Tom Higgins the first to hear the Reapers' wail for 2015

Als Head Coach Tom Higgins
was fired following Montreal's
road victory in Vancouver August 20th

We were away for a week from our CFL blogging duties so we missed the rather surprising news that the Alouettes had fired head coach Tom Higgins last week.  A puzzling decision it would seem from Als owner Bob Wettenhall, who apparently did not like what he was seeing down in the Alouettes locker room.

The move to turn once again to GM Jim Popp came following the Als  23-13 road victory over the Lions in Vancouver, something that they hadn't been able to accomplish for 15 seasons, making the decision to jettison the coach even more of a head scratcher.

We imagine, no one would have picked his name as a coach in trouble at the start of the season, the Als in a rebuilding phase this year, should have benefited from the patience that Higgin's has shown with some of the miscues and other distractions of the season.

Still, when the guy signing the payroll isn't happy, change is going to come it would seem, so the answer to the CFL's Trivia Challenge question of who was the first coach to be fired in 2015 will be Tom Higgins.

"We have made this change as we believe it is in the best interest of our team, and especially our fans. We all wish to express to Tom our affection and respect, as well as our appreciation for the contributions he has made to the franchise." -- The Alouettes announce the dismissal of head coach Tom Higgins 

The Alouettes statement of August 21 was short and to the point, the full review of it can be found here.

The media notes on the departure of Higgins from the Als managerial ranks can be found below.

It also offers us the opportunity to introduce our archive page for CFL dismissals for 2015, giving the now former Alouettes head coach the ice breaker status he probably didn't think he was in line for.

The Hired to Be Fire Archive can be found here.

CFL.ca -- Als part ways with Higgisn; Popp takes over sidelines
CFL.ca -- Popp to Replace Higgns as Montreal Head coach (video)
CFL.ca -- Popp: We need to be 'one of the elite teams'
Montreal Gazette -- Alouettes fire head coach Tom Higgins
Montreal Gazette -- Popp comfortable at Alouettes' helm as Als prepare for Ticats
Montreal Gazette -- New coach Popp looks to tweak, not wholesale change, the Alouettes
TSN -- Higgins fired as Alouettes head coach
CBC-- Tom Higgins fired as Alouettes head coach
CTV -- Montreal Alouettes fire head coach Tom Higgins
Sportsnet -- Did Higgins deserve the axe?
Winnipeg Sun -- Als canning Higgins could be wrong move