Jim Popp is no stranger to building a franchise from the ground up.
Popp spent two seasons as the assistant general manager for the Baltimore Stallions, leading the expansion Canadian Football League team to consecutive Grey Cup appearances, winning one in 1995.
The following season, Popp had to start over once again after the team headed north and became the Montreal Alouettes. The franchise took only a handful of players with them in the move and severed all ties with its Baltimore past. The franchise linked its history with the previous Montreal Alouettes/Concordes teams, whose lineage stretches from 1946 to 1987.
“Unfortunately, there are a lot of diehard CFL fans that don’t recognize the Stallions because they didn’t have the mandatory Canadian player ratio like the Canadian teams had,” said Popp, who is the team’s current head coach and general manager. “There are a lot of people that are very angry that the CFL ever expanded into the U.S.”
Popp quickly regrouped, and the Alouettes became an elite CFL team. Montreal has had a winning record every season since 1996 and advanced to five Grey Cups, losing the last two.
The turning point for the team came in 2002, when Montreal lured former Stallions coach Don Matthews to lead the team. He spent three seasons with the Toronto Argonauts and two years with the Edmonton Eskimos after leaving Baltimore. Montreal also regularly sells out Percival Molson Memorial Stadium ?its home since 1998 ? with more than 20,000 fans a game. Matthews retired late last season, citing health issues, and Popp took over for him.
“Don is the greatest coach in CFL history,” Popp said. “Had we won the Grey Cup in 2005, he probably would have retired then. But we convinced him to come back and give it one last shot. But the daily grind of coaching caught up with him.”
ALOUETTES NOTES
» Former Baltimore Stallions running back Mike Pringle spent 1996-2002 with the Montreal Alouettes, followed by his final two seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos. On June 22, 2005, Pringle signed a ceremonial contract with Montreal to retire an Alouette. The team then retired his No. 27 during a pregame ceremony.
» Former head coach Don Matthews holds the CFL record for most career wins (231), most Grey Cup appearances (9) and is tied for most Grey Cup victories as a coach (5). His last Grey Cup win came in 2002.
