The Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) named longtime CFL executive Jim Popp as the new senior football advisor of the Ottawa Redblacks on Monday. Popp will advise CEO Mark Goudie to determine the permanent leadership structure for Redblacks football operations.
In addition, Popp will work alongside current General Manager and Head Coach Ryan Dinwiddie and the football staff to focus and strengthen the team’s roster and pipeline for 2027 and beyond.
“We need to get better, and there is no reason to wait until the offseason to start doing that,” said Goudie. “Jim has spent 28 years in this league and has been a part of building championship teams throughout his career. He brings a proven ability to identify players who can succeed in the CFL, and he gives me an experienced and independent football perspective as we determine the right long-term structure for this organization.”
Jim Popp is from Elkin, North Carolina. The 61-year-old played college football at Michigan State from 1983 to 1985. He later was an assistant coach at Michigan State in 1986. He also held the same position at North Carolina before becoming the quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers coach at The Citadel.
After college, Popp was a wide receivers, special teams, and strength and conditioning coach for the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks of the World League of Football in 1991. A year later, he became the wide receivers coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders for two seasons before becoming the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes on four separate occasions (2001, 2006–2007, 2013, 2015).
Popp is considered one of the greatest general managers in CFL history across three decades. He was the Director of player personnel for the Saskatchewan in 1992 and 1993. In 1994, he took the same position for the Baltimore Stallions. In 1995, the Stallions beat the Calgary Stampeders in the 83rd Grey Cup. They are the only American team to win the Grey Cup.
Popp spent 21 seasons with the Montreal Alouettes, leading the team to eight Grey Cup appearances, three Grey Cup championships, and 19 playoff appearances. He also helped the Toronto Argonauts win the Grey Cup in 2017 in his first season. Popp has been recognized for his ability to identify, recruit, and develop talent capable of succeeding in the CFL.
