Uncertainty looms over Edmonton Elks as club heads into off-season

While an optimist whitethorn constituent retired that the Edmonton Elks went 7-4 to adjacent retired the play aft a dreadful 0-7 start, the squad heads into the CFL off-season with plentifulness of questions.

Will interim wide manager Geroy Simon and interim caput manager Jarious Jackson, who replaced erstwhile manager and GM Chris Jones 5 games into the regular season, support their jobs successful 2025?

With McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s one-year woody present expired, and Tre Ford not nether declaration for 2025, who volition play backmost for going forward?

As the Elks cleaned retired their lockers Monday, these questions person not been answered.

The connection “interim” is astir arsenic communal with the Elks arsenic “football.” So it was lone fitting that interim CEO and president Rick LeLacheur told the media that the program is for the squad to prosecute a imperishable president first, past determination onto confirming the GM and caput manager positions for 2025.

The extremity is to person this each successful spot by the Grey Cup connected Nov. 17.

“We’re a week person than we were a week agone to a caller president,” LeLacheur said. “It’s going to hap reasonably soon. We’re successful immoderate last interviews and discussions.

“We’re going to bash it the mode that is usually done. We’re going to get a president, and past the president volition person engagement successful the wide manager, and past the wide manager volition person engagement successful the coaching staff.”

Simon and Jackson took implicit erstwhile the squad fired Jones aft an 0-5 start. The squad had a winning grounds aft the change, which is encouraging for a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2019.

It’s wide they privation to support their jobs.

“It’s an breathtaking time,” said Jackson. “At the extremity of the day, you cognize there’s opportunity, right?

“Of people I privation it to spell successful my favour, but, astatine the aforesaid time, I don’t power that. My occupation is to spell retired and effort to triumph shot games each and each week. That’s what myself and the unit effort to do.”

Simon said the enactment needed to beryllium stabilized earlier the squad could build.

“There was much than conscionable trying to win. We had to stabilize things, and effort to physique from there,” helium said. “I deliberation we did a bully occupation of that.

“It’s pugnacious to hold close now, but I’m operating arsenic if I americium going to beryllium the wide manager moving forward. I’m starting to look to physique this squad to beryllium a title organization.”

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Whether it’s Simon oregon idiosyncratic else, the GM’s archetypal occupation volition beryllium addressing the backmost situation. Ford is simply a instrumentality favourite. The Canadian backmost was an Elks’ first-round draught prime successful 2022, but has since been bounced successful and retired of the starting position.

Injuries person played a role, but Jones made the determination earlier the 2024 play to bring successful the seasoned Bethel-Thompson and determination Ford to the bench. Judging by the repeated calls of “we privation Tre!” during Elks’ location games, it was not a determination that was unanimously supported by the instrumentality base.

Ford got the starting occupation back, got hurt, and past started down the last stretch. His quality to marque highlight-reel plays and scramble retired what look to beryllium definite sacks volition marque him a free-agent target. And, helium couldn’t perpetrate if his aboriginal lies successful Edmonton oregon determination else.

“I’m not 100 per cent sure,” helium said “It’s not my call. I’ve got to spot however the cards fall, see? I’ve got to speech to my cause and spot what everybody is saying and spell from there.”

He said the faster the Elks get the absorption location successful order, the much it volition assistance the determination along.

“You request idiosyncratic who is going to beryllium making the moves, right? And that’s benignant of the biggest piece, past the different pieces autumn in. Everything moves forward. But I consciousness we’re benignant of stalled close now, erstwhile you don’t cognize who that is.”

The squad announced implicit the play that moving backmost Justin Rankin has inked a caller one-year woody aft rushing for 765 yards successful 11 games successful his rookie season. That apt means the squad volition determination connected from moving backmost Kevin Brown, whose declaration is up and finished the play connected the signifier roster.