It didn’t seem like football weather in Edmonton with temperatures well below -30 C when media was introduced to the new Edmonton Eskimos head coach last week, but Scott Milanovich already feels the warmth of a fresh start.
After ending a three-year stint as quarterbacks coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Milanovich is now focused solely on the 2020 CFL season. On Wednesday, Milanovich named his coaching staff for the upcoming season.
Joining the Eskimos for the 2020 season are:
- Winston October (Receivers coach and passing-game coordinator)
- John McDonell (Offensive line coach)
- Noel Thorpe (Defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach)
- A.J. Gass (Special teams coordinator and linebacker coach)
- Derek Oswalt (Defensive assistant)
- Demetrious Maxie (Defensive line coach)
- Terry Eisler (Running backs coach)
- Kelley Jeffrey (Quarterbacks coach and special teams assistant)
Milanovich will also serve as the team’s offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and special teams assistant.
On Tuesday, the Eskimos announced the addition of Terry Eisler as running backs coach and Kelley Jeffrey as quarterback coach and special teams assistant.
Eisler is no stranger to the Eskimos or Edmonton. He was part of the Eskimos coaching staff from 2007 to 2009 and again in 2012 and 2013.
Jeffrey was brought into the CFL in 2016 when he was hired by Milanovich to be the Toronto Argonauts special teams coordinator.
Gaas, Maxie and Oswalt will return from last season’s staff under then head coach Jason Maas. Thorpe returns to the Eskimos after a previous three-year stint from 2008 to 2019, while October returns after playing for the Eskimos from 2001 to 2004.
WATCH BELOW: Dave Campbell and Morley Scott break down the Edmonton Eskimos coaching staff announced on Jan. 15.
Thorpe has also been named the defensive backs coach and Gass will be taking on linebacker coach duties as well as his special teams coordinator role.
Milanovich began the evaluation process of his roster last Thursday and said he likes what he sees so far.
“We’re a couple of pieces of away and we’re still figuring that out,” Milanovich said. “I think we have a good nucleus on defence, we can rush the passer and that’s where it starts.
“We have linebackers who have experience. We got some injuries to our defensive backs that maybe hurt us later in the season.
“Offensively so far I like what I see from the offensive line. Obviously I know Trevor [Harris], our running backs are solid, receivers are solid but there’s some different things we will have to tweak.”
The Eskimos hired Milanovich in December after parting ways with Jason Maas at the end of November.
At the time, Eskimos general manager Brock Sunderland said the decision to fire Maas was made after the team had two sub-par seasons in a row.
Milanovich is the 22nd head coach of the Eskimos.
The next significant point in the CFL off season is Feb. 11 when the free agent period opens at 10 a.m. MST.
– With files from Kirby Bourne and Morley Scott, 630 CHED
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