In the Edmonton Eskimos’ final news conference for the 2015 season, head coach Chris Jones remained tight-lipped when asked about his future with the team.
“I like it here, I like winning football games,” said Jones. “But certainly I always have to keep my options open. If opportunities arise then this is professional football and I think everybody here in this room and in the city would understand.”
Just days after guiding the CFL football team to its first Grey Cup championship in 10 years, Jones’ future has been the subject of a number of reports suggesting he is being courted by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
On Wednesday, Eskimos’ general manager Ed Hervey acknowledged giving another team permission to speak with Jones and said while he doesn’t want to lose him, it’s important to let staff explore other opportunities.
“In this business you don’t stop people from advancing and growing,” said Hervey. “Football has opportunities for all of us and in this case, there’s a team that wants to have a chance to speak with Chris… why would I stand in the way of giving him that opportunity to talk?”
With several members of the championship team becoming available for free agency in the offseason, Hervey acknowledged he will have his work cut out for him in trying to win a second consecutive Grey Cup.
“When you win, the market makes you more valuable and it’s a matter of whether you wanna stay in Edmonton and stick to what we’re doing,” he said.
“That’s the difficulty in professional sports,” said Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly. “Anytime you have a team that’s really good and good enough to win a championship, there’s gonna be guys that aren’t gonna be a part of it next year.”
No CFL team was won back-to-back championships since the Montreal Alouettes did so in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. For now, fans will have to wait and see whether Jones will be part of the team trying to do just that next season.
“If the Saskatchewan deal works out then it works out,” said Jones. “That’s yet to be seen.”
The Edmonton Eskimos captured the CFL title on Sunday when they defeated the Ottawa RedBlacks 26-20. Jones’ team won the championship in just his second season as head coach.
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