MontrealAlouettes.com
by Steve Lyberopoulos
MONTREAL – After starting the season with a record of 1-7, head coach Tom Higgins found himself under the microscope as a focal point of the team’s struggles. Now, no one is questioning the man who refused to give up hope when a playoff berth, let along a division win, was seemingly all but impossible. At press time, the Alouettes have leveled to 8-8 on the campaign on the strength of an eye-popping 7-1 run, a figurative 180-degree turn-around from where they found themselves in the standings eight weeks ago.
Heading into a critical two-game span that begins with a decisive home matchup against the Toronto Argonauts this weekend, we caught up with the four-time coach and one-time GM after practice at Parc Hébert on Wednesday to reflect back on the trials and tribulations of 2014 and pull back on the curtain on a behind the scenes unsung hero.
It couldn’t have been easy to start your first season in Montreal at 1-7. What kept you going during a stretch like that?
This is a very, very difficult career in which to make a living. If it’s to be said, we have three grown children, and [my wife] Sharon raised the kids [laughs]. Dad was just an innocent bystander. I say that a bit tongue-in-cheek but if you don’t have someone who’s very supportive, you can’t do this job. And, so, she’s been involved in the CFL for over 30 years as a wife of a player, of an administrator, and of a coach. There are a lot of things that she does behind the scenes that people don’t truly understand because [our football team] is a family. She’s gotten together with the wives and girlfriends for some gatherings. Some of them are going through the ups and downs of winning and losing for the first time, so these gatherings help unify the group and get the support at home. Their husbands come home beat up and tired but they know they’re not in this alone. There are many things that your significant other can do behind the scenes that helps you in the overall picture of caring about our players as individuals and not just as football players. She’s been a big part of the whole process of how I’m ablet o get up and smile each day. Hey, I don’t have anything to ever worry about at home! I wake up, and actually have lunch made for me. People tell me “you’re spoiled” and I say “yeah, I know, I am”. She’s allowed m the opportunity to do this for many years.
Your positivity seems to have rubbed off on the players too.
This will be my 32nd year involved in the CFL. and it’s easy to keep on a level keel – the positive attitude just comes from being one of the luckiest men in the world to be doing something I love. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I spent 6 years as director of officiating, and having the opportunity to come back and be on the field is truly a treat and to me just feels right. It’s very important to know that, the head coach and quarterback get way too much credit and way too much blame. There’s enough to go around for everybody. If you can take pressure off the athletes when you’re 1-7, that’s what a coach should do. The one thing that all of our players didn’t do and I like to think it’s because we [the coaches] didn’t do it: we didn’t change our philosophy or our thought process, it was still the same as it was in training camp. Some things came up that that challenged us to stay the path and then suddenly things started to go our way. We’re at a point where we’re not done: this season is an opportunity for us to continue this fascinating journey that we chose to all go on together.
You were out of coaching for 6 years while serving as the CFL’s director of officiating. Being back now, has this crazy season taught you anything new?
Well, I can tell you that [team owner] Bob Wetenhall, [general manager] Jim Popp, Tom Higgins, and the Montreal Alouettes have never experienced anything like [this season] before. For a while there you’re thinking: “hey, this isn’t what I signed up for, I didn’t think it would be like this! [laughs]. You play the hand that you’re dealt, and it was atough to start but it makes what we’re doing now so much more enjoyable. Even at 1-7, we were trying to look for positives. There were still a lot of positives that were happening…but they weren’t in wins. You have to believe in what you do, how you do it, and there is a method to the madness. No question; stay the course, stay confident. We have enough great athletes around that all of a sudden it was inevitable, that it was going to turn the table in our favour. With that being said, we knew we were playing each and every week with the idea that we couldn’t have come up on the short end because otherwise we couldn’t have put ourselves in the [playoff] spot we’re in now. So, now that we’re in this spot, let’s not put any more pressure on ourselves. Let’s go out and control the things we can control. You can control how you’re going to play, and if you have 44 guys believing in what they’re doing and doing what they can to the best of their abilities, I like our chances.
What did you see in [QB] Jonathan [Crompton] that made you say “I have to give this guy a shot”?
His football IQ, his demeanour, and his confidence. When he steps in the huddle, he has 11 other guys believing that he can do it. And what he’s done really well is taking care of the football. We’ve talked at length so that he realizes that we don’t expect him to carry the team. And we also talked about taking as much pressure of him as we possibly can. Another example: we lose a leading rusher in the CFL [RB Brandon Whitaker] and then all of a sudden Tyrell Suton is the next guy up. And that’s what you always have to say is: “who’s the next guy up?”. We lost Kyries Hebert: next guy up, Winston Venable. It’s never-ending, it just keeps on going. With Jonathan, the one thing that you liked is that he had the it factor, and no one can really describe it. It’s just something where you’re going “he has something that allows him the opportunity to win”. Some of his stats probably aren’t all that great and people looking at it and questioning it. What we really care about is the w[in] in the end. He’s been able to continue to get us those.
You’ve been a GM, and a coach, so you know how it goes. What’s it been like working with oft-traveling general manager Jim Popp?
He does such a good job, as well as the whole scouting department – of giving us the opportunity to pick up players. When a player (like KR Larry Taylor) gets hurt and you have an option like James Rodgers waiting in the wings, that’s really special. Yes, we struggled a little bit at the quarterback spot. Jonathan became available and we brought him in and all of a sudden he was capable of taking the reins. Anytime that we needed to have athletes brought in, they’re here, and that’s a sign of a really well-run organization. Day-to-day, Jim and I are always in touch. He may well just be upstairs. We’re always communicating to each other how things are going and what’s happening around the team, so he has a good understanding of where we’re at. He’s done this for such a long time. Our relationship is excellent.
