Former Ottawa Redblacks general manager Marcel Desjardins is coming back to the CFL after a two-year absence, joining the reigning Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes as a special assistant to the general manager and player personnel.
The 57-year-old executive worked in a number of CFL personnel roles from 1999 until 2021, spending time with the Alouettes, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Redblacks. His two most notable stints came as the general manager of the Ticats (2006-07) and Redblacks (2013-21) during which his teams qualified for three Grey Cups and won one.
Desjardins helped the Als reach three Grey Cups in four-and-a-half years during his first stint as their assistant general manager from 2002 to 2006, winning one. He became the general manager of the Ticats midway through the 2006 season but was fired in November 2007 with the club posting a 5-20 record under his watch.
The Burlington native returned to Montreal in 2008 and helped the team win back-to-back Grey Cups in 2009 and 2010 before being hired as the first general manager of the expansion Ottawa Redblacks in January 2013. The club went 2-16 during its inaugural season in 2014 but improved dramatically the following year, making it all the way to the Grey Cup with a 12-6 record.
The Redblacks upset the heavily favoured Calgary Stampeders in 2016 to capture the 104th Grey Cup, Ottawa’s first championship since 1976. The team returned to the Grey Cup in 2018 but lost to the Stamps by a score of 27-16.
Ottawa’s string of success came to an end in 2019 when the team finished the regular season with a 3-15 record. Desjardins was kept on through the COVID-19 pandemic but was fired late in 2021 after the club started the season with a 2-9 record.
In addition to the hiring of Desjardins, the Alouettes announced that director of national scouting Pier-Yves Lavergne has been promoted to assistant general manager and former director of pro personnel Jean-Marc Edme had been named a senior personnel executive. Both men have previously worked under Desjardins.
“With our recent successes, I am obviously very pleased with the work of my team,” general manager Danny Maciocia said in a statement. “I am excited about the return of Marcel Desjardins to the Alouettes and Lavergne and Edme are happy about the challenge ahead, they fully deserve this vote of confidence.”
The Alouettes will open their 2024 campaign on Thursday, June 6 when they travel to Winnipeg for a matchup with the Bombers in a rematch of the 110th Grey Cup.
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