Could Marc Trestman's message be wearing off?

Professional sports coaches will always have a shelf life. Some will last for a single season while others could coach for a very long time with the one organization.

In the case of Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman, he is entering uncharted territory as the longest tenured coach of the franchise since their return to the CFL in 1996.

No argument Trestman has had the greatest start to a CFL coaching career taking the Alouettes to three consecutive Grey Cup appearances and winning twice. Many pundits wondered if there would be a bronze statue at a downtown Montreal park honouring his coaching achievements.

In Trestman's first three years the Alouettes had accumulated a 38-16 regular season record. However, in the last two years they have mustered a 21-15 mark and have not qualified for the Grey Cup. Most CFL teams would be envious of this five year stretch by the Alouettes.  

Now, the fans are starting to question the future of this franchise if they will still be competitive once quarterback Anthony Calvillo retires. At that point, could Tretsman weigh his NCAA and NFL options?

Trestman has been on NFL teams coaching short list. Even though he signed an extension that will have him on the Montreal sidelines for four more years. Is there is any contract language that would enable him to explore his NFL opportunities?

After the recent departures of Marcus Brady and Michael Sinclair, and according to media reports  of potential dissension among the coaching ranks that there could be more defections in the horizon.

Could the message that Trestman has conveyed to his staff and players be wearing off? Professional sports is the one avenue where there is a short attention span and after the last couple of years of coming up short, could the luster be eroding?

As Montreal Gazette's own Herb Zurkowsky mentioned in his article that JamelRichardson could be fed up with Trestman's coaching philosophy and wants out. Could there be more players who are disenchanted with their leader?

Could the unsettling scenario of hearing Trestman's name being linked to the NFL have made it frustrating for the players who have seen an overhaul of the coaching staff one too many times that may have derailed their chances of making the last two finals.

These are unknown times for the Montreal organization. As one source said, "as long as (Jim) Popp is running the show, the team will be fine".  But the question that will come to surface, what about Trestman, is the coaching staff unified, will the players continue buying into his philosophy, and will he still be the Alouettes head coach by the end of his contract with the team?

One thing is for certain, the Montreal Alouettes have set the standard of being a marquee franchise with how they have reloaded with talent.   

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