The Alouettes mourn the passing of Joe Scannella

The Alouettes are in mourning since the passing of former player and coach Joe Scannella. He coached the Alouettes from 1978 to 1981, leading the team to two Grey Cup appearances in 1978 and 1979. He was Marv Levy’s replacement. His Montreal adventure began in 1969 as coach of the quarterbacks and running backs.

He also worked in the NFL, coaching under John Madden with the Oakland Raiders and won the Super Bowl XI with the Minnesota Vikings. During his coaching career in the NFL he coached two Heisman Trophy winners in Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson under his leadership. His family is organizing a ceremony close to home to honor him next week.

On behalf of the Montreal Alouettes I want to offer my condolences to the family. Joe Scannella was a great coach and a great football man with a distinguished career, says Patrick Boivin, President and CEO of the Montreal Alouettes. The Alouettes are blessed to have been able to count on such a person in their ranks.

He coached me twice and he was a great teacher. He would always take extra time for us when needed“, said Peter Dalla Riva who played for Joe Scannella. “He did an outstanding job with our rookie quaterback Sonny Wade, he found a way for us to score a lot of points. He had a great sense of the game, opponents would never know what to expect.

Joe Scannella

source: rds.ca