GARCIA JOINS ALS STAFF

The Montreal Alouettes announced on Monday that former CFL and NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia has joined the team’s coaching staff.

Garcia, a four-time CFL All-Star and NFL Pro Bowl selection, joins the Alouettes offensive coaching staff.

“After several discussions with Tom about candidates who could potentially help our offence right now, we welcome Jeff to our organization and to the offensive coaching staff,” declared Popp. “He brings tremendous experience, great leadership, competitiveness, and the drive to be the best. We feel that by tapping into Jeff’s knowledge, he will be another key addition in getting our season turned around.”

Garcia entered the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders in 1994, where he backed up Doug Flutie for two seasons. After replacing an injured Flutie for some time in 1995, he became the starter the following season, leading the Stampeders to 13-5, 10-8 and 12-6 records over the next three seasons, including a Grey Cup victory in his final year North of the border.

“Jeff Garcia is a fierce competitor who has had success in every situation he has faced in professional football,” said Higgins. “The addition of Jeff is ideal because he brings the expertise he’s gained over his professional years from so many different systems. We are very excited to welcome Jeff to our coaching staff in his coaching debut. His CFL knowledge and comprehension of the game are key qualities that are going to be invaluable for us to improve as a team in the upcoming weeks. Over the next few days, we will be able to better evaluate all of our coaches and establish what their exact roles will be.”

Following his stellar play in the CFL where he threw for more than 4,000 yards in three different seasons, he went on to play in the NFL for eleven seasons, including his first five with the San Francisco 49ers, leading the team to the playoffs twice.

He then played for the Cleveland Browns, the Detroit Lions, the Philadelphia Eagles as well as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He completed his professional career with the Omaha Nighthawks of the UFL in 2010. At the end of his professional career, he completed 3,645 of his 5,955 passes for 43,300 yards while throwing 281 touchdown passes.