The Edmonton Elks parted ways with Head Coach and General Manager Chris Jones on Monday after the Elks lost to the Redblacks 37-34 on Sunday night bringing their record to 0-5 for the season. This was Jones’s second stint in Edmonton.
The 57-year-old from South Pittsburg, Tennessee, returned to Edmonton on December 21, 2021. In two and half seasons, the Elks compiled a record of 8-33. In his first stint in Edmonton (2014-15), then known as the Eskimos, Jones’s record was 26-10 (.722 win percentage) including leading the Eskimos to win the 2015 Grey Cup over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“Chris worked extremely hard to improve our football team over the last several seasons and we thank him for that,” Elks President and CEO Rick LeLacheur said. “There’s no question we’re a better team today than we were the previous two seasons, but ultimately this is a results-based business and the wins haven’t materialized.”
“It’s always difficult to make changes of this significance during the season, but we owe it to everyone within the organization and to all our fans to hold people accountable when we fall short. There’s plenty of season remaining and we expect to see Geroy and Jarious help our players reach their full potential.”
Geroy Simon will take over the General Manager duties, while Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback’s Coach Jarious Jackson becomes the team’s interim head coach. Jackson will retain his offensive play-calling duties.
Chris Jones got his coaching career started in 1993 as an Assistant Coach at North Jackson High School. He later went to Tennessee Tech as a Graduate Assistant and also made stops at Alabama and the University of Tennessee-Martin as a defensive line coach.
Chris Jones spent over 20 years in the CFL which began in 2002 as defensive line coach for the Montreal Alouettes. The Alouettes won the Grey Cup that season, their first since 1977. Montreal’s defense recorded 50 sacks, 757 tackles, four interceptions, and 26 fumble recoveries.
Jones was promoted to defensive coordinator for the Alouettes for five seasons before taking the same position with the Calgary Stampeders. In 2008, the Stampeders defense recorded two interceptions, 33 sacks, 876 tackles, and 19 fumble recoveries, which led Calgary to win the Grey Cup in Montreal over the Alouettes. It was Chris Jones’s second Grey Cup championship.
Chris Jones took on additional roles with the Stampeders, including Assistant head coach and Assistant Director of Player Personnel. In 2012, he left Calgary to take on the same role in Toronto, and the Argonauts won the Grey Cup, his third as a coach. Then, in 2014, he was named the head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos.
After winning his third Grey Cup championship in Edmonton, Jones bolted Edmonton for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as the new Head Coach and General Manager on December 7, 2015.
In 2017, the Roughriders went 10-8 losing to the Calgary Stampeders in the Western Final. Shortly after signing a two-year contract extension with Saskatchewan on January 8, 2019, Jones resigned as the Head Coach and General Manager to join the Cleveland Browns as a Senior Defensive Specialist.
After one season, Jones was removed from the coaching staff and later returned to coach his alma mater at South Pittsburg High School. However, after the school was placed on probation for recruiting violations, he left and returned to the Toronto Argonauts as a defensive consultant.
