Edmonton Elks’ president and CEO Rick LeLacheur said on Monday the decision to fire head coach and general manager Chris Jones wasn’t related to the upcoming sale of the team, though he ensured all remaining potential buyers signed off on the coach’s dismissal.
LeLacheur shared his decision with the club’s board of directors as well as the ownership group(s) still in the running to purchase the team before the axe officially fell. He indicated that all parties agreed with his rationale, which centred upon the hope of turning the team’s 0-5 season around.
The sale of the Elks is expected to happen this year as the special committee tasked with reviewing the ownership structure of the team started hearing formal bids in May. Park Lane, the CFL’s investment banking partner which oversaw the sale of the Montreal Alouettes, has been working directly with the committee since at least March.
Edmonton has endured cumulative losses of over $16 million since 2019, though Kara Flynn, the team’s treasurer, indicated in her financial report earlier this year that the team has sufficient working capital to meet its obligations for the 2024 season.
None of the team’s new potential ownership group(s) have been publicly identified, though local sources have indicated to 3DownNation that the goal remains to sell the team as quickly as possible to the most qualified buyer.
LeLacheur said he believes Edmonton’s players remain committed on the field, saying Jones never lost the locker room despite the team’s struggles.
“I’ve worked with (interim general manager) Geroy (Simon) and with (interim head coach) Jarious (Jackson) in the past, and I have full confidence in them,” said LeLacheur. “We all know that we have a better team than we had last year but, at the end of the day, we’re still 0-5, so the time was, ‘Let’s get on with it.’ We have not given up in this year at all.”
LeLacheur said he felt there had to be consequences following an 0-5 start, calling professional football “a results-based business.” It’s unclear why he didn’t feel the same way when he was hired last year as the team was 1-9 with five of those losses coming by double digits, including two shutouts.
It doesn’t appear as though the club’s roster will undergo a drastic makeover following Jones’ firing as Simon plans to mostly maintain the status quo, at least in the short term.
“(Dealing with a firing is) tough. Chris has given me a great opportunity to come here to Edmonton and work and learn under him but we are where we are and it’s time to try to turn this thing around,” said Simon. “After Rick made his decision, I looked at the roster, I looked at the staff, and there isn’t a lot that needs to be changed. There will be a few tweaks but for right now, we’re going to move forward and try to get our first win.”
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame receiver indicated that he will allow interim head coach Jarious Jackson, who he’s known for 20 years, to have input on personnel. This isn’t the first time Jackson has received a midseason promotion as he became the team’s offensive coordinator following an 0-8 start last season.
“It’s definitely a tough day — I think we’re all in shock right now — but at the end of the day, we’ve got to lace our boots up and keep pushing forward,” said Jackson. “For me, it’s all about being positive and having hope. I think this is an opportunity for me that has come about. When you get your opportunities, you’ve got to take advantage of them. For me as a player, I had that kind of mentality, and that’s my mentality going into this.”
“The players, they believe. The locker room is still together and I want them to have hope and push forward and know that we can get wins going down the stretch here. We’ve only had almost a third of the season so far, so there’s still a lot of football left to be played.”
Jackson also confirmed that McLeod Bethel-Thompson will remain the team’s starting quarterback, though he suggested he may try to find a way to get Canadian backup Tre Ford on the field in some fashion.
Coincidentally, Simon and Jackson were both members of the B.C. Lions in 2011 when they won the Grey Cup after starting the season 0-5. If the Elks hope to do the same this year, they’ve got a lot of work ahead of them, starting on Friday night when they play the second half of a home-and-home against the Ottawa Redblacks.
