MONTREAL - The Dan Hawkins era lasted only five games in Montreal.
The Alouettes, who have struggled to a 2-3 record to start the season, announced Thursday that Hawkins has been fired.
Jim Popp will step in as head coach for the third time in his 18 years as general manager of the Canadian Football League club.
The firing came during a bye week in the Alouettes schedule. The team's next game is Aug. 8 against the Toronto Argonauts.
The offence, which was Montreal's strength under former coach Marc Trestman, looked disorganized and lifeless under Hawkins, who was coaching a professional team for the first time in his career.
Owner Bob Wetenhall asked Popp to step in.
"Jim is the person most responsible for the success we have had over all these years," Wetenhall said in a statement. "I feel confident that he is the best person to coach our team at this time and I am very appreciative of him being willing to make this additional contribution to our franchise.
"He has the respect of our players as well as mine."
Hawkins was hired Feb. 19 after working as a broadcaster. He had previously coached mainly U.S. college teams, taking Boise State to four Western Athletic Conference titles from 2002 to 2005 before compiling a disappointing 19-39 record at Colorado from 2006 to 2010.
It was the second time in a row Montreal hired a coach with no CFL experience.
But while it worked with Trestman, who won two Grey Cups in a five-year stint before being named head coach of the NFL's Chicago bears, Hawkins did not appear comfortable with the 12-man game.
He bowed out a winner, however. Despite the team's spotty play, the Alouettes are in second place in the weak East Division and are coming off a nervy 32-27 win over 1-4 Edmonton.
Popp first stepped in as coach to finish off a disastrous 2001 campaign under Rod Rust, but Don Matthews took over the following season.
He took over as coach again when Matthews fell ill during the 2006 season and brought the Alouettes to the Grey Cup game.
He stayed on for 2007, in which the rookie-laden club that was missing starting quarterback Anthony Calvillo for much of the season went 8-10 and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Winnipeg.
It was the team's only losing record since it returned to Montreal after a 10-year hiatus in 1996. Popp has been general manager all of that time.
His CFL regular-season coaching record is 10-13, with a 1-3 mark in playoff games.
The team did not say if Popp would coach on an interim basis or when the search for a new head coach would begin.
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