“There’s been doubts in our staff … so much doubt cast on so many of us. That’s what keeps us going,” he says.
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On what could have been a quiet Monday this week, with no practice scheduled and the next game four days away, Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia instead conducted a personnel meeting with his staff, already preparing for the 2025 season while still in the midst of this one.
“We’re constantly trying to work, not only on the next game but the next week, month and season,” Maciocia told The Gazette. “We want to make sure we stay ahead of the curve.”
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Heading into Friday night’s game at Saskatchewan, the defending Grey Cup-champion Als had a CFL-leading 8-1 record, with only one defeat in 17 games, including playoffs, dating back to last Sept. 15. That loss, July 11 against Toronto, came during a game in which starting quarterback Cody Fajardo was injured, replaced by a struggling Caleb Evans, or Montreal might still be undefeated.
The Als reached the midpoint of their schedule — the opportune time to take stock of matters — last weekend, against Hamilton. If Montreal’s championship last season was unexpected, considering the exodus of free agents in February and the lack of ownership until March, the organization has proven it wasn’t a fluke.
But that takes nothing away from the team’s and organization’s accomplishment, considering these heights have been reached without injured players Fajardo, Reggie Stubblefield, Tyler Snead, Kaion Julien-Grant and now Tyson Philpot — not to mention suspended rush-end Shawn Lemon, who has now missed six games, and counting, for gambling on CFL contests during 2021, including one in which he played, while with Calgary. Montreal has 14 players on the six-game injured list.
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The Als’ success comes down to numerous contributing factors and individuals. While the team’s depth and ability to overcome injuries can’t be overlooked, head coach Jason Maas has provided tremendous leadership, his career salvaged in Montreal following an earlier stint as Edmonton’s head coach and being fired as the Roughriders’ offensive coordinator following the 2022 season.
Maas’s quarterback that season? Fajardo. He, too, seemingly had reached a dead end after Saskatchewan plucked former Alouettes starter Trevor Harris as a free agent. With few options, Fajardo signed with Montreal, led the team to a title and was named the Grey Cup’s most valuable player.
The Als organization is filled with coaches, players and front office members who were overlooked by other teams; reclamation projects that have flourished. And none more so than Maciocia himself. The 57-year-old from St-Léonard was Edmonton’s head coach from 2005-08, its GM and director of football operations from 2008-10, when he was fired despite having led the team to a Grey Cup in 2005. Now, more than a decade later, Maciocia admitted he wasn’t ready for the challenge.
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“There’s been a lot of doubters, not only my previous stint as a GM, but Jason’s previous stint as head coach and his last stop previous to coming here,” Maciocia said. “Cody’s story also. There’s been doubts in our staff … so much doubt cast on so many of us. That’s what keeps us going. We did it a particular way, with particular people. That’s what keeps us humble, keeps us grinding every single day.
“We realize we’re on a particular run, but we know how quickly it can end.”
It took Maciocia a full decade before he returned to the CFL, fulfilling a lifelong dream when he was hired as the Als’ GM in 2020. At his lowest point after being fired, Maciocia took a volunteer position as offensive coordinator at CEGEP André Grasset. In 2011, he was named head coach at Université de Montréal, where he wore numerous hats — coach, father figure, recruiter and architect of a football program. Within three years the Carabins won the Vanier Cup, losing two more before his departure.
Maciocia now was ready for the Als and a return to the CFL, although he was forced to wait a year when the 2020 CFL season was cancelled due to COVID-19.
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“I know I can do this at a high level, but there’s no GM’s manual,” Maciocia said. “I’m a football coach that has to balance the books. And when you’re a coach, you always take care of your players.”
To this day, Maciocia keeps in weekly contact with Wally Buono, the legendary former CFL head coach and GM, among others, seeking guidance and advice. Maciocia has become more patient with time, able to identify his strengths and weaknesses, hiring those who make him and the organization stronger.
“I understand the buck stops here; I’m well aware of that,” he said. “I’m going to sit around and tell people to challenge me. I want to know what everybody has to say and don’t want to surround myself with yes people. That way, they may pick up something that I overlooked.
“I don’t walk around saying we’re Grey Cup champions. I don’t live that way. It sucks up all the good energy.”
The Als won’t rest on their laurels, knowing there’s much left to accomplish. It’s when things are going well, Buono told Maciocia, that it becomes more important to push the envelope, keeping the players hungry. Maas, who has the pulse of the team, will do this and won’t tolerate complacency. And with all the injuries, Maciocia believes the Als have yet to peak.
“Life isn’t what you accomplish, it’s what you overcome,” Maciocia said. “That by far is the thing I’m most grateful for and tremendously happy about. This is an organization that, for the first time, is aligned and has tremendous chemistry.”
hzurkowsky@postmedia.com
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