The first five seasons of the Edmonton Elks era have been brutal, compiling a record of 25-61. The once proud organization was synonymous with winning for decades, but the last five seasons of the Edmonton Eskimos and the first five of the Elks have been plagued by losing. Losing games, losing fans and losing respect.
But since Larry and Deb Thompson purchased the Elks in August of 2024, the organization has slowly started trending up. They hired Chris Morris as President. Morris had a big job. He had to clean up the mess left by his predecessors. He was tasked with trying to repair broken connections with sponsors, clients and fans. And he had to remove staff inside the organization, who didn’t work hard enough or consistent enough.
Morris’ first big move was hiring Ed Hervey as General Manager. Hervey was GM of the EE previously in 2013-2016 and he built the then-Eskimos into a championship team, winning the Grey Cup in 2015.
In the seven season (2006-2012) before Hervey was hired the Elks organization won one playoff game in the West Division, and in the eight seasons since he left they’ve only won one playoff games in the West division.
Morris and Hervey are committed to returning the “Eskimo-way” to the organization. They want to be an organization fans are proud of, the community supports and ultimately a team who wins on the field. They’ve done a good job reintegrating the organization into the community and for the first year in a decade season ticket renewals went up, instead of down. Not a lot, but at least they are starting to trend upwards.
But now the team must win on the field. The organization was a disaster off the field and behind the scenes, and it showed on the field. The Elks have only won 29% of their games since the name change.
They’ve never won the first game of the season. They’ve never been had a winning record, even for one week over the past five seasons.
Slow starts have plagued them.
They started 0-2 in 2021, even their record to 2-2, before losing eight in a row and finishing 3-11.
They started 0-3 in 2022 and finished the season 4-14.
They started 0-9 in 2023 and finished 4-14.
They began 2024 at 0-7, but did finish 7-4 for a record of 7-11.
Last year they started 0-3 and finished 7-11.
They can’t afford another slow start. Hervey has assembled the best roster in years. He re-vamped the offensive line and brought in Malik Carney to help the defensive line get pressure. Both lines are vastly improved. The secondary and linebackers all returned. They signed Austin Mack and Joe Robustelli to bolster the receiving core and they have the best running back in the league in Justin Rankin.
Quarterback Cody Fajardo has lots of talent around him, and now he needs to get them the ball.
Head coach Mark Kilam gained valuable experience as a rookie head coach last season, and he’s much more prepared this season. Offensive coordinator, Jordan Maksymic, and defensive coordinator, JC Sherritt, have more experience and more talent at their disposal. The organization hired Rick Campbell as a coaching analyst to help all the coaches.
All the pieces are in place for this team to succeed. Now they have to show it.
They open the season in Ottawa on Saturday night. I’d argue it is the biggest game in the era of the Edmonton Elks. Name a bigger game they’ve played in? I can’t.
They need a win. They need to build positive momentum. They have a bye in Week 2, and play their home opener against Montreal on June 20th. Win in Ottawa and they have two weeks of positive vibes for their fans. Most importantly they can show their fans, the Elks can win. They can win early in a season. They won’t be out of the playoff race by Canada Day.
The franchise needs a win. The fans need a win. It is time the players and coaches delivered.
