The Montreal Alouettes’ journey has not been easy in 2022, both on and off the field. Here is, in a few points, a summary of the last season of the Birds.
Quick outings for Adams and Jones
Vernon Adams Jr. arrived at training camp with the No. 1 quarterback position in his pocket. However, it only lasted six quarters. In the second game of the season, in Toronto, Khari Jones gave the ball to Trevor Harris, who made sure not to give it up again in 2022.
It’s possibly Jones’ best decision: Harris had one of his career-best seasons with over 4,000 passing yards, cementing his place among the Ambrosie League’s elite.
Adams was then kicked out of Montreal, being traded to the BC Lions in late August for a first-round pick in the 2023 CFL Draft.
Jones, who had not been appointed by general manager Danny Maciocia, did not last much longer than his quarterback: when his club was down 1-3, Maciocia decided to make a move broomstick, showing the door to Jones and defensive coordinator Barron Miles.
Maciocia then descended along the sidelines to replace Jones, while he handed the reins of his defense to his friend and ex-colleague Noel Thorpe. The choice of offensive plays, a task that Jones had performed until then, was entrusted to Anthony Calvillo, who became the de facto offensive coordinator without having the title.
The Alouettes named Jason Maas as head coach last weekend, while Byron Archambault, one of the four other candidates Maciocia met with, was promoted to assistant head coach, in addition to retaining his role as coordinator of special units.
André Bolduc, running backs coach and assistant head coach, did not want to work for an eighth different head coach in Montreal. When he found out he didn’t have the job, he decided to listen to offers from other teams in the league before settling on the Saskatchewan Roughriders, where he will fill the same role as Montreal.
Surprise outing for Cecchini
At the same time as we learned of Bolduc’s departure, another important part of the Alouettes’ organization chart left the club: President Mario Cecchini.
The owners group decided not to renew the contract of Cecchini, in office since January 2020, even if the attendances have seen a considerable jump – almost 5,000 people on average per game – between 2021 and 2022, the only two seasons at the in which the CFL played games during Cecchini’s reign.
A great ally of Maciocia, Cecchini should be replaced, assured minority shareholder Gary Stern on his social networks.
On the way to the playoffs
Meanwhile, on the field, Maciocia was right to have confidence in his club: under his guidance and keeping roughly the same squad, the Alouettes compiled a record of eight wins and six losses to finish second in the East and advance to the CFL playoffs for a third consecutive season.
Harris, with his 4,157 passing yards and 20 touchdowns (against 12 interceptions), but especially receiver Eugene Lewis – 1,303 yards on 91 receptions and 10 touchdowns, statistics that allowed him to be a finalist for the title of the CFL’s most valuable player, ultimately won by Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros – were largely responsible for the Alouettes’ success on the field.
For the first time since 2014, the Alouettes have won a playoff game, defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 28-17 in the Eastern semi-finals. Their run came to an end a week later, however, as the eventual Gray Cup winners Toronto Argonauts stopped them 34-27 in the division final.
To sell or not?
The club’s senior management also found themselves in the hot seat when the very talkative Stern was removed from the day-to-day activities of the team and lost his governorship.
Cecchini replaced him as governor until his dismissal. But a mystery persists: that concerning the identity of the majority shareholder.
It is that after the death, in July 2021, of Stern’s father-in-law and business partner, Sid Spiegel, his shares (75%) of the Alouettes returned to his estate. Discreet until then, the Spiegel children have decided to take their place. But only internally.
They didn’t attend a single club game before the Eastern semi-final and didn’t meet Maciocia until the club’s last game, in Toronto. Montreal supporters and media have still been unable to put names and faces to “the estate.” Cecchini had promised, during the management report, that the organization was working to set up a first meeting with the heirs. Impossible to know if it still holds.
Cecchini had assured that the shareholding was committed to the team and that the Montreal concession would not find itself again on the market. How long will this commitment hold?
At the top
In the Gray Cup final, the Argonauts ended the reign of the Blue Bombers. The Manitoba team, which was trying to become the first team since the Eskimos (1978 to 1982) to win three consecutive titles, lost 24-23 to the Argos.
The Bombers were again the best team in the West, although the Lions could have warmed them up a little more had it not been for the costly injury to Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke, who missed the second half of the season.
The Manitobans finished first in the East and defeated the Lions 28-20 in the East final, but ran into the Argos who continued their ascent to the final.
At the top (bis)
In Canadian university football, the Rouge et Or of Université Laval signed an 11 victory in the Vanier Cup final, and their first since 2018.
Coach Glen Constantin’s squad — whose 10th title — defeated the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 30-24 to claim the precious title.
In the Mitchell Cup semifinals, the Rouge et Or rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat the Western University Mustangs — hosts of the Vanier Cup — 20-17.
On the Quebec scene, it is still the universities of Laval and Montreal that have occupied the upper hand. Laval (7-1) and Montreal (6-2) are the only two out of five programs to finish above .500 in the regular season.
At the Dunsmore Cup, the Rouge et Or got the better of the Carabins 25-24 by scoring a single on the entire last play of the game, following a failed field goal not returned outside the end zone.