The Canadian Press
MONTREAL — The Montreal Alouettes announced on Wednesday that general manager Danny Maciocia and head coach Jason Maas have signed long-term deals with the team. Maciocia signed a four-year contract (2024, 2025, 2026, 2027) while Maas inked for three years (2024, 2025, 2026).
The general manager did a great job in 2023 building a Grey Cup champion team. He went looking for impact players like Darnell Sankey and Shawn Lemon who changed the team’s defence with their dominance. Sankey contributed significantly to the team’s Grey Cup run. He managed to record eight tackles and a sack during the 110th Grey Cup Game against Winnipeg. In the game, Lemon made three defensive tackles and had a sack to help the Alouettes win their eighth title in franchise history.
Maciocia signed quarterback Cody Fajardo in February 2023. Farjardo was voted the most valuable player of the Grey Cup last November and has had his contract extended through 2025.
In the last CFL Draft, Maciocia was able to get his hands on young players who had an immediate impact on the team’s results such as Marc-Antoine Dequoy, Pier-Olivier Lestage, Tyson Philpot, Tyrell Richards and Lwal Uguak.
In three seasons as the team architect, Maciocia has compiled a 27-23-0 record and the Alouettes never played under .500. In July 2022, Maciocia replaced Khari Jones as head coach and led the Alouettes to the Eastern Final.
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“This is a great day for our organization,” said Alouettes President and CEO Mark Weightman. “I was pleased to work with Danny again when I returned to the Alouettes last March and to know that we will work together for the next years makes me happy. We like the direction our team is taking and this stability will only make us stronger.”
“I am extremely happy to be here for the long haul and to continue our work on a solid foundation,” said Maciocia. “I want to thank our owner Pierre Karl Péladeau and our president Mark Weightman for the opportunity. I like the chemistry within our team and the mentality we have implemented. Knowing that I will continue to work in Montreal with our same pool of players makes me very excited to start the next season.”
The general manager of the Alouettes has done a lot to grow football in Quebec through conferences, involvement with minor football and in the community. He gave a vote of confidence to many Quebec players in the Alouettes and his bet paid off. During his time with U SPORTS, Maciocia also developed many footballers who made their way to the professional ranks.
Maciocia returned to the Alouettes as the general manager in January 2020 after beginning his professional coaching career in 1996 as a quality control coach. He quickly rose through the ranks to become the team’s offensive coordinator in 2001, before taking on the same responsibilities in Edmonton from 2001 to 2004, helping the team engrave its name on the Grey Cup in 2003.
He was appointed head coach in Edmonton in 2005. On top of becoming the first Quebec-born head coach in CFL history, he hoisted the Grey Cup in his first season in that role, following a dramatic overtime win against the Alouettes. He was appointed general manager in 2007. In November 2010, he was named head coach of the Université de Montréal Carabins and, in November 2014, at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, home of the Alouettes, Maciocia led the Carabins to their first Vanier Cup championship, making him the first ever head coach to win both the Grey Cup and Vanier Cup.
In nine campaigns on the other side of Mount-Royal, Maciocia maintained a 57-16 record while leading the team to three Dunsmore Cup championships. He was decorated by the Quebec National Assembly in 2005.
Maas was named the Alouettes’ 27th head coach in December 2022. He led the team to an 11-7-0 record in 2023, ending the season with eight straight wins to lift the Grey Cup. He brought to the formation a sense of belonging and a winning mentality by giving each player a responsibility so that everyone felt important to the team.
Under his leadership, quarterback Cody Fajardo had a good first season in the Alouettes’ uniform. In 16 games, he finished first in the CFL with a passing completion of 71.4. The 31-year-old earned 3,847 yards on 317 completed passes while adding 14 touchdowns. The Alouettes’ pivot was also prolific with his legs running the ball 57 times for 344 yards and three majors.
In the Grey Cup game, he completed 21 of his 26 attempts for 280 yards and three majors.
Maas, who served as the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offensive coordinator before coming to Montreal, was Edmonton’s head coach from 2016 to 2019, where he compiled a 39-33 record, leading the team to the playoffs three times in four seasons. He began his coaching career in 2012 with the Toronto Argonauts as a quarterbacks coach for three seasons. He hoisted the Grey Cup in his first year in the Queen City. The 48-year-old coach also served as offensive coordinator for the Ottawa REDBLACKS in 2015.
