Donovan had been with Montreal since 2018, but his unit struggled this season and received 44 special teams penalties, the highest in the CFL.
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After the Alouettes underperformed this season, going 7-7 before being eliminated by Hamilton in the CFL East Division semifinal, changes to the coaching ranks were anticipated.
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On Tuesday morning, the first dominoes fell with the firing of special teams coordinator Mickey Donovan. At the same time, as the Montreal Gazette reported last week, it seems more likely that head coach Khari Jones will return next season for the final year of his contract.
“Khari Jones has presented me with a plan that we have been working on to achieve our goals,” general manager Danny Maciocia said in a statement. “I am satisfied with the direction we are taking.”
Donovan had been the Als’ special teams coordinator since 2018, but the unit struggled this season and went through multiple returnees after an injury that ended Mario Alford. At the same time, the 44 penalties against Montreal special teams were the highest in the league.
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Donovan and Jones were left with rookie defensive back Adarius Pickett, one of many returners the team used, despite repeated turnovers and penalties.
“He was a hard worker, good at what we needed him to do,” Jones said of Pickett during his season-ending press conference. “We didn’t expect him to make a mistake and shoot penalties. He did. That was the problem. Perhaps there were times when we needed to get away from Adarius. In hindsight, it’s easier to say that we should have done something different. We will have the checks and balances in place to make sure, hopefully, that doesn’t happen again. “
On Tuesday, Jones said: “This kind of decision is always difficult to make. We want to thank Mickey for his dedication over the past few years. We wish him the best in his future endeavors. “
Before joining the Als, Donovan was the head coach of the Concordia Stingers from 2014-17. He began his coaching career in 2007 at the University of Western Ontario and also spent two seasons at McGill, where he was the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach.
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Reference-montrealgazette.com