Zurkowsky: Future of Alouettes head coach Khari Jones is shady

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Teams that finish with .500 records and then lose in the first round of the playoffs will always claim they didn’t make it.

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That was one of the central themes voiced by a handful of Alouettes players on Tuesday. But another was the lack of discipline and the number of penalties this team took throughout the season, including during Sunday’s Division East semifinal loss at Hamilton, when they were penalized 12 times for 115 yards.

Lack of discipline generally reflects poorly on a team’s head coach, and that’s one of the main reasons there is so much speculation about the future of Khari Jones.

While Jones remains under contract for 2022 and has led the Als to playoff spots the past two seasons, his overall record, including the playoffs, is 17-17, with two consecutive losses in the postseason.

When Danny Maciocia was hired as general manager in January 2020, he inherited Jones and hasn’t had the opportunity to hire his own head coach.

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Jones is listed as a participant when management meets with the media at the Olympic Stadium on Thursday. And Jones was involved in exit meetings with the players on Monday and Tuesday, indicating that it is part of the plan to move forward.

On the other hand, several of his decisions at the end of the season, including the decision to play, could easily be questioned. After a four-game winning streak, Montreal ended its season with four losses in five games, including Sunday’s 23-12 setback.

The Als went the entire second half without scoring a point against Ottawa in the regular season finale. Then, despite a wide lead in time of possession, he was limited to one field goal in the first half at Hamilton while producing just one touchdown.

Quarterback Trevor Harris’ four turnovers – three in the second quarter when Montreal was outscored 20-0 – didn’t help. And Harris was caught six times behind a makeshift offensive line.

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If Jones comes back, it could be with an offensive coordinator other than himself, so he can focus on being the head coach and quarterback coach, while holding the players accountable. Too many of them had too long a leash without retaliation. There is a football operations salary cap in the league, meaning such a scenario could only work if one of Jones’s assistants is promoted. But if a CO is added, it will likely be at the expense of an assistant on staff this year.

If the Canadiens can have a general manager and executive vice president of hockey operations in newly hired Jeff Gorton moving forward, why can’t the Als?

“If you don’t do the right thing, they will probably cut you off; that’s how it works everywhere, ”said Eugene Lewis, the Als’ top receiver. “If you keep making the same mistakes over and over again, you probably won’t end up here or anywhere else. The margin of error for making mistakes in professional teams is very low. You can not do it. It’s about being consistent, doing the right things, and doing them the right way.

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“Penalties, turnovers and not scoring in the red zone,” added Lewis. “We had that problem all year. We keep talking about it, but we couldn’t do those things the right way consistently. There were too many penalties on special teams and we were undisciplined at times. We have to be smarter. “

Despite the uncertainty about Jones’ future, the Als must also resolve their apparent quagmire as a quarterback. Montreal was forced to start three in 2021, due to a season-ending shoulder injury suffered by Vernon Adams Jr. on October 11 against Ottawa.

Adams was replaced by Matthew Shiltz, but the Als also acquired Harris in an Edmonton trade several days later. And when Shiltz failed against Saskatchewan on October 30, Jones did not hesitate to replace him with Harris late in the third quarter. Shiltz, who reportedly had a knee injury, was never activated again, not even for the playoff game, when Jones made the bizarre decision to dress rookie Shea Patterson as Harris’ backup.

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While Harris and Adams are under contract for next season, and both should receive bonuses for signing over the winter, Harris was acquired as insurance and failed to deliver in an elimination game. At 35, it seems unlikely that he will return to the Als, but he should reappear with another CFL team.

Adams is seven years younger and was the team’s undisputed starter before his injury, but he must cut down on his interceptions while making smarter decisions on the field. He said his limited time with Harris paid off as Adams, thus far, hasn’t had a veteran quarterback, other than Jones, the former Winnipeg standout, whom he could mentor and learn to prepare physically and mentally for the games. .

Not only have the Als gone a decade without a Gray Cup, after back-to-back championships in 2009-10, they are the only CFL team that hasn’t even made it to the title game in that span. That’s a dubious distinction in a nine-team league.

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The Als were just two games behind first-place Toronto this season, and just two points behind Hamilton. There was no dominant team in the division. Players must realize that they allowed a glorious opportunity to slip through their fingers.

“We underperformed,” said CFL leader William Stanback. “We had high hopes. We know that we are a much better team than what we showed this year ”.

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