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 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 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.
Edmonton Elks interim head coach Jarious Jackson speaks about his new role after the firing of head coach and general manager Chris Jones in Edmonton on July 15, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)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.
"The maturity in this locker-room I'm especially proud of what we've built so far, and now we just got to get on the other side."
Elks middle linebacker Nyles Morgan said the players held a meeting Tuesday in the wake of Jones's dismissal and will "embrace the change and push forward" under Jackson.
"It's hard. A lot of guys have a lot of love for Coach Jones and what he's done for us," Morgan told media.
"I know for sure he wants us to keep moving forward, keep doing the things we need to do to win the games that we know we should win."
Sewell new defensive line coach
The Elks had more coaching news Tuesday, with Almondo Sewell assuming the role of defensive line coach on Tuesday after incumbent Nate O'Neal quit in the wake of Jones's departure.
"Everything needs to improve. The guys are held to a very high standard," said Sewell, a former Edmonton lineman who was part of the 2015 Edmonton team that won the Grey Cup under Jones and who finished his CFL playing career last season with a second Cup championship as a member of the Montreal Alouettes.
"They know what they need to do. They're a really young group of guys, they listen fairly well ... The respect's in the room already with the guys. I'm going to respect them as much as they respect me."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Evan Kenny
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.7014061.1724668701!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Canada to restrict low-wage foreign workers, consider lower immigration targets
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is urging businesses to hire Canadians as his government announces new restrictions to limit low-wage temporary foreign workers.
A former Toronto Blue Jay is set to make baseball history today. Here's how
Boston Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen is enjoying his odd slice of baseball history as he prepares to become the first major league player to appear in the same game for both teams.
Ice cave collapse in Iceland kills 1 tourist and leaves 2 missing
Icelandic rescuers worked by hand Monday to cut through the remnants of a collapsed ice cave as they searched for two tourists missing for more than 24 hours since a glacier in the southeastern part of the island caved in, killing one person and severely injured another.
After losing her job, she convinced her husband to move to Mexico and open up a B&B. Here's what happened next
After years of traveling together, Brooke and Rick Gazer, both from Canada, were used to staying in interesting places.
Charges withdrawn against Toronto cops accused of failing to properly investigate murdered woman's disappearance
Nearly seven years after the family of Tess Richey found her remains in a stairwell in Toronto, professional misconduct charges against two of the police officers initially tasked with investigating her disappearance have been withdrawn.
Things a cybersecurity expert says they would never do
How can you protect your personal information and privacy? CTVNews.ca spoke to a cybersecurity expert on how to better safeguard against the evolving landscape of cyber threats.
Canada to hit China with tariffs on electric vehicles, aluminum, steel
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will impose a 100-per-cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles, along with 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum and steel from China, in an effort to protect domestic manufacturing.
World's oldest man, born same year the Titanic sank, celebrates 112th birthday
John Alfred Tinniswood was born the same year the Titanic sank and when New Mexico and Arizona became U.S. states.
Free colonoscopies and million dollar paydays: How countries rewarded their Olympic champions
Athletes train their whole lives for the opportunity to win an Olympic medal. The step onto the podium is the culmination of a lifetime of effort, determination and sacrifice.