The Edmonton Elks fired Jaime Elizondo and Brock Sunderland at the end of their disastrous 2021 season and needed to find a new head coach and general manager. With the staff cap rearing its ugly head, the Elks needed to find someone who could do it all.
While fans tried to make themselves heard and say they didn’t want a reunion with Chris Jones, the Elks brass decided it was best to bring back their estranged lover and make him both the head coach and general manager for the 2022 season.
Jones has made a reputation of being hired and quickly moving on to another job, and that has already happened to the Elks. After beating the Ottawa Redblacks to capture the 103rd Grey Cup, Jones was hired by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, hanging the Elks out to dry.
He didn’t stick around in Saskatchewan for long. After signing a two-year extension, Jones resigned from his role to take a job with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. He was removed from the coaching staff after the Browns hired Kevin Stefanski, but was moved to an office role.
Related: Edmonton Elks Free Agency 2022
The bouncing around was still going on into 2021. Jones was hired by South Pittsburgh High School before leaving mid-season to come back to the CFL, this time as a defensive consultant with the Toronto Argonauts.
To say the very least, Jones has been around. There are pros to that, of course. It’s always good to know people. Without question, Jones knows people. He could probably sell ice to a penguin.
There are issues with stability for the Elks right now, however. That goes right from the players on the field to fans who are still upset about the name change. One thing that Jones most certainly does not guarantee is stability.
What makes Jones so attractive to the Elks, then? He’s like that crazy girlfriend that you just keep going back to and you don’t really know why.
Without question the biggest priority for the Elks this season is putting a winning product on the field. That’s what makes Jones appealing. He promised success and wins.
Jones has also committed to sticking around for the entire duration of the four-year deal he signed, but people are still going to question if that is legitimate or not. Only time will tell on that, but it seems the Elks are satisfied to take that risk if it means things get turned around quickly.
Where Jones goes, winning seems to follow. Whether or not that will be the case with the Elks on the second go-around remains to be seen, but he will quickly have a chance to prove himself. We will also see how long he sticks around, but this was the clear hire for the Elks since day one. He’s that ex you just keep going back to and think that maybe, just maybe, this time everything will work out perfectly.
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