Mark Kilam confirmed Edmonton Elks' new head coach

Alberta native Mark Kilam was announced Monday as the Edmonton Elks' 25th head coach.

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Kilam, 45, grew up in Lethbridge, Alta., and graduated from the University of Alberta, where he played as a linebacker for the Golden Bears from 1997 to 2001.

He worked for the Calgary Stampeders in various positions for almost two decades until last month when he was let go. He had served most recently as the team's assistant head coach and special teams coordinator.

"Special teams guys are prepared for these jobs. We're the only ones that talk to the whole team, other than the head coach. Good special teams coordinators have a presence in the room – you have to if you want to get your guys to play. You're game managers. You're constantly thinking ahead, what's the next situation, what are we anticipating here?" he told reporters during a news conference at Commonwealth Stadium on Monday.

He listed his vast experience and reputation as a "players' coach" as things that make him qualified for the job, but he also spoke about the sentiment of once again wearing green and gold, as he did throughout his playing career.

"I was involved in another hiring process here before that unfortunately I didn't get," Kilam revealed.

"I really found out how much I wanted to be here when we started the (most recent) process. The synergy when we get in the room and we get talking about ideas and how we see and how we feel an organization should look and act like on a day-to-day basis, we were aligned," he said of conversations with president and CEO Chris Morris and vice-president of football operations and general manager Ed Hervey.

Hervey said "overwhelming" support from players for Kilam was the deciding factor in his hiring.

"There was not one candidate the players were more excited about than Mark," he said.

Hervey added, "Some people are just looking for the opportunity to be a head coach. But Mark's excitement about coaching the players and all the stuff that came with it was just so different than everyone else… I'm looking at who would I want to work with moving forward, with the way the landscape of the (Canadian Football League) is with player movement and one-year contracts and all these different things? There's this gentleman to my right here the players want to play for and that makes all of our jobs easier."

He declined to say how many candidates were interviewed for the job.

Kilam said he would soon be reaching out to players and had already reached out to potential staff. He called both ventures promising.

"We're going to be a team that's built tough. That's built for the cold. We're going to be a team that doesn't back down and doesn't turn it down. We're going to commit to playing a style of winning football and that's going to look like whatever it takes each and every week. We're going to commit to playing a certain type of football that the people in this city can believe in," he said in a passionate speech addressed to current and future Elks members.

To the fans, he said, "I know you are starving for this program to succeed. Something was taken from you and I can promise you we are going to work our ass off to bring that feeling back. We're going to rep this city, and rep these colours, with pride and I'm asking you to give us a chance so that we can prove that to you."

Since the Elks fired Chris Jones in July, Jarious Jackson has been acting as interim head coach.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Craig Ellingson