Johany Jutras/CFL
MONTREAL — After a week of speculation, the Montreal Alouettes confirmed Monday that Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach Noel Thorpe will return to the team in 2016.
Thorpe will continue to serve the Alouettes in the same capacity.
The news comes a week after rumours that Thorpe was to resign from his post in Montreal and potentially join the Edmonton Eskimos’ coaching staff. Following an investigation by the CFL and Commissioner Jeffrey L. Orridge, the league released a statement that Thorpe is still under contract with Montreal and cannot leave without written permission from the team.
The Als’ front office and Thorpe have since agreed on a solution that will see Thorpe remain with the Alouettes through at least 2016, where the defensive specialist has coached since 2013.
“After speaking with Mark Weightman, Jim Popp and Andrew Wetenhall, I am confident moving forward that we addressed any miscommunication that we may have had,” said Thorpe in a statement released by the team Monday.
“I am proud to be a part of the Alouettes organization and look forward to focusing our efforts on the 2016 season.”
Thorpe will be in his fourth year as the team’s defensive coordinator. He was also the Alouettes’ special teams coordinator from 2002 to 2007.
As he has maintained all along, General Manager and Head Coach Popp is happy to see Thorpe continue with the organization.
“We have received great news today,” said Popp. “We can now put all of this behind us and move forward. We never wavered and have always believed that we could come to this conclusion.
“We can all agree that if we keep a better line of communication open, then we can avoid situations like this one. Noel is, and will continue to be, a valuable commodity to our success in Montreal. We look forward to building off the positives and taking it to another level for the 2016 season.”
Last year the Alouettes’ defence ranked fifth in the CFL in net yards and second in the league in sacks. Thorpe coaches what’s typically known as a pressure defence, one built on getting after the quarterback and forcing opponents to make mistakes.
“Noel is a very important part of our organization, and our long-term commitment to him is a testament in itself of how strongly we feel about him,” added Alouettes president and CEO Weightman.
“His success as a defensive coordinator and his potential to someday be an excellent head coach are among the reasons why we chose to insist on stability on our coaching staff this off-season, as we wish to build with him into 2016 and beyond.”
