Marc Trestman too busy preparing for B.C. Lions, to think about coaching Buffalo.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL -- Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman is too busy preparing for Sunday's East Division final against the B.C. Lions to worry about rumours concerning his possible move to the NFL.

But Trestman's boss, general manager Jim Popp, said Thursday he doesn't see his prized head coach going anywhere.

"I don't personally feel that Marc is searching to go to the NFL," Popp told The Canadian Press. "But because of the success he's had, his name is obviously going to pop up."

Trestman's name was among four mentioned Wednesday in an ESPN report concerning potential successors for recently fired Buffalo Bills head coach Dick Jauron. The report stated Trestman was "on the Bills' radar" without getting into specifics.

Popp questions where the news may have originated, speculating it could have "come from Canada and someone who wants to create some conflict" on the Alouettes heading into Sunday's big game.

But ultimately, Popp said he is not overly concerned about losing Trestman.

"Does he deserve to have his name thrown in? Absolutely," Popp said. "Is it a feather in this organization's cap? Absolutely. But do I expect him to be going anywhere? No. He's happy where he is. To me, this is just a rumour."

Popp wouldn't discuss any details of Trestman's contract, saying only that "bottom line, he's under contract to our team."

Trestman briefly addressed the report after the Alouettes workout Thursday.

"I think that any time your team has success, there are going to be people coming out of that team who are going to be visible and that are going to be written about," he said. "But I'm not going to comment on any of those stories."

Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo said he hadn't heard about the report until a reporter asked him about it Thursday, but he doesn't feel it will be a distraction to the team as it makes final preparations for Sunday's game.

"Marc's an excellent coach and we want him to be here, but I'm sure he's focusing on the next two games and we're going to try to do the same thing," Calvillo said. "Whatever the distractions have been, I think our team has done a great job of focusing on the game at hand."

Trestman has a long history in the NFL, serving as offensive co-ordinator in Cleveland, San Francisco, Arizona and Oakland. He was a consultant with the New Orleans Saints when the Alouettes offered him the head coaching job in 2007.

Many around the CFL questioned the wisdom of hiring a coach with no experience in the Canadian game. But Trestman swiftly put those doubts to rest, leading Montreal to an 11-7 record last year and a Grey Cup appearance.

This year has been even better with a franchise-record 15-3 mark, and to a man the Alouettes say they have all bought into Trestman's team motto to "Win the Day."

Calvillo said it is that short-sighted focus that has allowed the Als to avoid a dip in intensity after clinching first place in the East Division way back in Week 14.

"When we clinched it there wasn't much talk about it," Calvillo said. "We wanted to go out there and compete at the same level we were doing before we clinched. It wasn't like we could just sit back and relax, we were going to keep focusing on what we needed to do. The guys bought into that and it's helped us out."

Popp says it is that ability to communicate a message and then getting the players to believe in it sets Trestman apart as a coach.

"As a public speaker, he's a guy who captures your attention," Popp said. "When you're a new coach I think that's very important, because you can grasp the players a lot quicker."

Popp is clearly hoping Trestman doesn't become a new coach again any time soon.