MONTREAL — There’s a saying in professional sports that head coaches want to win now, while general managers think about the future.
By choosing quarterback Davis Alexander over Cody Fajardo as the Montreal Alouettes starter, GM Danny Maciocia believes he’s killing two birds with one stone.
"I have to take care of the present but also the future,” Maciocia said Thursday during a news conference at Olympic Stadium. “I don’t miss a single practice … I watch every player, but I paid close attention to the quarterbacks because I knew I had a quarterback with one year left on his contract and a young quarterback we had trained and developed whose contract was expiring.
“I also knew it would be difficult to keep both.”
Maciocia said he had been working on the decision for at least a month and a half, if not two months.
“With all the information we’ve gathered, based on (Alexander’s) ability to perform and his future potential, it wasn’t an easy decision to make, but it was the right one for the organization,” the GM said.
"As a former coach, I know how coaches want to win today. If I were coaching this team and Davis Alexander was the starting quarterback, I’m confident that we could win right away."
Head coach Jason Maas and Maciocia walked on eggshells around the QB controversy at the Alouettes’ end-of-season press conference earlier this month.
Contract discussions, however, were clearly brief as Alexander received a three-year offer reportedly worth around $1 million, according to several media outlets.
Maciocia didn’t confirm the figure but described the contract as a "bridge deal" with several performance bonuses.
“We agreed that the time had come to give him the opportunity to be a starter for the coming years. I’m convinced that Davis is the present and the future of the Alouettes,” Maciocia said. "I don’t need to remind you of the history and everything we’ve experienced at the QB position since Anthony Calvillo retired. To finally identify someone, convince him to come to Montreal, and sign him for three years — especially given what he showed in his four starts last year — I’m more than confident we can build something exciting around him.
“That doesn’t mean we’re building for 2027, we’re going to be very competitive in 2025, 2026, and 2027."
Maciocia ultimately opted for a long-term view, choosing a quarterback who’s seven years younger, in better health and willing to commit for a longer period than Fajardo, who led the Alouettes to a Grey Cup last year.
Maciocia noted that Fajardo now approaches his career "one year at a time."
When Alexander’s agent contacted him at home in Kelowna, B.C., to confirm the Alouettes’ offer, he quickly reached out to his loved ones to share the good news. One key figure in his inner circle, however, was absent: his father, who passed away from cancer this fall.
The 26-year-old quarterback was emotional when a reporter asked him how he experienced the milestone without his first and greatest supporter.
“When I signed here in February 2022, I believe, I was training for a pro day, I’m in Seattle staying at my uncle’s place, he kind of took me in and let me borrow the car, all that type of stuff, paid for all my food,” he said. “During that time it’s really intense, you’re fighting for your career, so you train eight to nine hours a day.
“When I finally got the call from (my agent) and I got the contract in my email, I just remember tears in my eyes and first person I called was my dad. That was a pretty special moment for us, something I’ll never forget.”
When he received the news of his most recent contract on Monday, he shared it with the rest of his family.
“This time around … I kind of had that same feeling, tears in your eyes, extremely proud. Obviously a little different this time around, but I have the greatest support system in the world around me,” an emotional Alexander continued with tears running down his face. “Even though he’s not necessarily with me, I know he’s obviously still with me forever. I know he’s extremely proud and I definitely wouldn’t have been able to make it this far without him.”
As for Fajardo, who's signed through next season but could be released, Maciocia said the Alouettes would do what's best for their now-former starter in the coming days.
"I will always be grateful to him, and that’s why I want to do everything I can to help him — even if it’s not in the best interest of the Alouettes," Maciocia said. "He says he still sees himself as a No. 1 quarterback in this league, and I believe that too. Unfortunately, there are only nine teams in this league.
"If an opportunity doesn’t present itself, we’ll need to have another conversation. But we haven’t discussed restructuring his contract or anything else beyond wanting to do what’s best for his future."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2024.
Frédéric Daigle, The Canadian Press