September 29, 2016

Nye: Will Als’ coaching change work this time?

Johany Jutras/CFL.ca

The Alouettes are not only prone to turnovers on the field but there has been considerable turnover off of it as well in the last four seasons.

This week they will have a fourth head coach in four years and their fifth coaching change since Marc Trestman took a job in the NFL after 2012.

Yes, mid-season changes for the coaching staff in Montreal have become all too predictable.

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A brief history since Marc Trestman’s departure:

2013: Head Coach Dan Hawkins fired after five games, replaced by Jim Popp – they finish with eight wins and lose in the playoffs.

2014: Head Coach Tom Higgins changes most of the offensive staff mid-season, promoting Ryan Dinwiddie to Offensive Coordinator, promote Turk Schonert as receivers coach, Jeff Garcia as QBs coach and Don Matthews as a consultant – they lose in a controversial finish in the East Final.

2015: Higgins is fired mid-season and replaced by Jim Popp and numerous changes are made to offensive staff – team goes 3-7 in the final 10 and miss the playoffs.

2016: The team announces Jim Popp will not finish the season as head coach and Jacques Chapdelaine takes over on an interim basis and takes over offensive play calling from Anthony Calvillo – the result…. Stay tuned.

The Alouettes are consistent at least but constant coaching change over is never a recipe for success but is there any hope it work this time?

What usually happens when a coaching change is made mid-season is the team gets an initial surge. Maybe the players feel their jobs are all of sudden on the line, maybe they really didn’t like the last guy, maybe they really like the new guy, or maybe they just really want to make a good first impression.

We’ve also seen it go the other way and the team flops, the 2012 Winnipeg Blue Bombers come to mind after Paul LaPolice was let go and Tim Burke’s first game saw the Bombers get shut out.

Chapdelaine does not have an easy task, taking over a team that has had more than enough drama to go around.

What he does have is a quality defence, who continue to keep their team in it. Chapdelaine’s job is right up his alley, adjust the offensive system that has led the team to be eighth in the league in points scored, last in yards and last in QB protection.

The problem is Chapdelaine has no time to overhaul an entire offence, an offence that his former quarterback in Saskatchewan Darian Durant described as ‘basketball on grass’ and an offence Durant believed could equal a career year. Of course, we only got to see one half of football.

Chapdelaine’s track record around the league shows more often than not he’s got a top offence. He has three Grey Cup rings to prove it as two of those came as the offensive coordinator with the BC Lions.

Simplifying things for Rakeem Cato and the other young quarterbacks in the Alouettes stable will be vital. There is no question the talent around the quarterbacks in Montreal with Duron Carter, Nik Lewis, Kenny Stafford etc but the QB also needs time to throw.

Johany Jutras/CFL.ca

The Montreal sidelines will have a new man in charge this week (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

More importantly, the quarterback has to get the ball out his hand quicker.

That is where Chapdelaine’s system may give a boost to the Als, it’s a quick, short passing game that can draw in a defence before going over the top.

With the rest of the East Division stumbling down the stretch, just a small up tick in production could have the Alouettes back in the hunt.

However, history is not on their side. Coaching changes mid-season rarely mean a drastic change in the standings. Sometimes, the team is what it is and eventually revert back to their losing ways if they find some magic immediately following a change.

The biggest questions pertaining to the Alouettes will occur after their final game this season.

1 – Who is going to be their head coach?

2 – Will that coach actually be given time to establish themselves?

3 – Who is their quarterback going forward?

If you think those sound familiar, it’s because those questions have remained unanswered for three, going on four seasons.

Followers of the Alouettes are hoping to finally see some change, as in, not so much of it.