Closer look at Popp

he gets a lot of pub but really?
-he has never developed a QB
-he rode the coattails of Don Mathews into league
-has always had a H0F QB that he inherited
-the only other QB he really went after was Casey Printers
-he works out of the states brags along with the past coach he has a lot of free time
-he was an abject failure as a coach but wanted to continue. Several vets almost packed it in there with popp throwing them under the bus.
-was replaced as the coach by the president of the team
-then torpedoed the president
-has applied for 6 NFL jobs...publicaly

imagine if he didn't have a HOF QB that he inherited
imagine if he had to follow Buono's work developing 5-6 QB's
he states who cares who the back-up is?

he did bring in Trestman?
perhaps.
and who did he develop? really?

you all point to running backs but then say...dime a dozen

take away Calvillo and you have Winnipeg in a watered down east during his reign.
and this will be the year we see it.

hes credited with thinking outside the box.
but has he? Rode Mathews and Trestman who was outside the box granted. Lightning in a bottle and a HOF QB. Think Mike Shanahan for comparisons.

I'm not going to slag Popp's past accomplishments. Just because I'm angry with him today doesn't mean I'm going to rewrite history. Having said that, I do believe that he has fallen off substantially in the past few years, specifically since the 2010 Grey Cup win. I no longer see the same guy with the insane drive to compete and outwork his competition. Instead, I see a complacent part-time GM and full-time self-advertiser more interested in polishing his resumé for NFL opportunities every offseason than in doing what's best for the Alouettes.

I agree but it could be a mid life thing, has a huge family like 5 or 6 kids, he’s lost his mom and dad, he’s been doing the same job for 16 years and now to make matters worst he sees a half a dozen guys that worked for him get gigs in the NFL. I think he will get through it. I mean sixteen years is a big friggin window. Who does not get hit with a bout of depression or illness or just not sure if they still like their job in a sixteen year span. He will figure it out. He’s a high character guy and he’s never lied to the fans. He will either get out of it or move on but I’m encouraged to see that our owner and his son are part of the selection process, kind of put my mind at ease that there is no plan to sell the team or go on the cheap. :thup:

Your not the first to bring up the quarterback thing. But my answer when I hear this is that he was pretty much the only guy who saw something in AC when he was tossed out by Lancaster so the point is moot. He has even more merit taking a chance on AC when the chips were down than picking up the shiny new QB up from the NCAA or NFL cut. No question his amazing record is tied to AC’s success but he signed him and he also always made sure he had an AllStar Oline to protect him. No other team in the CFL has had a #1 or #2 Oline in this league every year for 15 years. These two guys success are tied at the hip.

I agree that it happens to everyone, but the org at some point has to do what’s right for the Als. Either he gets his mojo back or he moves on and lets a younger guy step in and steer the ship. I too am happy to see the owner involved in the selection process. Bob isn’t stupid; he knows that the franchise is at a critical point. Make a bad hire here and we could be in serious trouble for the next 5-8 years. Make a good hire and we have a chance to recover from Brutus jumping ship while setting up the transition to life after Calvillo…

There are some persons on this site who, I believe, rate Popp as being the " second coming " with respect to Popp's functioning as GM with the Montreal Alouettes. Indeed Popp has scouted and signed many excellent players some of whom have excelled on the football field. I believe his greatest coup was delivering Jerald Brown and Billy Parker, both in the same season ,to our football team. His evaluation/ recruiting abilities has played a major role with respect to the team's success in these later years. Bringing Coach Trestman to the team was another example of Popp's amazing GM skills. There are some of us, however who would accuse Popp of perhaps coasting on his previous success ,in the past couple of seasons. Perhaps Popp's inability to locate a decent punt/ skill specialist is an example of this.

