The Montreal Alouettes have fired head coach Jacques Chapdelaine and defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe.
Chapdelaine became coach of the Alouettes last year, taking over from Jim Popp who had been acting as GM and coach.
At the end of the year Popp left the Alouettes, and Kavis Reed was hired as general manager.
Reed will act as interim head coach for the rest of the season, while defensive line coach Greg Quick will have a more active role during games.
He said that the decision to fire the coaches was weeks in the making.
Reed informed players Wednesday morning.
"This is a decision that no one's going to jump up and down in your forehead. They were a bit numb, but they're true professionals. As we started to lay out the vision and lay out where we expect this team to be this week, and focusing on this week only, they shifted into get-into-preparation mode," said Reed.
The team has been doing poorly this season, having won three games and lost eight, and is currently eighth in the CFL trailed only by the Tiger-Cats.
"This is about the franchise doing what's right as we see it to move us forward and that's respectful to the fans. These decisions are taken for our franchise, and our fans are part of our franchise," said Reed.
On Friday the Alouettes lost 41-18 to the B.C. Lions, and on Monday players met amongst themselves -- without coaches or management.
Reed said that while the Alouettes have been doing well defensively, they haven't been playing at an elite level and he expects more.
The Alouettes have had five head coaches in the past five years.
