The 2017Montreal Alouettes season was the 51st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 63rd overall. The Alouettes finished the season in 4th place in the East Division with a disappointing 3–15 record. The 15 losses are a team record, breaking the previous record of 14 set during the 1986 season when the Alouettes went 4–14. And the 1982 season when they finished 2–14. The Alouettes failed to improve upon their 7–11 record from 2016 and were eliminated from the playoffs on October 9, 2017 after a loss to the Edmonton Eskimos, making this the third straight season that they missed the playoffs. This was the first full season for head coachJacques Chapdelaine, until he was fired after a 3–8 start and replaced by general managerKavis Reed on an interim basis. Chapdelaine served as head coach in an interim capacity for six games in the previous season. This is also the first season under new general manager Kavis Reed.
Off-season
Front office changes
This is the first season since the Alouettes returned to Montreal in 1996 that Jim Popp will not be the team's general manager. It was announced on November 7, 2016 that Popp would not return to the Alouettes organization in 2017. In the week following the 104th Grey Cup, the Alouettes interviewed Danny Maciocia, Joey Abrams and Brock Sunderland for the vacant general manager position. As of December 7, 2016, Sunderland was no longer considered a candidate and Maciocia was not in negotiations with the team, having only taken part in one formal meeting. Not long after, Maciocia confirmed that he would remain at the University of Montreal. Two days later, Herb Zurkowsky from the Montreal Gazette reported that Kavis Reed was "the dark horse candidate" to win the GM position. By December 12, 2016, Reed had a formal interview with the Alouettes front office, making him the fourth official candidate for the position; prior to that, it had just been informal conversations. On December 14, 2016, the Montreal Alouettes held a press conference to announce Patrick Boivin as President and CEO, Kavis Reed as general manager, and Jacques Chapdelaine's retention as the team's head coach. Chapdelaine had served as the interim head coach for the final six games of the previous season. On December 20, 2016, the Alouettes announced that assistant GM Joey Abrams, who had been with the organization for the past dozen seasons, would be leaving the club. On January 25, 2017 the Alouettes announced that Catherine Raiche and Joe Mack would become assistant general managers. Raiche was promoted from her previous position with the Alouettes as Coordinator of Football Administration and held the title of Assistant General Manager of Football Operations. Mack, the former Winnipeg Blue Bombers general manager, was the Assistant General Manager of Player Personnel.