Popp has a HUGE ego,which for the most part has been well deserved. However in several situations some of us are reminded of the old saying of " what have you done for us lately."Clouding this is Popp's non verbal behaviors which would indicate Popp is/has grown tired of his role in Montreal and feels he is in need of a change. His activity lately has indicated that this is so. In my working situation I was able to make several vocational changes which brought me great satisfaction and, I understand exactly how Popp might be feeling. I have no doubt that Popp would have left the Als in a second, as did Trestman did, had he been given an NFL option. Popp is looking for a change. Although generally successful, Popp has made some aggrieved errors in his GM position. The first error was his belief that he had the skills required to coach the team. Secondly, I believe that when confronted by coaching inadequacy, he reached out to Casey Printers and, thought Printers was accepting of his terms. In effect he could have benched the Als QB but, to relieve his own anxiety, he might have given this QB position to Printers. Thankfully Printers left Popp standing at the alter of the Pierre Trudeau International Airport. Popp has made other errors such as not giving either Larry Taylor or Chad Owens the K/P returning position. However, I would rate Popp highly over the years on the job.

Popp is presently faced by a huge task, which is, locating a replacement for Coach Trestman. Popp is definitely able to handle this type of transaction. However, I read that the owner of the team will also be involved in this process and perhaps another Als executives. Will Popp have an exclusive decision to make the coaching decision?It appears not and, this might be unfortunate for the team. Those executives main concern has to be the team's bottom line- profit! Also, from reading several posts on this Forum, it appears bilingualism is a part of the conditions the team will consider as required by the candidates. Quebec football has, in recent years, is emerging as a fan acceptance and, Quebec politics might be a factor in this coaching decision.

Popp demeure un des meilleurs DG de la ligue. Il n'est pas parfait, mais il demeure un des meilleurs.

L'histoire que l'équipe considère important d'avoir un entraîneur-chef bilingue est de la bouillie pour les chats. L'équipe est à Montréal. Elle n'a pas le choix, pour ne pas s'attirer les foudres des journaleux des média francophones, que de dire qu'elle considérera des candidats bilingues. Mais à la fin, l'équipe choisira le meilleur candidat.

Laisser entendre que la question politique au Québec est une considération dans l'esprit de Popp m'apparaît ridicule. Popp a amené les Alouettes à Montréal en 1996, un an après le référendum de 1995. Si cela avait un tant soit peu d'impact, l'équipe ne serait pas venue de Baltimore à Montréal. Popp est là pour les affaires, et pas autre chose que les affaires. Dans son cas, les affaires c'est le football.

Popp sait qu'il a une tâche colossale devant lui, d'autant plus qu'il vient de perdre son adjoint. Mais son avenir est plus que jamais lié à ce qu'il va réussir pour les Alouettes devant cet imposant défi car ses options vers la NFL se sont toutes refermées. Je ne vois pas de meilleur homme que lui pour le relever.

Il faudra peut-être à Popp 2 saisons pour remettre l'équipe sur les rails, mais je ne crois pas qu'il navigue à l'aveuglette dans ce processus. Il a certainement fait des contacts et des entrevues pour le mener à bien.

Au risque de me répéter, lorsque Trestman a commencé à choisir ses adjoints, le rendement de l'équipe a décliné. Je préfère que ce soit Popp qui les choisisse, car il a un très bon oeil pour trouver chez les gens les qualités dont son équipe a besoin.

Certains semblent intéressés à ce que le dénigrement de la direction football se poursuive, quitte à affirmer des choses qui n'ont pas vraiment de fondement. Pour le moins, c'est là faire preuve d'une tiède affection pour l'équipe. Nous le vivons dans les média francophones de Montréal, et dans une moindre mesure, dans ce forum aussi. Mais en fin de compte, la réalité est que personne de ces gens n'auraient de meilleur candidat à proposer pour relever MAINTENANT le défi de Popp.

Pour ma part, j'estime que plus le départ de Popp de l'équipe sera éloigné, plus longtemps nous encouragerons une bonne équipe à Montréal.

:thup: :thup: