Courtesy Montreal Gazette:

In 1996, Winnipeg was the epitome of mediocrity in the Canadian Football League, going 9-9. But the Blue Bombers were thrashed in the playoffs, losing 68-7 at Edmonton.

The organization figured, despite the record, changes were required. Cal Murphy was fired as head coach, replaced by Jeff Reinebold, one of four candidates who interviewed for the job. Reinebold cleaned house and was active in free agency.

The experiment didn’t work. The Bombers went 7-29 under Reinebold, and he was fired after two seasons. It took the franchise three seasons to recover.

Fast-forward to 2007. The Alouettes went 8-10. It was a frustrating and injury-filled season - the team’s first losing year since the franchise was revived in 1996. Jim Popp wasn’t retained as coach, returning to his general-manager responsibilities exclusively, and has been replaced by Marc Trestman.

How good - or bad - was Montreal? Tough to say. Of its eight wins, three came against league-worst Hamilton. The Als were 5-8 against tougher West Division teams. But with a yard here or there, things would have been different. If not for a squandered third-down gamble in the playoffs at Winnipeg, with Montreal nursing a late one-point lead, who knows?

The Als weren’t active in free agency during the winter and, despite some seemingly gaping holes on this team, Trestman

only released one veteran at training camp - second-year receiver Ashlan Davis.

There comes a time when every team either is blown up or undergoes some cosmetic sur-gery, tweaking some details with a little nip here and a tuck there.

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