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On Tuesday, Danny McManus, an assistant GM with Winnipeg and director of U.S. scouting, also dropped out of the running. McManus, who has continued scouting for the Blue Bombers throughout the interview process, was put in a tenuous position, a potential conflict of interest.

Although McManus said the decision was his, he also received a call Monday night from Als president Patrick Boivin, telling him he wasn’t going to be hired.

Regardless of who made the first move, a trend is developing. Burke and McManus weren’t comfortable taking the job after they were interviewed last week in Vancouver by Boivin, Jones and Wally Buono, the B.C. Lions’ former GM and head coach, who has been retained as a consultant.

Neil McEvoy, the Lions’ director of football operations, along with Jean-Marc Edmé, Ottawa’s director of player personnel, quashed the Als’ overtures before even being granted an interview. McEvoy lives in Vancouver and Edmé once coached and scouted for Montreal.

There has to be a reason all these candidates are pulling out. The organization’s approach isn’t good and the job doesn’t appear to be appealing.

According to information obtained by the Montreal Gazette, there are a number of factors these potential candidates find unappealing.

With ownership still apparently in flux, but potentially nearing a resolution, the candidates are dealing with a team president who doesn’t have a football background and, depending on who buys the team, might be out of a job. Although if Claridge Investment Ltd. is part of the ownership mix — a company in which Boivin’s father, Pierre, is president and CEO — it’s likely Boivin would remain president.