Congratulations, Chris Morris.
You just won quite possibly the toughest job in the history of Edmonton sports.
Getting fans back in the stands at Commonwealth Stadium — all the stands, not just the lower-bowl ones that haven’t been roped off — has looked more and more like a unicorn, and certainly something that is easier said than done. (Just ask your past three predecessors).
But on Day 1 of being named new CEO and president of the Edmonton Elks, or whatever they are calling themselves internally at this point, you were certainly saying all the right things in your first appearance at the podium Thursday.
Your main message of continuity and consistency was an obvious (if not well-deserved) F-you to the constant turnstile method employed by former head coach and general manager Chris Jones, who might as well have been throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what stuck in his efforts to build a competitive roster over the past three seasons.
It may very well be the first step in getting the band back together under new private owner Larry Thompson, who wasn’t present for Thursday’s rushed announcement. Presumably, because the news had already leaked one night earlier, forcing the club to pull the trigger on what was easily its most convincing hire in recent memory — even if your background doesn’t exactly drip with experience as a pro team president.
(Is it too I-told-you-so to bring up how absolutely no one should surprised to hear interim president and CEO Rick LeLacheur is keeping one hand on the controls as an “advisor,” even though he promised he would only be around for four months — and that was more than 14 months ago now)?
But let’s assume for a minute you’ve picked up considerable administrative know-how over the past 12 years, almost singlehandedly taking what had become, at best, a derelict University of Alberta Golden Bears program and returning it back to respectability.
The proof will be in the proverbial pudding. And the first spoonful is coming up in less than a month.
That’s the time frame you’ve allowed for finding the club’s next most important hire here in the freshly founded Thompson Era, as you begin targeting and interviewing potential GM candidates. Heck, hiring a new head of football-ops might turn out to be even more important than your own, to be honest. (Let’s face it, elite quarterbacks don’t simply grow on trees).
So, let’s speed things up a bit and lay out the top GM choices presently available:
It is believed you’ve already sat down with current interim GM Geroy Simon in a getting-to-know-you dinner either Tuesday or Wednesday this week.
Keeping him on board would fit well with your whole message of continuity, for sure. Though let’s face it, that kind of thing might still work for staff, but when it comes to trying to solve the issue of rampant roster turnover facing pro sports teams right now — but especially in the CFL — well, this isn’t the same landscape as the one you played your way to three Grey Cups in two decades ago.
So, until you find an honest-to-goodness starting quarterback to become the face of the franchise, don’t expect jerseys to magically start flying off the shelves under your tenure.
In fact, that brings us to the next candidate, and easily the one at the top of the list. No, it’s not a QB, like Ricky Ray or Warren Moon. But when you’re talking face of the franchise, this guy might be the closest thing to having one that you could bring back into the fold right now.
And your former teammate needs no introduction. You won a couple of those Grey Cups together, and you could be correcting a wrong in the eyes of a lot of double-E fans by hiring back Ed Hervey as GM.
Sure, there have been hiccups along the way, but his track record speaks for itself when he and then-head coach Jones joined forces to win Edmonton’s most recent Grey Cup in 2015.
With his one-year contract about to expire with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, where he has the less than-enviable job of GM-ing by committee, the timing couldn’t be better.
Oh, and speaking of misfires, you might want to hand back former longtime equipment guru Dwayne Mandrusiak the keys to Commonwealth Stadium so he can come and go as he pleases on his way to finally being able to celebrate a long-awaited and well-deserved 50th anniversary with the club he once bled, sweat and cried for.
Sure, you’ll round out the interview process with a couple of other candidates. Ryan Rigmaiden has B.C. Lions connections with Geroy Simon and interim head coach Jarious Jackson (whose job is on deck for the next hiring process). And Ted Goveia’s name continues to crop up thanks to the success of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
But right now, anyway, the choice seems clear.
Especially since there is a way to keep both Simon and Jackson on board by simply removing their interim duties and keeping them under their current contracts as assistant GM, and offensive co-ordinator, respectively.
As for your own job, priority No. 1 is to stir some excitement back into the fan base, which you’ve rightfully said the club doesn’t even really know who they are anymore. As well as get people talking about football in this town again.
There are worse plans than trying to get the band back together and rediscover the sweet music of those old winning ways in Edmonton. And the Elks probably wouldn’t have been able to find a more convincing conductor.
Now it’s up to you to make this thing sing.
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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