Edmonton Elks head coach and general manager Chris Jones has been fired as the football team continues to struggle to secure a win.
Geroy Simon will take over as interim general manager, while offensive co-ordinator and quarterbacks coach Jarious Jackson becomes the team’s interim head coach.
Jackson will retain his offensive play-calling duties.
The decision to fire the Elks’ general manager and coach came down to one man: Rick LeLacheur.
The Elks’ president and CEO said no one else had input into the call. He informed the board of the community-owned CFL team Monday morning that Jones would be replaced, with Geroy Simon taking over as general manager, and offensive coordinator Jarious Jackson assuming interim head coaching duties.
The team is currently in talks with potential private owners, and LeLacheur confirmed he let them know of his decision.
“The major thing is we have not given up on this year,” LeLacheur said. “When you’re 0-5, there’s got to be some consequences. It’s a results-based business. I’ve worked with Geroy and Jarious in the past, and I have full confidence in them.
“We all know we have a better team than we had last year, but, at the end of the day, we’re still 0-5.”
The Elks are winless, but all five of their losses were one-score games. Incredibly, the team has lost each of its last three games on last-second field goals.
“We are 0-5,” said Jackson. “We don’t get any brownie points for keeping games close, right? It’s about the Ws.
“At the end of the day, it’s the only thing that matters. Stats don’t matter.”
Jones was hired by the Elks in December 2021 and under his leadership, the team amassed a combined record of 8-33 over the course of two-plus seasons: 2022 (4-14), 2023 (4-14) and 2024 (0-5).
That was Jones’ second stint with the team, after previously serving as head coach from 2014 to 2015, which included a Grey Cup championship in 2015.
“Chris worked extremely hard to improve our football team over the last several seasons and we thank him for that,” LeLacheur said in a statement before speaking to the media.
“There’s no question we’re a better team today than we were the previous two seasons, but ultimately this is a results-based business and the wins haven’t materialized.”
The Elks continue to struggle, dropping to 0-5 after this past weekend’s 37-34 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks. Edmonton has lost four straight games by exactly three points, including the last three on game-winning field goals as time expired.
“It’s always difficult to make changes of this significance during the season, but we owe it to everyone within the organization and to all our fans to hold people accountable when we fall short.
“There’s plenty of season remaining and we expect to see Geroy and Jarious help our players reach their full potential.”
The Elks’ next game is on Friday, when they travel to the nation’s capital to take on the RedBlacks. Game time is 5 p.m. MT (TSN/RDS, 630 CHED, CFL+).
— More to come…
— with files from The Canadian Press
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