Edmonton Elks head coach and general manager Chris Jones led his team to a disappointing 4-14 record last year, which he says was due in part to the league’s operating ceiling. CFL.
“It was difficult, not just on the pitch. … Our staff have to take a step back in terms of money because a lot of these guys, we can’t pay them as much as the others [team’s] staff because he owed these other coaches money. So it’s definitely a big challenge to put together a team,” Jones told Dave Jamieson on TSN 1260.
“We worked with 18 people this year, the others [team’s] staff worked with 21. There must be enough money to keep a good solid staff together because you are only as good as your helper. It’s kind of a constant battle. We have to win games, we have to get people back in the seats, we have to create interest.
The CFL implemented the operations cap in 2019 to limit and even out spending across the league. Edmonton fired general manager Brock Sunderland and head coach Jaime Elizondo after a disastrous 2021 season, which limited the amount of money they can spend on coaches, staff, equipment staff and the video staff.
Jones compared last season to his first year as head coach and general manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2016 when the club finished last in the West Division at 5-13. He made a slew of free agent signings to kick off this rebuild and did the same last winter in Edmonton, acquiring veterans such as Kenny Lawler, Tony Washington, Makana Henry, Deon Lacey, Adam Konar, Ed Gainey and Sergio Castillo.
The 55-year-old has indicated he doesn’t plan to be as active in free agency this offseason, saying he’s looking at ‘three or maybe four free agents’ as well as the club’s 10 draft picks for improve the list. The Riders improved to 10-8 under Jones in his second year at the helm in 2017 and Edmonton fans will likely expect a similar improvement in 2023.
Jones said the team feels “very confident” in the quarterback duo of Taylor Cornelius and Tre Ford heading into next season. The Elks recently signed Cornelius to a two-year contract extension that includes a significant amount of guaranteed money in 2024, which strongly indicates they view him as their starter moving forward.
The 27-year-old center has completed 57.4% of his passes this season for 2,768 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was also the league’s most productive quarterback on the ground, rushing for 502 yards and seven touchdowns. Jones would like to see the Oklahoma State product take better care of football next season, which will be his third in the CFL.
“We would definitely like to lower the interception rate and then what we have to improve with him is to stay in the pocket, not to be too nervous and we have to protect him,” Jones said.
“That’s what we have to be able to do, we have to run the ball, come in second and be manageable. We have to protect our quarterback when we call passing plays and then some of the control throws, j Feel like he needs to improve touch so we don’t have so many knocked down balls that lead to interceptions.
The club has discovered some exciting offensive weapons over the past year, including running back Kevin Brown and receiver Dillon Mitchell. The latter signed a contract extension on Monday, keeping him in Edmonton until the 2025 season. Jones said the club hopes to do the same with Brown, as he also seeks to bring back strong defensive tackle Jake Ceresna.
Edmonton has now missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons and has yet to win at home since October 2019, a losing streak that spans 17 regular-season games at Commonwealth Stadium. Jones promised fans that he and his colleagues will work tirelessly this offseason to ensure their shortcomings are corrected through 2023.
“As a staff, we will do everything in our power. We’re not going to sleep until we fix this, and we’re going to work as hard as we can to make it happen.
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