Don’t be surprised if the University of Minnesota Gophers look to the Montreal Alouettes for permission to talk to head coach Marc Trestman to fill its coaching vacancy, Sportsnet.ca has learned.

Sources say the university had two lists of potential replacements for recently-fired Tim Brewster. The first list had one only name — former National Football League head coach Tony Dungy, an alumnus of the Gopher program. Now a football analyst with NBC, the one-time Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Indianapolis Colts indicated on Sunday night he will not return to coaching his alma mater.

The second list has two or three names, and according to sources one of them is Trestman, a former assistant with the Minnesota Vikings.

Trestman was the source of rumours in the off-season as a candidate for the Oakland Raiders head coaching role. He downplayed it and the Als gave him a contract extension.

On Sunday, Trestman clinched first in the East, something he has done in each of his three seasons in Montreal. He led the Als to a Grey Cup championship last year after losing the year before.

Trestman is respected in the football world for his tutelage and development of quarterbacks. Als veteran pivot Anthony Calvillo has been voted the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player the last two years and may repeat again this year.