ranked receiver can bring to their team.
B.J. Cunningham is tied for the team-lead with three touchdown receptions and has been on fire the past few games. He is the man of the future for the Alouettes. Rookies Alex Charette and Cody Hoffman have bright futures ahead of them and the Alouettes will need to give them more playing time next season.
Under a lucrative three-year contract, Green will be the number one guy moving forward and the Alouettes need to make every effort possible to get Lewis back for one more year to teach the kids how to play like monsters on the field.
Quarterbacks
This might be the biggest debate in Montreal over the off-season. Their current starter, Kevin Glenn needs to stay for next season. He has been playing well with his new team considering he was given little time to learn their system after being acquired three weeks ago. He is the wisest quarterback in the league and could teach his under studies the tricks of the trade.
Who will be his under study? Both Jonathan Crompton and Rakeem Cato are getting hurt way too often and their bodies are unreliable. But one needs to stay. Cato has shown massive potential but needs to learn when to play risky and when to stay conservative. Crompton has shown leadership and will be missed in the locker room should he go. This will be the toughest decision for the Alouettes brass to make.
Canadian quarterback Brandon Bridge has been idle all season but showed promise in the two quarters that he played in week one. At 6’4″, 230 LBS, Bridge would be an ideal third-down QB. The turnover-creating Tanner Marsh is too risky with the ball and needs to go.
This Montreal Alouettes rebuild will be ringing the tune “Should I Stay or Should I Go” for the next few months until the team is ready to kick off the 2016 CFL season.
Main Photo.
