Montreal Alouettes fire coach Dan Hawkins; GM Jim Popp takes over as bench boss

MONTREAL – General manager Jim Popp has taken over as head coach of the Montreal Alouettes.

The CFL club announced Wednesday it has fired coach Dan Hawkins only five games into his first season with the team.

Owner Bob Wetenhall asked Popp to step in.

“Jim is the person most responsible for the success we have had over all these years,” Wetenhall said in a statement. “I feel confident that he is the best person to coach our team at this time and I am very appreciative of him being willing to make this additional contribution to our franchise.

“He has the respect of our players as well as mine.”

The Alouettes are in second place in the East Division with a 2-3 record. They are coming off a close win over Edmonton last week.

Hawkins was in his first coaching job with a professional team after a career spent mainly coaching college football in the United States. He replaced Marc Trestman, who left after last season to become head coach of the Chicago Bears.

It is the third time Popp has stepped in as coach. He took over from Rod Rust late in the 2001 season, and replaced Don Matthews during the 2006 campaign. He stayed in the job to coach Montreal to an 8-10 record in 2007.