Alouettes coach Maas excited for season opener: 'We're gonna be up for this one'
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The Montreal Alouettes kick off their 2025 campaign coming off of a division title, but they’re aspiring for better results after losing in the East Final to their opponent on Friday, the eventual-Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts.
For head coach Jason Maas, the top challenge will be giving the keys to the offence over to quarterback Davis Alexander.
Maas joined the Morning Show on TSN690 on Wednesday morning to discuss the Alouettes' off-season changes, their outlook for the season and the season opener against Toronto.
"Everyone's excited about it in our building, everyone in the city is excited about it, not to mention it's the first game of the year to get back into the 2025 season starting off on the right foot," Maas said. "I think everybody's excited about the leader we have in Davis."
Alexander, 26, made five starts for Montreal a season ago in his third season with the team. Top quarterback Cody Fajardo, who earned Grey Cup MVP honours after leading Montreal to an upset title in 2023, was sent to the Edmonton Elks in a deal in December that brought McLeod Bethel-Thompson to Montreal. Bethel-Thompson will back up Alexander, who is getting his first shot as a lead this season after throwing for 1,347 yards and six touchdowns last season.
"We're game-planning a new quarterback to be under centre, that's the biggest change to our offence," Maas said. "The big thing for Davis will be that he does not have the years of experience that Cody had in the offence, but he does have three years of practice in it and five games, so that's pretty good to go off of."
Over the last four seasons, the Alouettes have never ranked higher than sixth across the CFL in passing yardage. Fajardo and Alexander led the team to 4,528 yards in passing a year ago, which ranked 7th across the league.
"They're very similar as far as being able to throw the ball all over the field,” Maas said in comparing Alexander to Fajardo. “I think Davis can definitely stretch the field, that's one of his strengths. He's very good in the pocket, manipulating the pocket and he can use his legs.”
A winner of two Grey Cups as a quarterback himself, Maas was effusive in praise for his pivot.
"So he's a very similar quarterback without the experience Cody had, in my opinion,” Maas said. “But he's also got that youth and exuberance about him that we're excited to see what he can do. He's such a great leader and competitor. Davis is not going to give up on any play, he's going to be smart with the ball, make good decisions, but he's just going to believe on every single play that he can make something happen and I love that about him."
The strength of the Alouettes team has been the defensive side of the ball in recent campaigns. Montreal has finished second in points allowed in two consecutive years, and Maas is excited to see what some new additions to the lineup can produce.
Two-time East All-Star lineman Shawn Oakman, lineman Byron Vaughns and defensive back Tiawan Mullen are three major additions Maas highlighted.
"There's a standard of excellence the defence has been doing the last three years - since [defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe's] taken over this defence, it's been outstanding,” Maas said. “There's a standard of how we practice, compete, how we attack quarterbacks, how we attack the ball, it's a very physical defence. I would assume those three guys, the standard's still going to be there for them as well. That's part of the reason they're going to be in our lineup this year, because they've proven - in Shawn's case, in his career, and those other two guys what they've done in camp for us."
Montreal faces a tall task in their home opener on Friday against the Argonauts.
The two sides have met in the East Final in three consecutive seasons, creating a strong rivalry between the divisional opponents.
"We're not shy about saying this when there are big games against opponents that make it that way,” Maas said. “We know how good they are and they're led by Ryan [Dinwiddie] and Ryan does a great job with that team getting them prepared every week and playing at such a high level. We gotta match that intensity and that way of playing football each time you step on the field with them.”
Since the 2021 season, the Alouettes and Argonauts have met 14 times - including three times in the postseason. The Argonauts own a commanding 10-4 series lead in that stretch, though the Alouettes did earn one major victory in a 38-17 beatdown in the 2023 East Final en route to that Grey Cup championship.
Last year's East Final, where the Argonauts won 30-28 after Fajardo threw an interception on a potential game-tying two-point conversion with 1:56 remaining, has left a bitter taste in Maas's mouth.
"It's in the forefront of our minds with how the last game went at the end of last year; it didn't sit well with anybody in this organization, and to get them the first game of the year, yeah we're gonna be up for this one,” Maas said. “When you're talking about playing the best, Toronto's been that the last three years. When we play them we know we gotta strap it up and play a great game to beat them."