The 2019Montreal Alouettes season was the 53rd season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 65th overall. The Alouettes finished with a 10–8 record and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2014 following a week 17 win over the Calgary Stampeders on October 5, 2019. The club hosted a playoff game for the first time since 2014, having finished in second place in the East Division. However, they lost the game to the Edmonton Eskimos by a score of 37–29. The team's head coach, Mike Sherman, abruptly departed June 8, 2019, after the team had played its first two preseason games. Khari Jones became the team's interim head coach and this was the third season under general manager, Kavis Reed. Shortly after their fourth game of the season, Reed was dismissed by the Alouettes on July 14, 2019 by team president and CEO Patrick Boivin. His position is being filled by Assistant General Manager of Player Personnel, Joe Mack, with other duties shared by Jones and Director of Football Operations, Patrick Donovan. The Alouettes entered the season with significantly different home and away uniforms for the first time since the 2000 season. The club also announced a change in stadium seating with gameday capacity at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium being "strategically lower" from 23,430 to 20,025 seats and average ticket prices being reduced from $84 to $75.
On February 27, 2019, Johnny Manziel, a quarterback for the Alouettes in 2018, was permanently banned from playing on any CFL team as a result of what the Alouettes called an unspecified " the agreement which made him eligible to play." Manziel denied any wrongdoing but accepted the banishment, stating he would consider playing options in the United States such as the Alliance of American Football or the XFL.
Bob Wetenhall relinquishes ownership
On May 31, 2019, Robert C. Wetenhall, the owner of the Alouettes for most of the time since the team relocated from Baltimore in the late 1990s, surrendered control of the Alouettes franchise to the Canadian Football League, which will attempt to sell the franchise to a new owner. Two ownership groups have publicly expressed interest in buying the team: Eric Lapointe, a former Alouettes running back; and Clifford Starke, a 35-year-old medical cannabis entrepreneur. Lapointe had previously made an offer to Wetenhall in 2017 but had been rebuffed; Lapointe acknowledged that Wetenhall was reluctant to sell the team to him. Lapointe withdrew from bidding in April 2019. Vincent Guzzo met with the CFL in mid-May to submit a purchase bid.
In the late evening of August 9 at 9:06 pm EDT, a weather delay was declared at Percival MolsonMemorial Stadium due to an approaching thunderstorm with intense lightning; the Roughriders were leading the Alouettes 17–10 with 2:41 left in the 3rd quarter. Because the game had not restarted by 10:06 pm EDT and over 7:30 had been played in the 3rd at that point, the game was decided to be official and the 17–10 score was declared final. In week 11, the Alouettes were the "away" team as they played the Toronto Argonauts in the fourth regular season installment of Touchdown Atlantic in Moncton, New Brunswick.
