Did the Elks get it right?
Thoughts on the staff that the Edmonton Elks have put together.
The Edmonton Elks football operations department has been put together. They’ve chosen Chris Morris as President, Ed Hervey as General Manager, and Mark Kilam as head coach.
That is an excellent framework. They got it right.
~
I have no reason not to like the Morris hiring. Beyond his years playing offensive line for the green and gold, he’s been the lead man of the University of Alberta Golden Bears football program for many years.
Certainly he was the first indication of the direction the Elks would be taking, as far as returning to their roots. I’m not sure about relying on that strategy, but in isolation, Morris is off to a strong start. It’s been said it was a surprise the former kicker Sean Fleming was passed over for Morris, but you can’t-not feel his passion when he talks about how he wants this to go. My one question would be – this will be a theme – does passion necessarily mean good decisions.
~
Former EE receiver Hervey returns for a second tenure as general manager, having been in the role from 2014-2016, which included a Grey Cup in 2015. His unceremonious dismissal in early 2017 still has not been forgiven by many. By all accounts, though, Hervey is wiser than when he left, even as his passion and fire remains unchanged.
That will match Morris’s energy, and brings up a similar question about good decisions. While Hervey won a championship within two years in Edmonton, his work since then is less stellar. The BC Lions coaxed over star quarterback Michael Reilly and then struggled under Hervey’s watch in 2018-2019. I don’t think you can draw strong conclusions from his work with the Ticats in 2024. Obviously, this has strong potential to go well, the track record just leaves me a little hesitant.
~
Very pleased they’ll be giving the keys to Mark Kilam as coach. In the same way as the other two, I don’t know exactly how well passion will translate to fielding a contending team, although being the most in direct contact with the players ought to make that a stronger factor. There are only reasons to be in favour, most of all how his former special teams players from Calgary have taken to the streets to advocate for him in the last couple weeks. Kilam himself talked about how awesome the energy in the room was between himself, Hervey, and Morris. I hope they’ll leave space for the players to get in a little bit of quiet time!
From the start, I figured my preference was for a combination of Jarious Jackson and Mark Kilam, one as head coach and the other a co-ordinator and assistant head coach, because I do have a lot of respect for what Jackson managed with the Elks offence, and the team, in 2024. I never came around to Rick Campbell while he was considered the favourite, because while it could have gone well, it was very easy to see them getting hard-stuck at 11-7 instead of pushing to 13 wins. Which is not fine as a ceiling, no matter how low your bar is.
Instead, they’ve decided to maximize, and seemingly with very low risk. The first time Kilam chooses offence on a generic 3rd and 3 at midfield or goes for two in the first quarter, I’ll be sold.
~
Co-ordinators. Jordan Maksymic is reported as the overwhelming favourite to take Edmonton’s offensive job, after the BC Lions chose Buck Pierce as their head coach. This should be a big positive for the Elks. Maksymic is another local guy and he’s worked here before (2013, 2016-2019), most notably as the full offensive co-ordinator in 2019 under Jason Maas.
His work with the Lions should be considered a net positive – they had mostly strong units, and Vernon Adams played by far his best football after getting traded to BC, as well as Nathan Rourke having an all-time outstanding (half-)season in 2022. There’s one question for Maksymic too, though, which is what the hell happened in the last two-thirds of 2024? Adams played like a runaway MOP for six weeks, struggled badly against Calgary in week 7 before struggling badly against Winnipeg the following week, where he got injured in the fourth quarter, which after a week of Jake Dolegala led into Rourke’s return and further struggles the rest of the way. That’s not enough to turn me away from Maksymic, and hey, I don’t mind passing it off on Campbell. I think he or Jackson would both be 10/10 choices.
For defensive co-ordinator, JC Sherritt is apparently a hot name. He’s already interviewed with Calgary and Ottawa, having been “linebackers coach and run game coordinator” for the Riders this year. I don’t think it’s reasonable for me to offer a judgement on his coaching abilities, all I can say is, yeah, it would be cool to have him on the staff especially if Aaron Grymes and Almondo Sewell are still hanging around. We haven’t heard about other candidates, only that Jason Shivers still has a contract through 2025.
~
How quickly will they decide on a quarterback? That’s the last big outstanding question to round off the hierarchy. If Tre Ford re-signs before February, it will be the strongest collective ‘arrows up’ the franchise has had in many, many years, and apparently it is trending heavily in that direction.