The Montreal Alouettes want to finalize a deal to hire Danny Maciocia as general manager, per sources.
One of the new owners, Gary Stern wanted to have the GM in place quickly after purchasing the Als and it appears he’s zeroed in on his man. It’s in the works due in part to the help of the CFL commissioner. Randy Ambrosie had been presenting and favouring Maciocia as the GM in Montreal during discussions with prospective buyers through the entire process.
Last March Maciocia travelled to the CFL combine in Toronto, he was there to support his players who performed in front of pro scouts. The same weekend, Ambrosie held meetings regarding the Alouettes ownership situation and Maciocia was invited by the commish to attend.
Maciocia turned down an offer from the Alouettes to become the team’s president in December 2016. He described the hiring process and what went into his decision in a Q&A with 3DownNation. The 52-year-old is currently the head coach for the University of Montreal football team.
“We talked about the position itself and the offers that came with it, but the position was not the one that I interviewed for nor was it one that I felt good about,” Maciocia said in 2016.
“The timing and fit has to be right for both parties, I don’t think it can only be right for one. It’s important that we in Montreal have a football team that is a winner not only on the field, but off the field. And I think if we have that we all benefit from it.”
The Carabins played in the 2019 Vanier Cup against the University of Calgary, losing 27-13 to the Dinos after Montreal won the Quebec Conference in the Dunsmore Cup versus Laval. Maciocia is the only head coach to win a Vanier Cup and Grey Cup.
His CFL coaching career started in La Belle Province spending six years with the Alouettes from 1996-2001. The following season Maciocia joined the Edmonton Eskimos. He was promoted to head coach in 2005, guiding the Esks to a CFL championship and earned the general manager position in 2008.
During his stint as GM in Edmonton, Maciocia accumulated a 25-33 record while going 1-2 in the playoffs. His teams made the playoffs two out of three years, but during his fourth season Maciocia was let go five games into the 2010 schedule and he’s been out of the CFL ever since.
Down the way in Montreal, Maciocia watched from afar as Khari Jones led the Als to a 10-8 record and first post-season appearance since 2014, breaking a franchise-long streak being out of the playoffs which was four years. Jones’ contract was scheduled to run out at the end of 2019, however, Montreal signed him to a three-year extension through the 2022 season.
Jones had two short stints as a player with the Eskimos while Maciocia was head coach. The two men are familiar with each other and the Als want to join the pair to lead the football side.