Hervey 'committed to winning' as he begins second stint as Elks GM

New Edmonton Elks vice-president of football operations and general manager Ed Hervey on Nov. 20, 2024, during a news conference at Commonwealth Stadium. (Cameron Wiebe/CTV News Edmonton)

Ed Hervey says he's ready to get down to work to pull the Edmonton Elks back into contention.

The Canadian Football League team's new vice-president of football operations and general manager told media on Wednesday during his introductory news conference at Commonwealth Stadium he's "committed to winning" and "getting it done ... and if you don't believe it, just watch the work."

"I'm not going to sit and talk and sell you on what we're going to do," said Hervey, who's starting his second tour of GM duty in Edmonton after helming the Green and Gold from 2013-16.

"We're going to make sense. We're going to do things that make sense, common sense around here.”

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The Elks have turned back to Hervey after firing head coach and GM Chris Jones in July after an 0-7 start to the 2024 season. Geroy Simon, who had been Jones’s assistant GM, filled in as interim manager as the team finished fourth in the CFL’s West Division and out of the playoffs with a 7-11 record.

The Elks haven’t had a winning record since 2017, when they went 12-6 and lost the West Final to the Calgary Stampeders, and haven’t made the playoffs since 2019, when they crossed over to the East Division for the playoffs with an 8-10 record.

Since then, the Elks have languished at or near the bottom of the league standings. The team last won the Grey Cup in 2015 under Hervey.

The Elks hired Hervey away from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, with whom he spent this past season as their GM. The former wide receiver played his entire CFL career with Edmonton from 1999-2006 and was teammates with new Elks chief executive officer Chris Morris, who said Wednesday he hired Hervey not only because he felt he was the most-qualified person for the job but because he’s a “great fit for this team and for this community.”

“Ed is talking about building a foundation of character and of hard work and of commitment to each other that allows great players to win championships, and that's what he understands,” Morris said.

“The reality is if you don't have that, if you don't have a foundation based on trust and respect and hard work and intent and a lack of even comprehension of anything else existing in your world, you're always going to be just OK. My comfort level with bringing Ed Hervey in here is that he understands that as clearly as I do.”

Hervey said he’s looking to populate the roster and the coaching staff with “people that want to come in and do things right, on and off the field.”

"I couldn't care less how great of a player you are if you're not great off the field,” he said.

“Sometimes you have to take a step back to take two steps forward, so if that means moving on from coaches, players, people who don't fit into the culture, that's the window of opportunity to make the moves necessary to get us to where we want to go.”

Among the moves Hervey and the Elks have to consider this off-season is the future of Tre Ford with the organization. The mobile Canadian quarterback, who was drafted by the Elks in 2021, is slated to become a free agent in February.

Hervey said he’s looking forward to talking with Ford about his experience in Edmonton “and seeing where he sees his future.”

“I want him to tell me himself, but I think he's a dynamic player. Everyone knows when he's on the field. We're all scared to death when he's running,” Hervey said.

“We just want to hone his skills and get him to the point to where you know he can be a dual threat weapon."

The position of head coach is another role Hervey will need to address. Offensive coordinator Jarious Jackson filled it in the interim following Jones’s dismissal.

Two hours before Hervey’s news conference began, the B.C. Lions announced they had fired head coach and co-GM Rick Campbell, who has been rumoured as a potential candidate to take the Elks’ coaching reins.

Campbell – who grew up in the city and is the son of legendary former Edmonton head coach, GM, president and CEO Hugh Campbell – previously held assistant coaching positions with the Green and Gold, including stints as defensive coordinator, special teams coach and assistant head coach.

Hervey, when he held the GM position in B.C., hired Campbell as Lions head coach in 2019.

"The coaching staff is going to be held accountable,” Hervey said on Wednesday.

“We're going to get this thing right, and we're going to try it our best to find the most experienced group of coaches, whether that's internal or outside the building, to lead us.”