Maas began his CFL playing career one year after a stint with the Baltimore Ravens. The former Oregon Duck played with Edmonton from 2000 to 2005, winning the Grey Cup in 2003 and 2005. In 2001 and 2004, the Beaver Dam, WI native was named Edmonton’s Most Outstanding Player. He then moved to Hamilton in 2006 and 2007 before joining the Alouettes and finishing his career with Edmonton, playing four years in the West. In 2007 he was a backup quarterback with the Alouettes.
The Montreal Alouettes announced their entire 2024 coaching staff on Thursday. The eight coaches were on staff in 2023 on their way to winning the 110th Grey Cup championship.
Jason Maas – Head Coach
Byron Archambault – Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator
Anthony Calvillo – Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach
Noel Thorpe – Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach
Luc Brodeur-Jourdain – Offensive Line Coach
Michael Lionello – Receivers Coach and Pass Game Coordinator
Dave Jackson – Running Backs Coach
Greg Quick – Linebackers Coach
Corvey Irvin – Defensive Line Coach
Chandler Jones – Assistant Defensive Backs Coach
David Brown – Offensive Line Assistant
Byron Archambault returns as the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator. In 2023 the team finished first in the CFL on punt average with 37.9 yards with opponents earning only 9.6 yards on punt returns, good for first in the CFL. Archambault joined the Alouettes in February 2020 as director of national scouting. He was promoted to defence assistant coach in September 2021.
Anthony Calvillo came back to the Alouettes as the team’s quarterback coach in January 2022. The former 51-year-old star was with the Alouettes from 2015 to 2017. Calvillo spent 20 seasons in the professional ranks, including the last 16 with the Alouettes. He holds numerous CFL passing records, including all-time passing yards with 79,816. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2017. Winner of three Grey Cups (2002, 2009, 2010), he saw the Alouettes retire his number 13 jersey in October of 2014. In January 2021, Calvillo was named the Alouettes Ambassador.
Noel Thorpe returned with the Alouettes for a third time in July 2022. In 2023, the team finished second in the CFL allowing an average of 21.8 points per game. Thorpe’s unit also finished second in the league allowing 39 majors by opponents. This year the Alouettes made 12 tackles on defensive/special temps, in first place in the CFL.
Thorpe’s system has made veterans like Tyrice Beverette, Shawn Lemon and Darnell Sankey successful. Under his leadership, rookies Lwal Uguak and Reggie Stubblefield had impressive professional debuts. He began his CFL career in Montreal in 2002, winning the Grey Cup in his first season, coaching in Edmonton and Ottawa.
Luc Brodeur-Jourdain has been on the coaching staff since 2019, a few days after playing his last career game. In 2023, his unit found the gaps to allow running back William Stanback to amass 800 rushing yards in just 14 games. He won two Grey Cups in 11 seasons with the Alouettes as a player.
Mike Lionello helped rookies Tyler Snead and Austin Mack make a sensational debut in 2023. Snead earned 788 yards and five majors, while Mack collected 1,154 yards and four touchdowns. Lionello was promoted to receivers coach in May 2022 after joining the team in January 2020 as an assistant on offence.
Greg Quick helped linebacker Tyrice Beverette rise among the CFL leaders with 109 tackles on defence in 2023. He was promoted in September 2021 as a defensive line coach after returning to the team in February 2021. He has over 40 years of football experience in the CFL and NCAA. Quick is on his third run with the Alouettes, having coached the linebackers in 2014 and in 2016, and 2017.
Corvey Irvin inspired defensive linemen Mustafa Johnson (seven sacks) and Shawn Lemon (nine sacks) to make life difficult for opponent quarterbacks. After wearing the Alouettes jersey in 2014 and 2015, he returned to the nest in February 2023. The Augusta, GA native also wore the Saskatchewan Roughriders uniform in 2016. In 2019, he joined the coaching staff of the Concordia University Stingers.
David Brown worked alongside Luc-Brodeur Jourdain in 2023 after two years as an offensive lineman with the organization. Previously, the 2017 Vanier Cup winner from Western University had spent three years with the Stampeders.
