Jim Popp (born December 21, 1964 in Elkin, North Carolina) is the general manager of the Montreal Alouettes football club of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Arguably, the most successful General Manager in CFL history, Popp has won four Grey Cups (1995 with the Baltimore Stallions; 2002, 2009, and 2010 with the Montreal Alouettes) and his teams have appeared in 10 Grey Cups (eight over the past decade).
Montreal Alouettes
Jim was named General Manager of the CFL’s Baltimore Stallions in 1994. After two Grey Cup appearances (including one championship) the team disbanded (the original Cleveland Browns NFL franchise having relocated to Baltimore as the Baltimore Ravens) and an expansion team was formed and relocated to Montreal in 1996 and Popp was hired as the Montreal Alouettes Vice President, General Manager, Director of Football Operations, and Director of Player Personnel. During his tenure with the Alouettes, Popp has also served three terms as the team's head coach. 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).
Coaching Career
During the 2001 season, Popp took over the team after he and owner Robert Wetenhall fired Rod Rust in the midst of a long losing streak. On October 4, 2006, following the resignation of Don Matthews due to health reasons, Popp again took over as head coach and led the Alouettes to an appearance in the 2006 Grey Cup. Popp continued leading the Alouettes during the 2007 season as well, a rebuilding year which saw the team play with 23 rookies and without their starting quarterback for half the season. Following the 2007 season, Popp decided to step away from the coaching ranks when he hired former NFL coach Marc Trestman as the new head coach of the Alouettes.
Front office executive
Under Popp’s guidance, his teams have seen unprecedented success, reaching the playoffs for 20 consecutive seasons, and advancing to the Divisional Championship game 15 times. Popp’s teams have appeared in 10 Grey Cup championship games, winning the Grey Cup four times.
In January 2012, Popp was a finalist for the vacant Indianapolis Colts General Manager position
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.
- Two of three coaches in CFL history to have ever won back-to-back Coach of the Year awards
- 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.
- Notoriety of having the most successful expansion franchise in sports history (1994 expansion Baltimore Stallions played in the Grey Cup Championship).
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 honour (Coach Joe Popp Stadium).
Awards
Popp was recently named 2011 Sports Executive of the Year by Sports Media Canada.
He's from North Carolina, he has various front office positions, even served a few terms as a Head Coach. Really succesful in building teams.
