The conquest of the Gray Cup was only a few hours old. On the plane bringing the Montreal Alouettes home, after a triumph that no one would have bet on a few weeks earlier, general manager Danny Maciocia turned to Jason Maas, his head coach.
” What do we do now ? », he asked her. Then the two men discussed at length the “next steps” awaiting the team. The development of the “plan” continued for a few days later, at a restaurant table, where they talked again for hours.
Said plan unfolded. Quickly, key players received new contract offers — quarterback Cody Fajardo, in particular. Maciocia and Maas themselves had their deals renewed before Christmas, and the group of deputies quickly followed.
“It didn’t tempt me to live in a situation where we win the Gray Cup one year and then miss the playoffs,” explained the GM on Friday, as part of a meeting between the team’s leaders and representatives of the Montreal media.
Over the years, this event has become a tradition, a few weeks before the opening of training camp. However, there was something exceedingly different between this year’s presentation and the previous one. Something in the air was decidedly lighter. Healthier, too.
A year ago, the club’s management was trying to get out of a chaotic period to say the least – the word is probably too weak. The very recent purchase of the organization by Pierre Karl Péladeau, it was hoped, would put an end to an untenable situation which had, for example, temporarily deprived Maciocia of the power to hire new players. For him, as for newcomer Jason Maas, everything had to be done. Or to do again, so much so that the two men seemed to be the only survivors of a forest fire.
Conversely, on Friday, the word “stability” was on everyone’s lips, and optimism was everywhere in the room. It’s obviously more joyful when the challenge of the moment is to defend a championship, but it’s not just that. The coaching staff has remained almost entirely the same. And within the lineup, despite some notable departures – notably Austin Mack and Lwal Uguak, who are trying their luck in the NFL, and William Stanback, who left for Vancouver – the vast majority of the starters from last season are back.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Alouettes head coach Jason Maas
In the eyes of Jason Maas, the current situation marks a “180 degree” turn from last year on the same date. Over the past 12 months, in the field and in the administrative offices, “everyone has worked together and been successful together,” he said.
“For me, that’s the most important thing. This is how it should be. We have had a lot of success in the face of adversity; now we have to tame stability. »
Underestimated
There was, in fact, no shortage of adversity last season.
“ [Les observateurs] placed us ninth of nine, and if they could, they would have placed us tenth,” said Byron Archambault, special teams coordinator and linebackers coach. In his eyes, this famous stability is priceless.
The spirit that currently animates the team reminds Anthony Calvillo of the glorious years he experienced on the field, when he was the quarterback of the Birds in the 2000s and 2010s.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Danny Maciocia with Anthony Calvillo and Byron Archambault
“It starts with the culture we created,” believes the man who is today the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the Alouettes.
That’s what creates success on the field, and the way to maintain that success is to keep the same group of guys, and that includes personnel.
Anthony Calvillo
Even if the coaches’ speech will remain the same among the players, there is an awareness that the external perception is no longer the same.
“We will have a target on our back,” summarized Byron Archambault. Hence the importance, he says, of reinforcing the message of “staying in control of what is intrinsic” to the team.
It’s not just in the eyes of the opponents that the image of the Alouettes has changed. The public also no longer sees things the same way. And that’s so much the better, believes Anthony Calvillo.
After his retirement in 2013, the American, a true legend of the Canadian League, remained in Montreal. He therefore never stopped taking the pulse of the supporters.
“In years past, we weren’t winning a lot of games, and people were asking me, ‘When is it going to come back?’” Calvillo said. There was always something wrong. Today, the supporters congratulate us, but they remind us that we must maintain [ces standards]. »
“The foundation is good,” he believes.
“And when the foundation is well constructed, generally, the pieces hold together,” continues Jason Maas. We are grateful to be back and to be able to work together. Now we have to take another step. »
The 2024 season of the Montreal Alouettes may not end with the same exhilaration as the previous one. However, we know from the outset that it will start on a much better note.