Stability!
Montreal, December 20, 2023 – The Montreal Alouettes announced on Wednesday that General Manager Danny Maciocia and Head Coach Jason Maas signed long-term deals with the team. Maciocia signed a four-year contract (2024, 2025, 2026, 2027) while Maas inked for three years (2024, 2025, 2026).
The general manager did a great job in 2023 building a Grey Cup champion team. He went looking for impact players like Darnell Sankey and Shawn Lemon who changed the team’s defence by being dominant. Sankey contributed significantly to the team’s Grey Cup run. He managed to record eight tackles and a sack during the 110th Grey Cup Game against Winnipeg. In the game, Lemon made three defensive tackles and had a sack to help the Alouettes win their eighth title in franchise history.
Maciocia also awarded a quarterback contract to Cody Fajardo in February 2023. Farjardo was voted the most valuable player of the Grey Cup last November.
In the last CFL Draft, Maciocia was able to get his hands on young players who had an immediate impact on the team’s results such as Marc-Antoine Dequoy, Pier-Olivier Lestage, Tyson Philpot, Tyrell Richards and Lwal Uguak.
In three seasons as the team architect, he compiled a 27-23-0 record and the Alouettes never played under .500. In July 2022, Maciocia replaced Khari Jones as head coach and led the Alouettes to the East Final.
The general manager of the Alouettes has done a lot to grow football in Quebec through conferences, involvement with minor football and in the community. He gave a vote of confidence to many Quebec players in the Alouettes and his bet paid off. During his time with U SPORTS, Maciocia also developed many footballers who made their way to the professional ranks.
Maciocia returned to the Alouettes as the general manager in January 2020 after beginning his professional coaching career in 1996 as a Quality Control Coach. He quickly rose through the ranks to become the team’s Offensive Coordinator in 2001, before taking on the same responsibilities with the Edmonton Eskimos from 2001 to 2004, helping the team engrave its name on the Grey Cup in 2003.
The Eskimos then appointed him as the Head Coach in 2005. On top of becoming the first Quebec-born head coach in CFL history, he hoisted the Grey Cup in his first season in that role, following a dramatic overtime win against the Alouettes. He was appointed General Manager in 2007. In November 2010, he was named Head Coach of the Université de Montréal Carabins and, in November 2014, at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, home of the Alouettes, Maciocia led the Carabins to their first Vanier Cup championship, making him the first ever Head Coach to win both the Grey Cup and Vanier Cup.
“This is a great day for our organization,” said Alouettes President and CEO Mark Weightman. “I was pleased to work with Danny again when I returned to the Alouettes last March and to know that we will work together for the next years makes me happy. We like the direction our team is taking and this stability will only make us stronger.”
“I am extremely happy to be here for the long haul and to continue our work on a solid foundation,” said Maciocia. I want to thank our owner Pierre Karl Péladeau and our president Mark Weightman for the opportunity. I like the chemistry within our team and the mentality we have implemented. Knowing that I will continue to work in Montreal with our same pool of players makes me very excited to start the next season.”
In nine campaings on the other side of Mount-Royal, Maciocia maintained a 57-16 record while leading the team to three Dunsmore Cup championships. He was decorated by the Quebec National Assembly in 2005.
Jason Maas
Jason Maas was named the Alouettes’ 27th head coach in December 2022. He led the team to an 11-7-0 record in 2023, ending the season with eight straight wins to lift the Grey Cup. He brought to the formation a sense of belonging and a winning mentality by giving each player a responsibility so that everyone felt important to the team.
Under his leadership, quarterback Cody Fajardo had a good first season in the Alouettes uniform. In 16 games, he finished first in the CFL with a passing completion of 71.4%. The 31-year-old earned 3,847 yards on 317 completed passes while adding 14 touchdowns. The Alouettes pivot was also prolific with his legs running the ball 57 times for 344 yards and three majors.
In the Grey Cup game, he completed 21 of his 26 attempts for 280 yards and three majors.
Maas, who served as the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offensive coordinator before coming to Montreal, was Edmonton’s Head Coach from 2016 to 2019, where he compiled a 39-33 record, leading the team to the playoffs three times in four seasons. He began his coaching career in 2012 with the Toronto Argonauts as a quarterbacks coach for three seasons. He hoisted the Grey Cup in his first year in the Queen City. The 48-year-old coach also served as offensive coordinator for the Ottawa REDBLACKS in 2015.
Maas began his CFL playing career one year after a stint with the Baltimore Ravens. The former Oregon Duck played with Edmonton from 2000 to 2005, winning the Grey Cup in 2003 and 2005. In 2001 and 2004, the Beaver Dam, WI native was named Edmonton’s Most Outstanding Player. He then moved to Hamilton in 2006 and 2007 before joining the Alouettes and finishing his career with Edmonton, playing four years in the West. In 2007 he was a backup quarterback with the Alouettes.
