MONTREAL 鈥� Danny Maciocia may have new responsibilities with the Montreal Alouettes, but that doesn鈥檛 mean we鈥檒l see less of him on the field.
鈥淭he day I start doing paperwork, it鈥檒l be time to move on,鈥� the Alouettes general manager said during a press conference Thursday at Olympic Stadium.
In an organizational restructuring, Maciocia added senior vice-president of football operations to his job title after the CFL team announced Wednesday that Mark Weightman was stepping down as president and chief executive officer.
But for Maciocia, stepping away from football operations is out of the question.
鈥淚鈥檓 still the GM here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a field guy, you all know me well enough. I鈥檒l be spending time with the coaches, I鈥檒l be travelling with the team. What does this new role add? Maybe a few more meetings with the league.鈥�
Maciocia will now also sit on the franchise鈥檚 executive committee, chaired by Andr茅 Brosseau, who serves as the Alouettes鈥� governor within the CFL.
Montreal won't hire a new president and CEO. Along with Maciocia鈥檚 added role, Ren茅 Masson becomes senior vice-president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer. He had been the Alouettes' director of finance.
The new system resembles a European soccer club鈥檚 structure, Maciocia said.
鈥淚鈥檝e been reading up on it in the past few days, and it reminds me of what you see at FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, AS Roma or Juventus,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a new structure, and we鈥檒l adapt. I don鈥檛 see why, with the people we have in place, we wouldn鈥檛 achieve the same success.鈥�
Financial stability?
The Alouettes said Wednesday that Masson would be responsible for 鈥済rowing the team鈥檚 revenues and returning it to profitability.鈥�
When asked whether a position had been eliminated to free up funds, Maciocia responded he didn鈥檛 believe that was the case.
鈥淚 imagine the money will be reallocated elsewhere, but I can tell you my salary hasn鈥檛 increased,鈥� he said, jokingly.
鈥淚 can look you straight in the eye and assure you that things are going very well,鈥� Maciocia added. 鈥淪ince (owner Pierre Karl) P茅ladeau arrived, the past two years have helped us. Winning the Grey Cup (in 2023) and having a 12-win season (in 2024) clearly helps too, but we鈥檝e also been able to define who we are as an organization, and the fans can see themselves in what we do.鈥�
Maciocia also said he knows what it鈥檚 like when a team is in financial trouble.
鈥淚 lived through it for three, four, five years,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know the impact it can have, not just in the front office but also in the locker room and on the field. The success we鈥檝e had over the past two years isn鈥檛 about money. With Mr. P茅ladeau, he doesn鈥檛 just write a cheque and tell us not to bother him. He鈥檚 involved.
鈥淗e probably travels with the team more than I do. The players really appreciate that.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2025.
Fr茅d茅ric Daigle, The Canadian Press
