Elks sombre but ‘focused’ on next opponent in wake of Jones dismissal
The players, while sombre the day after the Edmonton Elks fired their head coach and general manager, say they’re ready to turn the page and keep moving forward under new direction.
The Elks dismissed Chris Jones(opens in a new tab) on Monday, less than 24 hours after the Canadian Football League team lost their fifth straight game to start the 2024 season.
Jarious Jackson, the team’s offensive coordinator, is now the interim head coach while Geroy Simon was elevated from assistant GM to interim status as well.
Jackson said the day since Jones’s firing has been “a bit of a whirlwind” but that the Elks are zeroing on the next game: a Friday rematch with the Ottawa Redblacks, who beat them on a walk-off field-goal(opens in a new tab) Sunday in a 37-34 decision at Commonwealth Stadium to leave Edmonton with a record of 0-5.
Sunday’s result was the third such loss in a row by the Elks.
“We have to focus on what we control at this time, and that’s our energy, effort, our focus and attention to detail at this point in time,” Jackson told media.
Starting quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson said he felt “apologetic for the part” he played in Jones’s firing, “for any mistakes (he) may have made,” but that while the team is winless through the first five games of their 2024 schedule, it’s “the tightest 0-5 team (he’s) been a part of.”
“The locker-room is excellent. It’s excellent men, it’s excellent football players, and to keep a quiet eye and to stay focused through these losses has tested us,” Bethel-Thompson, who joined the Elks this season as a free agent, told media on Tuesday following practice.
“We’re going to rally together and we’re going to know that we have to fight,” said the 36-year-old signal-caller, who’s thrown for 1,497 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 72 per cent of his passes through five games.
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