The Edmonton Elks had their introductory press conference for their newly signed free agents, and I had the chance to be a part of the scrums with GM Ed Hervey, HC Mark Kilam, DE Malik Carney, as well as one-on-ones with new LTs Brendan Bordner and Jordan Murray, and new WR Austin Mack. True to form, Ed was very positive on the outlook of the Edmonton Elks’ future.
In his opening response, Hervey said, “It’s a great day for us, to be honest with you. I mean, as we said when we arrived, the perception of this organization is going to change when we got here. We feel like the guys that we brought in over the course of last year and the guys that we brought in this year are just continuing that message, right? Like our commitment to our fans, our commitment to this league is to be a part of it, right? Like we’re here to compete. We’re here to win. And I think the expectation from our fans is that we have days like this where we bring in people that can impact our roster and help us get to where we want to go.”
The point of the team being here to compete and win may have been repeated and may have been moot points from a past regime, but with this regime of president Chris Morris, Hervey, and Kilam, it carries a semblance of belief rather than just lip service. This regime knows it hasn’t been good enough, and they’re a very proud group who’re aiming to address it. And it’s not that the old regime wasn’t — no management group or coaching staff aims to go out there and lose year after year. But this current group, under the Thompsons’ ownership and under Morris and Hervey, knows how important winning is for this fanbase. Which is why, when Ed makes these comments following free agency signings, you believe it. You don’t just feel like he’s filling a quota of what he’s supposed to say. You know he knows how real it is.
As far as a few intricacies surrounding free agency, I asked him about the future of Martez Ivey at the LT spot with the additions of Brendan Bordner and Jordan Murray:
“We’ll discuss that once the day is over with.”
Hervey is never one to answer a question briefly. He’ll give you a full minute or a minute-and-a-half answer. So this five-second response is pretty telling. To me, this feels like the end of Martez Ivey in the Green and Gold.
I asked him about how much the actual on-the-field ratio plays into a GM’s mind during free agency. Of course it’s something you consider. Duh. But I asked him how much that factors in versus getting the best players and letting the ratio figure itself out later:
“No, that’s rolling the dice and living in chance. Everything is calculated on what we do here. We build a team with the expectation of, you check the roster and you make certain that you have your strongest national players that you can get. Then you draft them, but with respect to how this league is, is that you got to make sure you can maintain them. You got to develop them. You have to do all those different things. With us entering year two, we feel like we’re strong in a lot of areas. I just can’t wait to see everyone start to gel and get that second year under the belt with the addition of the new guys. I’m just fired up to see the guys get going.”
I finally asked about Devodric Bynum’s departure. It was expected. He lost his job to injury, wasn’t overly physical, and JJ Ross was better, which I’ve written about before. But he did also have five interceptions two years ago. That’s tough to do. I asked Hervey if there was any thought or discussion about maybe keeping him around:
“I’m very happy with the guys that we have. I look at our roster and I rarely look back. I look ahead and look forward, and I feel very good about the guys that are on the roster. We’ve had a lot of time to think about that. We wish them well, but this is our team moving forward.”
Onward and upward, indeed. As far as a wrap-up on Hervey’s comments, my biggest takeaway was that he’s focused on building the culture. He wants to bring in guys who can appreciate what they’re building in Edmonton. What Edmonton can be and what Edmonton has been. Last year was an overhaul, and this year was about additions that fit the mould of what they want the EE to be. It’s the right thing to do. I don’t need to tell Hervey that. I probably don’t need to tell anyone reading this that. It’s been a culture that has been in the dumpster for the last six years, and Rome wasn’t built in a day. But with a second free agency under his belt, and with the foundation of the roster set in place, I think it’s safe to say this free agency has been a win for the Elks GM.
