MontrealAlouettes.com
MONTREAL – The Montreal Alouettes’ Vice-president and General Manager Jim Popp, as well as head coach Tom Higgins, were pleased to welcome former all-star quarterback Anthony Calvillo, to an offensive coaching position for the 2015 season. The team also reported on the future of the current coaching staff.
The addition of Anthony Calvillo will inevitably strengthen the current coaching staff on offence. He who proudly wore the number 13 for 16 seasons with Montreal, received the ultimate honor on October 13, when his jersey was retired during a ceremony at McGill Stadium.
“The Montreal Alouettes is a great organisation that I was blessed to have been a part of, for so many years,” declared Anthony Calvillo. “After my last season, I knew I had to distance myself from football for a while, before coming back stronger, as a coach. I will continue to be myself, and I know I will learn a lot from this experienced coaching staff,” added Calvillo.
The Alouettes will welcome the 2015 campaign with a mix of stability and renewal within the coaching ranks following a historic turnaround that saw the team climb out of the cellar and reach the CFL’s East Final.
“It was imperative to solidify our coaching staff as early as possible”, declared Jim Popp. “We have a solid foundation returning in 2015, which will help Coach Higgins and his staff, kick start the preparations for the upcoming season in the right direction.”
“It is always great to be able to help a former player transition into another stage of his career in a profession he has excelled in so well on the field. We are excited to work with Anthony and welcome his knowledge to our coaching staff as we focus on our goal to win a championship in 2015, ” added Popp.
Jim Popp and Tom Higgins also confirmed the return of the complete defensive coaching staff, which suggests stability and continuity for the team’s defensive unit, probably one of the most effective and threatening squad in the Canadian Football League over the past few years.
A look at the Montreal Alouettes’ coaching staff for 2015:
Tom Higgins, Head Coach (2nd season with the Alouettes)
Higgins is entering his 24th season as a CFL coach with additional years as an administrator. He began his CFL coaching career in 1985 as an assistant with the Calgary Stampeders. Prior to joining the Stampeders, he served three years on the coaching staff at the University of Calgary, working for Canadian Football Hall of Fame coach Peter Connellan and helping the Dinos win the 1983 Vanier Cup. He won the Grey Cup as a head coach with the Edmonton in Eskimos in 2003, earning the CFL’s Coach of the Year Award that same season, as well as in 2005 as head coach of the Stampeders. Higgins was a significant component to the spectacular turnover the Alouettes had in the second half of the 2014 season.
Noel Thorpe, Defensive Coordinator, Assistant Head Coach (9th season with the Alouettes)
Thorpe is entering his third year as the Alouettes’ defensive coordinator and is coming off a season in which he coached the defence, which led the league with 47 turnovers. In 2011 and 2012, Thorpe was part of the Université de Montréal coaching staff, spending his final season with the Carabins as the team’s defensive coordinator, allowing the fewest points in the country with 102.
Ryan Dinwiddie, Offensive Coach (3rd season with the Alouettes)
After beginning his playing career with the Alouettes in 2005, Dinwiddie made his coaching debut in Montreal in the 2013 season as the club’s quality control coach on offence. In his second season with the Alouettes, Dinwiddie climbed rapidly in the ranks of the offensive coaching staff playing an active role in the emergence of the team’s young quarterback, Jonathan Crompton.
Anthony Calvillo, Offensive Coach (1st season with the Alouettes)
Following a stellar 20-year playing career in the CFL, Anthony Calvillo will make his coaching debut in 2015. The 42-year-old spent 16 years in Montreal where he established himself as the all-time professional football passing yards leader (79 816 yds) as well as the most career touchdown passes with 455. He also leads profesionnal football for most pass completions with 5892 passes. The three-time Grey Cup champion was named CFL’s most outstanding player in 2003, 2008 and 2009.
Kris Sweet, Offensive Line Coach (2nd season with the Alouettes)
Sweet is entering his second season with the Alouettes having previously coached in the CFL, including as the Edmonton Eskimos’ offensive line coach in 2013. He began his CFL coaching career in Calgary as the Stampeders’ offensive line coach from 2007-2010, helping the team win the Grey Cup in 2008 over the Alouettes at Olympic Stadium. In Sweet’s first season with the Stamps, the club led the CFL in both total offence and rushing offence. In 2012, he was the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
Keith Willis, Defensive Line Coach (3rd season with the Alouettes)
Willis returns to the Alouettes for a third season after contributing to Montreal’s dominant defence in both 2013 and 2014. Under Willis’ wing last year, defensive end John Bowman recorded 12 quarterback sacks, tied for fifth place in the CFL. Previously a defensive line coach for the North Carolina State Wolfpack from 2007 to 2012, Willis also enjoyed a long playing career as a defensive lineman himself before becoming a coach, spending 12 years in the NFL and recording 59 career quarterback sacks over 12 seasons, including 10 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Greg Quick, Linebackers Coach (2nd season with the Alouettes)
Greg Quick returns to the Alouettes for a second year as the linebackers coach. He arrived in Montreal with a wealth of coaching experience that spans over 30 years across both the professional and collegiate ranks. Most recently Quick spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons as the Toronto Argonauts’ linebackers coach. Following his stint in the CFL, Quick went on to join the Northwood University Timberwolves’ coaching staff as the team’s offensive coordinator in the spring of 2012. He saw linebacker Bear Woods recording an impressive total of 89 defensive tackles in only 12 outings.
André Bolduc, Offensive assistant coach (2nd season with the Alouettes)
Bolduc, a former Head Coach with the Université de Sherbrooke Vert et Or for five seasons from 2007 to 2011, returns to Montreal and to professional football as a coach for a second-straight year. After becoming the head coach of the Vert & Or in 2007, Bolduc led the team to its first playoff win in school history as well as to the Dunsmore Cup final in 2010. The following season, he was named the Quebec Conference Coach of the Year after leading Sherbrooke to a 7-2 record. As a player, Bolduc played for the Ottawa Rough Riders and Edmonton Eskimos before landing in Montreal from 1998 to 2001, where he emerged as a leader and was named a special teams captain in 1999 and 2000.
Anwar Stewart, Defensive Quality Control Coach (2nd season with the Alouettes)
Following a stellar 13-year playing career in the CFL, former defensive end Anwar Stewart made his coaching debut in 2014 after being named the club’s new defensive quality control coach. In the 2013 season, Stewart rejoined the Alouettes roster after making eight Grey Cup appearances with the club between 2002 and 2011, winning a trio of championships in 2002, 2009 and 2010. The 37-year-old spent 10 years in Montreal and sits in second place in the club’s all-time record book for career quarterback sacks with 66. The CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2004, Stewart was also named a CFL All-Star in 2004 and 2009.
