Jim Popp

James Popp (born December 21, 1964) is the general manager of the Toronto Argonauts football club of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He had previously coached and served as GM of the Montreal Alouettes.

Popp has won five Grey Cups (1995 with the Baltimore Stallions; 2002, 2009, 2010 with the Montreal Alouettes; 2017 with the Toronto Argonauts) and his teams have appeared in 11 Grey Cups.

Montreal Alouettes

Popp was named general manager and director of player personnel of the CFL’s Baltimore Stallions in 1994. After two Grey Cup appearances (including one championship), the team was forced out of Baltimore when the original Cleveland Browns NFL franchise relocated to Baltimore as the Baltimore Ravens. Stallions owner Jim Speros knew that the Stallions could not compete with an NFL team even though they'd been successful in Baltimore. Ultimately, he decided to relocate his team to Montreal as the third incarnation of the Alouettes.

Popp stayed on as general manager, but found himself having to rebuild the team from almost nothing. While the Alouettes were allowed to reclaim the legacy of the original 1946-86 Alouettes, they were not allowed to keep their history as the Stallions. However, while all of the Stallions players were released from their contracts, Popp re-signed most of the key players from that team.

The Alouettes have been in eight Grey Cup Championships during Popp’s tenure (2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010), capturing the title three times (2002, 2009 and 2010).

Toronto Argonauts

Popp was hired as the General Manager of the Toronto Argonauts on February 28, 2017, succeeding Jim Barker.

Popp was successful in convincing the Argonauts ownership in hiring Marc Trestman as the team's head coach. Popp and Trestman won consecutive Grey Cups together in 2009 and 2010.

Despite being hired later during the free agency period, Popp was able to sign former Montreal Alouettes players Bear Woods, Jeff Perrett and S. J. Green. Popp was initially criticized for the moves by the Toronto media, as some felt he was turning the Argonauts into another version of the Alouettes.

Popp's first season in Toronto went above expectations, given the circumstances. The team finished the season at 9-9, which was good enough for first place in the East and a first-round bye in the playoffs. Under his leadership, the Argos defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Eastern Final, and the Calgary Stampeders in the 105th Grey Cup CFL final.

Career highlights

The 2009 and 2010 Alouettes back-to-back Grey Cup championships were the first back-to-back CFL titles in 13 years. Popp’s teams have been some of the most successful in CFL history.

• The only team to ever win 18 games in a CFL season (Baltimore Stallions - including the final 13 in-a-row)
• One of three teams in CFL history to have ever won 12 or more games in six consecutive seasons.
• Popp is the only General Manager to have won 12 or more games in seven consecutive seasons.

Personal life

Popp and his wife Kimberly have six children and reside in Mooresville, North Carolina and North York, Ontario. Popp credits much of his success on the field to his family, especially his father Joe, a former NFL and college coach. Jim and his father share the privilege of being members of the Mooresville (NC) High School Hall of Fame, whose football stadium is named in Joe’s honor (Coach Joe Popp Stadium).

Awards

Popp was named 2011 Sports Executive of the Year by Sports Media Canada.

CFL General Manager record

CFL head coaching record

References

External links

• Toronto Argonauts profile