Noel Thorpe

Noel Thorpe is a professional Canadian football coach who is currently the defensive coordinator for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a Grey Cup, Vanier Cup, and IFAF World Cup champion. He played college football for the St. Cloud State Huskies.

Coaching career Early college career Thorpe began his coaching career with the UBC Thunderbirds of the CIAU in 1996 as the program's defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. In 2003, he also became the defensive backs coach of the team. In the following season, Richie Hall was hired as the team's head coach and Thorpe added the title of assistant head coach. At the end of a disappointing 2010 season, one in which the team's general manager, Danny Maciocia, was fired, Hall was also relieved of his duties as head coach. The team's new head coach, Kavis Reed, dismissed Thorpe from the team on December 15, 2010.

Montreal Carabins After a ten-year absence from college football, Thorpe was named the special teams coordinator for the Montreal Carabins on February 4, 2011.

Montreal Alouettes (II) After two years with the Carabins, Thorpe re-joined the Alouettes on November 28, 2012, this time in the capacity of defensive coordinator.

While the Alouettes made the playoffs in 2014 after beginning the season with a 1–7 record, another slow start to the 2015 season led to the team dismissing Higgins and replacing him with Popp. It was the third such instance that Thorpe had been on the coaching staff of the Alouettes while Popp took over interim head coaching duties. At the end of the 2015 season, Popp announced that he would remain as the team's head coach for the 2016 season. Soon after, Thorpe submitted his resignation to join the Edmonton Eskimos as their defensive coordinator, but the move was blocked by league commissioner, Jeffrey Orridge, on December 17, 2015, since there were two years remaining on his contract. After re-conciliation, it was announced by Thorpe and the Alouettes that he would remain with the team and fulfill his contractual obligations.

During the 2016 season, Popp resigned as head coach and was replaced by Jacques Chapdelaine, the team's receivers coach, rather than Thorpe or Kavis Reed, who were the team's assistant head coaches. Chapdelaine was named the team's head coach for the 2017 season while Reed was promoted to the team's general manager position vacated by Popp. The team once again struggled and, after a 3–8 start to the season, Thorpe and Chapdelaine were fired on September 13, 2017. The Alouettes were winless in their final seven games that year without Thorpe.

Ottawa Redblacks On December 4, 2017, Thorpe was named the defensive coordinator for the Ottawa Redblacks. He spent two years with the Redblacks, with the first yielding an appearance in the 106th Grey Cup, and the next with the Redblacks finishing with the worst record in the league. After Ottawa's head coach, Rick Campbell, announced his resignation at the conclusion of the 2019 season, Thorpe was not retained by the Redblacks.

Edmonton Eskimos (II) On January 15, 2020, it was announced that Thorpe had re-joined the Eskimos, this time as the team's defensive coordinator, after a 10-year absence.

Montreal Alouettes (III) On July 6, 2022, it was announced that Thorpe had been hired as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Montreal Alouettes, replacing the fired Barron Miles. In early December 2022 it was reported that Thorpe was one of five finalists for the vacant Alouettes head coaching job.

Personal life Thorpe and his wife, Erminia Russo, have two children, Emma and Peyton. Their family had been living in Montreal since Thorpe's time with the Carabins and continued while he was working for the Ottawa Redblacks.