CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge has cleared the Edmonton Eskimos of any wrongdoing and declared Noel Thorpe’s resignation from the Montreal Alouettes invalid.

“Commissioner Jeffrey L. Orridge has done a thorough and complete investigation of the facts surrounding the Noel Thorpe matter and has determined that Thorpe’s purported resignation from his contract with the Montreal Alouettes on Tuesday December 15, 2015 in order to secure a coaching position with the Edmonton Eskimos was invalid based on the terms of his contract with Montreal and the existing by-laws of the CFL,” the league said in a statement.

“Thorpe is currently still under contract to Montreal and is not free to resign from his existing contract to accept employment from Edmonton, or any other CFL Club, unless written permission is received from Montreal in advance and subject to the current protocol of advance approval from the League office.”

Orridge also ruled that Edmonton did not violate the existing CFL bylaws and will not be subject to any discipline in the Thorpe matter.

TSN's Farhan Lalji reports that Alouettes general manager and head coach Jim Popp spoke to Thorpe for over an hour on Wednesday and re-iterated that he wants him to return to the team's sidelines as defensive co-ordinator for the remaining two years of his contract, despite the events of the last 48 hours. 

Popp did not receive those assurances at the end of that phone call and still hasn’t spoken to Thorpe since CFL commissioner Jeffery Orridge’s ruling on Thursday.

“There are no hard feelings as far as the Alouettes are concerned,” said Popp. “Myself and our own ownership fully expect Noel to fulfill the final two years of his contract and are hopeful that he is ready to get back to work.”

Orridge issued a memo to all CFL presidents and GMs on Wednesday afternoon that read: "Effective immediately, there will be a moratorium on any coaches’ movement from one club to another club, unless such transaction is expressly approved in writing by the commissioner or his delegate, prior to the movement taking place. This only applies to coaches who are currently under contract with a CFL club."

Coaches will still be able to move from team to team but they'll have to follow Orridge's protocol. The league will act as a clearing house on these transactions and attempt to eliminate breach of contract and tampering or the appearance thereof.

The CFL kicked off an investigation into Thorpe's resignation from the Alouettes and potential move to the Eskimos on Wednesday morning and Orridge moved to put a halt to what has become a running soap opera.

TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reported late Tuesday night that Thorpe informed the Alouettes he was resigning from his assistant head coach and defensive coordinator positions. It’s believed Thorpe was headed to the Eskimos for a similar position as the one he held in Montreal.

Rishaug reached out to Thorpe Wednesday, and the coach replied with a statement.

"Last night, I had a conversation and opened dialogue with Montreal Alouettes President, Mark Weightman, about my situation with the team and future standing. After our conversation, it was confirmed in my mind that, in the best interest of both parties, our professional relationship could not continue forward. I confirmed this in writing to Mr. Weightman late in the evening. My employment ended yesterday prior to the CFL moratorium imposed on coaching movement."

Thorpe, however, has two years left on his contract with the Alouettes and no out clause, according to sources. Edmonton did not request permission from Montreal to speak with Thorpe.