Montreal Alouettes Re-Sign Jim Popp To Three Year Extension
By Jared Book
The Montreal Alouettes and Jim Popp avoided turning an awkward situation even more awkward.
It’s never a good sign when you go into a season with your general manager on the last year of his contract. Even more so when you don’t let him pick the new head coach of your football team. However, despite the many changes and turmoil surrounding the last two seasons of the Alouettes, Popp and the Alouettes secured a new contract for three more years.
Popp is the single greatest general manager and talent evaluator the CFL has seen since he entered the league 20 years ago with the Baltimore Canadian Football League team. In his first two seasons as GM, he made the Grey Cup twice, winning once. They were the only American team to succeed. Then, when the team came to Montreal and had to play under Canadian-player rules, he just kept getting better.
The Alouettes – through thick and thin – have made the playoffs every year Popp has been in charge and he has brought stars to the CFL. S.J. Green, Duron Carter and Brandon Whitaker were all Popp finds, in addition to Andrew Hawkins (now in the NFL), Chip Cox and not to mention Marc Trestman among so many others. He gave a second chance to Anthony Calvillo and drafted Ben Cahoon.
To be frank, Jim Popp is the Montreal Alouettes. Coaches have come and gone (even Popp had three turns at coach), faces of the franchise have come and gone. Management has come and gone. Popp is probably the most recognizable face of this Alouettes franchise. The future for Popp was always going to be the Alouettes or the NFL.
I’m sure that the new contract has some sort of NFL out-clause but I’m not sure that Popp will ever get the chance to run his own team south of the border. It’s unfortunate as, like Trestman, it would be interesting to see how he evaluates top end talent at that level. However, if the Alouettes lost Popp, who knows how long it would take for them to return to glory.
It may not be easy with Popp on board, but at least you can see the path they could take. The Alouettes have hit their share of stormy weather the last two years. There’s no one I’d rather steer the ship than Jim Popp.