Coaching candidate isn’t shy about his interest in Montreal job.
By Mike Beamish
The Vancouver Sun
One CFL coach from Massachusetts turned 67 this year and called it quits. The other coach from the Bay State turned 68 and can’t see any reason why he would.
If the Montreal Alouettes are thinking about replacing one coaching legend — from Amesbury, Mass. — with another — from New Bedford, Mass. — Dave Ritchie might be a good place to start.
Ritchie, seventh all-time on the CFL coaches’ win list, is intrigued by the vacancy that opened up Wednesday in Montreal with the resignation of Don Matthews, whose 231 regular-season wins are the most ever for a coach in the Canadian league and could stand the test of time.
The Lions’ Wally Buono, second all-time with 199 career victories, is probably ready to step down once his current contract ends at the end of the 2008 season, and he really isn’t interested in sticking around just to pass Matthews.
“I’m far enough behind that I’m not catching him,” Buono said after practice Wednesday. “I think I said when I signed my last contract, we’ll sit down and figure out what I’ll do then. I’m going to honour what I’ve agreed to, but like all of us I don’t know what the future holds. A good example is Don. I can’t tell you two years from now what my health status is going to be.”
Matthews relinquished his job as head coach of the Alouettes for health-related reasons, and there is every expectation to believe it will be his last act in the CFL, though, perhaps, not in coaching. He has property in the Kelowna area, and who knows? The Okanagan Sun might need a volunteer coach with some experience.
Now into his 47th year of coaching, which includes 11 seasons as a CFL head coach, Ritchie has anything but retirement on his mind. “I’ll probably die out there,” he said Wednesday, pointing to the expanse of green with the white lines at the Lions’ Surrey practice facility, “as long as somebody keeps hiring me. It’s what makes me tick.”
While Alouettes president Larry Smith stated that Jim Popp, Montreal’s GM and now head coach, won’t have the term “interim” attached to his title, it’s likely the Als will go searching for a replacement at the end of the season. B.C. — with defensive coordinator Ritchie and offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine — might provide some intriguing candidates.
“If they want somebody who’s won a lot of games in this league, I guess I’d be a candidate,” says Ritchie, who started his CFL coaching career with Montreal in 1983 and went 25-10-1 as head coach of the Alouettes from 1997-98. He left because of a more lucrative offer from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“Montreal’s always had a special spot in my heart,” Ritchie adds. “And I’ve never had a problem with Jim Popp.”
The Lions lead the CFL in nine defensive categories — including the fewest total yards allowed — and linebackers coach Mike Benevides says it’s smart to draw the conclusion that Ritchie is the reason.
“Without a doubt, Dave Ritchie should be the guy,” Benevides says. “Dave’s strength is his ability to communicate. He’s straight with his players, they play hard for him, and he knows what exactly you need to do to win.”
Ritchie, who had heart bypass surgery two years ago, actually looks like a man with a new lease on life. Forget the miles on the odometer. The most salient number is his winning percentage as a CFL head coach, which trails only Matthews and Buono.
