MONTREAL – For the moment, four candidates rest on the office of Danny Maciocia who will have to find the best coach to ensure some stability with the work he has begun to bring the Montreal Alouettes back to the Gray Cup.
Last week, during the player review, many expressed their desire to finally see stability within the Alouettes’ nest, which has been hit by countless ups and downs over the years.
Far from being fooled, Maciocia has heard this message, but he cannot agree to it for this obvious reason: he wants to concentrate on his job as general manager instead of taking on both tasks.
“If anyone is looking for a little stability, it’s probably me,” he said with his sense of repartee. I’ve been in football for 26 years and I’ve worked for three organizations so it’s very important to me. »
Its way of achieving this objective will therefore be to bet on a continuity in the philosophy and Maciocia intends to achieve this in more than one way.
“We will have to share the same values to build something interesting,” he first noted.
“If he is bilingual or anglophone, it will be so. But above all, we will hire the best candidate. If we don’t see an advantage in an external candidate, we will take the internal one, knowing that he understands very well the culture that we have established,” agreed Maciocia.
But where he was most insistent was about the composition of the group of deputies. Whether the successful candidate comes from inside or outside, he will not have carte blanche to surround himself with his men.
“Even if we hire an external head coach, it will be strongly suggested that we keep the the state in which. People say you can’t impose assistants on a head coach, but that’s completely wrong! Maciocia said with conviction.
“You can keep your core and the successful candidate can add an element or two. I say it in all transparency, we will keep the core in place. For us, this is very important. I can’t say it will be everyone, but I hope so,” Maciocia continued.
“The important thing is to put the cards on the table to find out if this person is ready to accept such a situation. For me, it will be a priority and I spoke about it with Mario (Cecchini, the president). For us, some things are not negotiable, “identified the DG.
Maciocia concluded the season surrounded by eight assistants and none hold a contract for the 2023 season. That said, several are expected to return, as he seemed more than sincere in touting their contribution.
“In an ideal world, I would like to keep them all and I have spoken directly with them about it. The advantage of having combined the two functions is that I had the chance to know everyone. I worked with them around 14 hours a day, seven days a week. We traveled together and made decisions together. I have seen how they run their units and have a great appreciation for their work. »
Of these, Noel Thorpe (defensive coordinator), Anthony Calvillo (offensive coordinator) and André Bolduc (assistant head coach and running backs coach) can aspire to lead the club.
But Maciocia declined to say how many internal candidates will get an interview for the job.
“Currently, and it may change, I have four names in total,” he repeated three times to avoid revealing too much information.
Unless there is a big surprise, the hiring of his successor will be done before the Christmas holidays.
Possible to keep both titles?
Even if Maciocia has hammered several times that he intends, 99.99%, to abandon the role of head coach, it is not impossible that the owners try to convince him to keep both positions.
However, Maciocia and Cecchini would be ready to dissuade them from this more economical option.
“Let’s be clear, owners can do whatever they want, it’s their money. But we didn’t have that discussion and I would doubt it. Danny showed how he turned things around, look at the number of unearthed players who were a big influence in our comeback. For me, it’s a full-time job and it’s the same for coaching. In my opinion, two people is not too much,” Cecchini said.
“Because of the continuity and our end of the season, players and assistants have spoken to me about it. But I consider it a job for two people, “explained Maciocia, who has not been able to respect her family agreement, that of being able to bring her children to school before returning to the office, for five or six months. .
Where it gets tough is here.
“Danny’s challenge is to find a better candidate than him. It’s clear that we want to progress as a team so it’s a challenge (to find a replacement) because Danny is quite a head coach, ”said Cecchini.
With the very different performance of the Alouettes’ defense in the Eastern semi-finals and the Eastern final, Thorpe’s candidacy could have lost some feathers in the eyes of some supporters.
” You should be careful. After the game against Hamilton, one could have preached that Noel Thorpe should be the next coach. But, after the game against Toronto, people would have said otherwise. What you have to look at is the body of work over the years. This is how we should evaluate coaches, ”reacted Maciocia with an assertive tone.
Priorities of Lewis and Harris
Once the coach’s file is clarified, Maciocia will be able to tackle that of the players. He won’t need to dig through his files to know that he needs to contact Eugene Lewis and Trevor Harris first.
“Geno and Trevor are priorities, there’s a consensus in the organization and I’m going to venture to say that the next head coach will think the same thing,” agreed Maciocia.
Last week, Lewis and Harris admitted that the identity of the next coach will greatly influence their decision whether or not to return to Montreal. In fact, Lewis made a strong plea to be aware of major team decisions.
“I wasn’t at the press briefing, but Eugene is going to play his part and everyone has a part to play. Every decision will be the best for the Alouettes, not for Danny or any player,” replied Maciocia after the question made him smile.
As for Harris, it would be dangerous not to retain his services, especially since Davis Alexander has minimal experience to succeed him.
“We all know what this organization has gone through without having a succession plan (after the Anthony Calvillo era). What will be important is to invest in Davis and that he does the same. It takes a plan so that he is ready to take over without it showing,” said the GM.
But the most important thing will be to avoid obstacles that undermine the efforts of the group. In 2022, the dismissal of Khari Jones, the arrival of a new defensive coordinator, the transaction of Vernon Adams junior, the troubling file of Christophe Normand and Gary Stern who must cede his role as governor have caused a very trying year.
“We can’t think we’re going to make it to the championship in such a context, it’s practically impossible. We want more clarity and stability, ”concluded Maciocia, who firmly believes in the nucleus he has assembled to break the championship drought dating back to 2010.
