The Montreal Alouettes have fired head coach Jacques Chapdelaine and defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe.
General manager Kavis Reed will take over as interim head coach with defensive line coach Greg Quick calling defensive plays and quarterback coach Anthony Calvillo running the offence.
The news was first reported by Montreal radio reporter Tony Marinaro around 7:40 a.m. on Wednesday.
Though the move comes as a surprise, though reports are emerging that there was tension behind the scenes.
Multiple sources have told me it's been "war" between Kavis Reed and Jacques Chapdelaine since training camp. #AlsMTL @CFL
— Didier Orméjuste ???????? (@DidierRDS) September 13, 2017
The firings come just one day after owner Andrew Wettenhall said there could be consequences for the team’s dismal performance this season.
This was the first full season for Chapdelaine, who took over from Jim Popp midway through 2016 and had his interim tag removed in December. His hiring was announced the same day as the team promoted Reed from special teams coordinator to general manager.
Thorpe has been defensive coordinator in Montreal since 2013. He served as the team’s defensive coordinator from 2002-2007 , winning a Grey Cup in 2002. From 2008 to 2010 he was Edmonton’s special team coordinator and assistant head coach, then spent two years as the University of Montreal’s head coach. He tried to leave Montreal after the 2015 season to join the Edmonton Eskimos but then-commissioner Jeffery Orridge blocked the move, saying Thorpe was still under contract with the Alouettes. That deal ran through this season.
Montreal is 3-8 through 11 games in 2017, the second-worst record in the CFL. The offence, which invested heavily in new quarterback Darian Durant and receiver Ernest Jackson, has struggled and is currently eighth in the league in scoring.
Montreal is currently third in the East Division with six points, just two points out of a playoff spot.
