For what it’s worth, it was an admittedly kinder, gentler Ed Hervey who introduced himself as the new general manager and vice-president of football operations for the Edmonton Elks on Wednesday.
Make that reintroduced himself in the same role he held the last time around
Or, as he put it, Take 2, while miming a clapperboard, straight out of a Hollywood set.
But this isn’t the movies. There is no silver screen here. Heck, there’s been nothing even remotely resembling the colour Grey around Edmonton since the roster he once built captured the Canadian Football League championship in 2015.
There was no happy ending to that first go-round for Hervey, who was summarily dismissed by the former board of directors for the double-E over what basically boiled down to a contract dispute.
The moral of the story to be taken from it was it’s probably a good idea to treat the president of the organization like he’s your boss. Because he is.
This time is different. Hervey’s boss is the only slightly less-newly named president and CEO of the club, Chris Morris. A no-nonsense, goal-oriented and down-to-Earth individual who also benefits from having won a pair of Grey Cups with Hervey as teammates half a lifetime ago.
If the once-hot-headed Hervey will listen to anyone, it’s a longtime friend like Morris. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Morris is but one step removed from Larry Thompson, the new private owner of the Elks who has the final say in all things. Period.
As such, Hervey won’t be treating the EE like it stands for Ed’s Eskimos, like in the old days, when it was what he said goes, and damn the consequences.
There is a completely new world order around Commonwealth Stadium. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing for Hervey, given the abject condition of disorder the club was spiraling in during the dying days of the Nine-Member Board Era.
In the end, they couldn’t get anything right. And a younger, brasher Hervey certainly contributed, in part, to that slow and painful decline with actions and decisions that were executed without a second thought to any outside optics. The club’s image took its share of hits whenever the spotlight shone on a Hervey sideshow.
So, he comes with some baggage. And not just from Edmonton either, but that’s for another time. The focus is on the here and now, and understanding that in that same pile of luggage is a trophy case that holds Edmonton’s last vestige of what it was like to finish on top.
Winning was everything. And it was the only thing on his mind back then.
This team has strayed so far from that formula that Thompson and Co. better hope Hervey hasn’t outgrown too much of the old Ed.
And besides, this whole thing isn’t even about Hervey in the first place, rather what he needs to accomplish before the pigskin flies on the 2025 season. His top priority is obviously filling in the other half of the dual role held by former GM and head coach Chris Jones.
Losing season after losing season after losing season has led to the Elks missing playoffs for the past four years. That would have been unfathomable to Hervey back in his days as a receiver with the club.
When he retired in 2006, Edmonton had just missed the post-season to spell an end to what stands to this day as a North American professional sports record 34 consecutive playoff appearances.
What he returned to Wednesday was a rose of literally another name, which had somehow turned into a shell of its former self. The Elks are now far better known for holding another North American pro sports record, having suffered through 22 consecutive home losses spanning across the tenures of both GMs who followed his first take.
Thompson made no secret about wanting to turn back the clock on his club when it comes to recapturing the aura of the three-in-a-row team from the 1950s, and the five-in-a-row dominance of the Hugh Campbell-coached team that strung together championships from ’78-’82.
The name became synonymous with winning.
And after bringing back Morris and Hervey into the mix, Thompson would no doubt like nothing more than to add Campbell back down on the sideline.
While that’s not going to happen — the venerable Hugh is 83 years old now, and if anyone has earned the right to relax and reflect back on all of his career accomplishments, it’s him — there is a Campbell still coaching in the league.
Or was, at least.
His son, Rick Campbell, just happened to be fired from the B.C. Lions mere hours before Hervey’s re-hiring induction happened one province over.
In the world of pro sports, timing is everything. And both Hervey and Rick Campbell’s names came as a package in the annual rumour mill that was spinning around BC Place Stadium during Grey Cup Week last week.
So, it may be safe to assume the other shoe could be the next to drop over the off-season, and Hervey’s first order of business has already been handled for him, should the rumours continue to hold true.
And if that, in fact, ends up being the case, then Hervey’s second order of business could also be falling into place. And that’s finding a starting quarterback.
The addition of Rick Campbell could give Edmonton the inside track on the Lions’ soon-to-be free agent Vernon Adams Jr., who will be well courted by the rest of the league once February rolls around.
While the road map might already be plotted early on here in Hervey’s journey, the road to success will ultimately run through the stands. The job he does will go a long way to determining just how full they are. Or aren’t.
He found out the first time around that winning isn’t the only thing. But it sure could start solving a lot of problems for the rest of this club.
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge