ALOUETTES HIRE KAVIS REED

The Montreal Alouettes announced on Monday that Kavis Reed has been appointed the club’s new special teams coordinator.

Reed, who played five seasons in the CFL between 1995 and 1999, has 13 seasons of coaching experience North of the border, including three as the Edmonton Eskimos head coach from 2011 to 2013. In his first season as the Eskimos head coach, he led the team to an 11-7 season and a second place finish as well as a Western Final berth. The team had only won seven games the previous year and Reed was named a coach of the year finalist.

“It’s an honour for me to join such a storied organization that has had so much success over the years,” said Reed. “I look forward to working with Jim Popp, Tom Higgins, our coaches and all the players. This team showed a lot of promise last year and we will work hard to keep pushing in that same direction.”

In 2010, Reed was the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive coordinator and his unit was the best in the league against the pass and second best in total defence. The previous year, he was the Saskatchewan Roughriders special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach, helping the team reach the Grey Cup.

“Having Kavis on our coaching staff is a great addition for the Alouettes,” declared Alouettes head coach, Tom Higgins. “He brings fire and passion to our team, as well as plenty of experience to our staff in place. All of our coaches are excited to get to work with him.”

The Georgetown, SC native began his CFL coaching career as the Toronto Argonauts special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach. Reed, who is now 41, then coached the defensive backs with the Ottawa Renegades (2002-2003) before becoming the Hamilton Tiger-Cats defensive coordinator (2004-2006). He was a defensive assistant coach with the Toronto Argonauts in 2007 before being named their defensive coordinator the following season.