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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The Montreal Alouettes are back in a familiar off season position

With the CFL off season not even two weeks old, the Montreal Alouettes are in a familiar situation  to last year's musical coaching chairs.

Last week, the organization replaced former defensive coordinator Jeff Reinebold with Noel Thorpe.

Now, comes news of offensive coordinator Marcus Brady opting to take the same position with the newly minted Grey Cup champions Toronto Argonauts. As of this morning according to head coach Marc Trestman,  Michael Sinclair has left the program.

Sinclair was apart of Trestman's original coaching staff when they first entered the CFL in 2008. Sinclair had the respect of his players, as described by team leader John Bowman through his Twitter feed, "Damn. The 1 consistant in my fball career just resigned. Wanna thank him 4 helping tap into my potential. #S**tJustGotReal".

What now? In conversing with local media, speculation has grown this may not be the last defection as other position coaches could pursue opportunities elsewhere.

For Sinclair, could the last straw have been being passed over for vacant defensive coordinator's job that ended up going to Thorpe?

Sinclair has theoretically been passed over three times for the Alouettes coordinator position. There is no doubt that he will land on his coaching feet considering his ties to the NFL (from his playing days), and CFL.

As the Alouettes enter the unknown off season, it seems the initial general reaction among those who have been associated and follow this team has assumed a mentality, of we shall see how this unfolds.

For now, it is has gotten off to a peculiar start.

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Listen to me on Gamepoints, every Friday morning on The Midnight Snack, and various shows on TSN 690.

Montreal Alouettes News and Notes

After Sunday's 38-10 dismantling by the Calgary Stampeders, should the Montreal Alouettes be worried about how the rest of the season could turn out?

Most likely not, and there should be no panic among the hierarchy considering how long, and grueling the CFL year is.

A little history note, aside from their 2009 Grey Cup triumph, McMahon Stadium has been a house of horrors for the Alouettes. Under Marc Trestman, the team has compiled a record of 1-4 playing in Calgary, and have been outscored 190-132.

To sum up their loss, the Alouettes resembled a team still trying to figure out the systems implemented by positions coaches in Marcus Brady, and Jeff Reinebold. For the fans expecting the same usual offensive output should brace themselves that Brady could think differently than his predescesor in Scott Milanovich in suggesting plays to quarterback Anthony Calvillo.

A lot of uncharacterisic mistakes by the offense, as Calvillo threw two interceptions, Jamel Richardson fumbled the football after a reception, and Eric Deslauriers had two drops. These are are mental errors that will be corrected.

Moreover, with Reinebold overseeing the defense, it will take time for the pieces to get comfortable playing in a 3-4 alignment. Ask any professional football team and they will say transitioning from one formation to another is a process.

Until the defense has the right pieces in-place, in the early going there could be some tough sailing. ahead. But the players, and fans must remain patient until this is solved.

The bad news is the Alouettes lost, the good news, everyone else in the division did not win either. Montreal will have four division matches before their bye week in the middle August. So they could set themselves apart if they're able to win these critical games and be in decent shape heading into the second half of the season.

For now their focus will be on the defending division champions the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, in their home opener. I am curious to see if the Alouettes could sell out the game.

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Photo credit: www.winnipegfreepress.com