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Calgary Herald

Were the Edmonton Elks right to overhaul things coming into this year?

Article content Now, offensive inefficiency contributes to that, of course, but it comes down to the defence not being able to stop anything. And that makes it hard for Ford to do something when he might as well have paid for a ticket, considering the amount of time he spent watching from the sideline. Article content And the worst part is, they have an entire bye week to think about things. Make no mistake, there are plenty of fair and hard questions they need to ask when looking themselves in the mirror. Not the least of which goes back 365 days ago, to when Jackson took over. Article content His win percentage as interim head coach, having gone 7-6, wasn't good enough, even though he earned the first winning record here since Jason Maas led Edmonton to its last playoff appearance in 2019. If you recall, Maas was fired after bringing the then-Eskimos to the divisional-final round for the third time in his four seasons as head coach. Again, not good enough? Article content Article content Since then, the three head coaches named in between Maas and Jackson went a combined 11-44 over four years, five if you include the 2020 season that was cancelled due to COVID-19. Article content Jackson wanted the job, and they didn't keep him or Simon, who went on to become GM at his alma mater, the University of Maryland, in the Big Ten. Now, under rookie head coach Mark Kilam and GM Ed Hervey, the Elks are 1-4. Article content That's a far cry from a run that saw Jackson guide the team to the playoff precipice by winning five of six, coming as close to punching their post-season ticket as they have in years. Article content But despite showing more oomph than the three previous seasons combined, the club decided not to carry over any of that momentum. Article content The new owner opted for change over continuity. And in his bid to distance the club, full stop, from its recent past, it's back to the ol' drawing board as Elks fans have to endure more growing pains in what feels like an endless cycle of rebuilds. Article content Article content That being said, as ugly as this first month has been, it doesn't necessarily mean it was the wrong decision. Article content Let's face it, there was never going to be an immediate turnaround this season just because the Elks received a sorely needed infusion of cash following the franchise-saving sale last summer. Article content Hervey has made no secret of his love for all things Edmonton, and already proved he has what it takes to put together a winner, given his stewardship of the club's last Grey Cup in 2015. But there is only so much a GM can do in one off-season. Article content And Kilam and his staff show promise, even if the runway for rookie head coaches is typically longer than a fan base going through a drought like Edmonton's cares to admit at this point. Article content At the same time, the Elks can't simply stay the course after the ship capsizes in a catastrophic loss like that one.