Don Matthews play his job on Sunday

There was an interview on French CBC tonight with Larry Smith, the Alouettes' president.

The reporter asked him if Calvillo would remain the main man in Montreal shall he fail in the playoffs this year. Smith explained that you can see when there still a lot of good things coming from a guy, and that Calvillo has a lot to bring to the Als.

A bit later, the reporter asked if Don Matthews was on the hot seat and if he would still be the coach next year should the Als lose on Sunday.

"Lose on Sunday?", said Smith. "There is no way I'll accept losing on Sunday. Failure is not an option and Don Matthews knows it. I-WANT-TO-WIN."

Sounds like a clear message to me...

if they fire the don, it will be the worst decision they could make....
he is the embodiement of that franchise....he is what gives them thier swaggar year after year.
one bad year should not erase the last 3 or 4 years...where would they have been without him?

I agree.
One bad year should not decide his future but that is Life in pro sports.
Actually it is only a "bad" year if you compare it to his previous 3 great years
Anyone know how many more years in his contract?

I am not totally positive but I believe Matthews has one more year on his contract.
And I found it interesting what Chiu said when he resigned for 3 years. He said one of the reasons he resigned is because he asked Matthews if he would be staying here, and Matthews said yes, and Chiu loves Matthews!

And here is the quote from Chiu:

"I think there's something to be said about being loyal to a team that has been good to me," he said.

Chiu said he also was influenced to re-sign so he could continue playing for beleaguered head coach Don Matthews, who has come under some criticism following the Als' 49-23 loss to Toronto last weekend.

"We have the best head coach in the league, regardless of what anyone says. He sticks his neck on the line and just expects us to play," Chiu said. "He's a good person. You guys (in the media) don't know the half of it.

"One of my motivating factors in re-signing was that he said he'd be here."

If the Als do fire Don how long do you think it would be before the BB's offer him a contract? I'll give it 2 days.

i give it one day, if they're smart.

I don't think the Als should even consider canning Matthews.....people may peg him as being cocky, but the guy knows his football and how to get wins.....this year was a slow year, but what do you think the chances are of the Als "derailing" two years in a row under his leadership? I'd vote for not likely.....

Remember, Don Matthews has a very limited shelf life in any coaching job he's had. He's like the Mike Keenan or Pat Burns of the CFL. He gets good results in the first couple of years and then the team gets tired of his act and he moves on.

Don't be too surprised if the Als look to go in a different direction.

Don Matthews has a very different coaching style than Keenan or Pat Burns.

You will find very few players who are starters who will complain even after the guy has moved on. He is a players coach who if he likes your play supports you. He is not a screamer like the two you note.

I thought I heard the Als owner said Matthews is there guy for as long as he wants to stay. Nothing lasts forever but I doubt his job is on the line here.

???..Which two did I note??? :?

I THINK HE QUOTED THE WRONG PERSON...LOL

he meant to quote horus

Football16

I was only comparing Matthews to Burns and Keenan in terms of their cycle of keeping coaching jobs, not necessarily their style. I agree that Keenan and Burns are both strict disciplinarians, while Matthews is not so much.

My point was, Matthews just might be coming to end of his cycle with the Als, and perhaps the team might think it's time to move on, particularly if the team fails to get to the East final.

What a wonderful sight it would be. Shivers and Matthews. Probably the two most arragant people in football who care about one thing. WINNING!! If he went on the free agency, I hope that the Riders would make a bigger attempt at him then they would at a quarterback. I strongly feel that it is the coaching that is holding the Riders down, and Matthews would not put up with our offensive gameplan like Barret has. Please Don, come to the Riders.

With open arms: the Riderville Nation and bigj

Its amazing how everyone hates him, unless he is available.
But he is not.

...I think Bombers would have a look at the Don ..IF ..he gets the hook in Mont.....the only thing about coming to Wpg..... is the fact that I can't see him working with Taman...or Bauer....too much friction....probably wouldn't work out....I think Matthews has got a few good years left behind the bench....wherever... 8)

Montreal will win today, but I hope for my team that Montreal release him after the season, which if Montreal wins the cup, that's not happening and the Bombers will sigh Paopao or somebody.

Montreal the last few seasons has reminded me of Winnipeg in that both seem to be sliding since 2001.

Think abou it.

Winnpeg loses cup in 2001, Montreal loses in 2003
Winnipeg lost the West final in 2002, Montreal lost the East in 2004
Winnipeg lost in the semis in 2003, Montreal ???????

Kanga, would that mean Montreal should hit rock bottom in the next two seasons? :wink:

He will be if the Als fire him.

As for Paopao, KK, he’d probably rather be the OC in Hamilton than the HC in Winnipeg. The Bombers are owned by the community and heavily controlled by public opinion (according to Milt Stegall, not me.) They fire their head coach every year they don’t make the playoffs, and even in some years when they do. Ticat owner Bob Young, if he believes in a guy, will stick with him regardless of what everyone else thinks. Which would you rather work for?

I’d hope that Winnipeh goes private and signs me up! :mrgreen:

if Montreal lost tonight, I’d say yes, but they won. well just have to wait and see but the Montreal Football machine is starting to wear down.