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One Step at a Time: Sherman a ‘work in progress’ in first season with Als
“Are we going to win a Grey Cup, or be fighting for a championship? That remains to be seen. My goal is one step at a time and we will get better every day. That’s all I can promise.”
– Alouettes head coach Mike Sherman
e is coaching a different style of football in a new county for a team that finished last in the league last year. He also begins the season with a quarterback who hasn’t proven he can be bonafide starter.
So, what can go wrong for Mike Sherman in his first year as head coach of the Montreal Alouettes?
No one questions that Sherman – who as head coach led the Green Bay Packers to three consecutive NFC North Division titles between 2002 and 2004 – comes to the CFL with an impressive pedigreed from the NFL and U.S. college ranks. For a man who likes a challenge, he is taking over an Alouette team that was 3-15 last year, scored a league-low 314 points and allowed 580, the most of any other team.
Sherman is the first to acknowledge playing on a longer, wider field with one less down and one more man to contend with presents a steep learning curve.
“I’m always a work in progress as a person, I’m a work in progress as a coach,” Sherman told a telephone conference call earlier this year. “Canadian football will present some challenges to me.
“I think I’m a quick learner. I have some really good people around me. It’s a very exciting game. The scoring aspect of it really intrigues me. The creativity of the coaches across the league is just amazing.”
With the storied Alouette franchise at a cross roads, Sherman can follow a couple of paths. Alouette fans hope he takes route of other CFL novices like Marc Trestman – who in six seasons won three Grey Cups – or even June Jones, who was 6-4 after taking over Hamilton last year.
Can Drew Willy prove he's a bonafide starter in the Canadian Football League? (The Canadian Press)
What the Montreal faithful don’t want to see is Sherman follow in the footsteps of people like Dan Hawkins, who had a 2-3 record with the Als in 2013 before being fired. Or Bart Andrus who was fired after one season in Toronto after the Argonauts had a 3-15 record and lost 13 of the final 14 games.
General manager Kavis Reed pursued Sherman to replace the fired Jacques Chapdelaine. At first Sherman said thanks but no thanks. But Reed persevered and Sherman finally relented after visiting the city and meeting with ownership.
He also received some advice form his wife of 34 years.
“She said ‘you seem like you’ve been anxious for something like this to come along. It’s in your blood,’’’ he said. “When she gave me the green light . . . I decided to do it.”
Sherman has overhauled the coaching staff and surrounded himself with plenty of CFL experience.
Khari Jones, a former CFL most outstanding player at quarterback who coached last year with the BC Lions, will be offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He will have some big shoes to fill after Anthony Calvillo left Montreal for Toronto.
Veteran Rich Stubler stepped in as defensive coordinator after Kahlil Carter suddenly stepped down for personal reasons. Former Concordia University Stingers head coach Mickey Donovan takes over as special teams coordinator.
Montreal dipped into free agency to rebuild their defence, signing non-import defensive-end Jamaal Westerman from Winnipeg. They also added cornerbacks Tommie Campbell and Mitchell White; defensive backs Joe Burnett and Dominique Ellis; and linebacker Henoc Muamba. They will join veterans like linebacker Chip Cox plus defensive ends John Bowman and Jabar Westerman. In the CFL draft, Montreal selected defensive end Bo Banner and linebacker Paul Kozachuk.
Stubler likes the mix of youth and experience.
“The veterans will take the defence over and it will grow exponentially as they come together,” he said in an interview during training camp. “It’s up to the players to grasp the concepts we are trying to get across and understand why we do certain things.”
Offensively Montreal obtained speedy wide receiver Chris Williams in a trade from BC, joining people like B.J. Cunningham and Ernest Jackson.
Jamaal Westerman was one of many off-season acquisitions on the defensive side of the ball in Montreal (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Jones said before the Alouettes can move forward they have to forget about the past.
“It’s going to be a tough road, it always is, but we have to focus on the task at hand and not worry about what’s been done in the past,” he said.
It’s no secret to have success in the CFL you need a proven quarterback.
Veteran journeyman Drew Willy will be the Alouettes’ starter when Montreal opens the season Saturday night in BC against the Lions. The Als are reported to be one of the teams interested in acquiring Vernon Adams Jr. from Hamilton.
In seven seasons with Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal Willy has played 52 games, thrown for just over 9,000 yards, 40 touchdowns and 31 interceptions.
Sherman believes Willy’s success or failure will be a team effort.
“It’s just not about the quarterback,” he said. “We lost a lot of ways last year.
“We have to be able to protect him, we have to be able to catch the ball when he throws it and we have to call good plays. The responsibility is on all of us to make sure the quarterback functions well.”
The Alouettes struggled in their two pre-season games, losing both by a combined score of 57-22. Montreal managed just one offensive touchdown.
So where will this team be come November?
“I don’t get into the prediction part of the game,” said Sherman. “If I was good at that I probably would have moved to Vegas.
“I can predict we will get better every day. We are going to coach these players the best we can coach them. Are we going to win a Grey Cup, or be fighting for a championship? That remains to be seen. My goal is one step at a time and we will get better every day. That’s all I can promise.”
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