By Canadian Press

Analysis: Jones’s defensive acumen didn’t translate into success in second Elks stint

Jul 16, 2024 | 2:14 PM

The innovations and schemes that earned Chris Jones a reputation as a defensive guru didn’t translate into success as the Edmonton Elks head coach and general manager.

The Elks fired Jones on Monday following an 0-5 start to the season. Over two-plus seasons under Jones, Edmonton compiled an 8-33 record.

The axe fell during an Edmonton season that’s been plagued by costly turnovers, untimely penalties and an inability to finish.

Jones was in his second stint as Edmonton head coach, having taken on his first CFL head-coaching job with the club following the 2013 season. He rewarded the franchise with a Grey Cup title in 2015 before leaving to become the Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach/GM a week later.

Jones had previously served as a defensive line coach/defensive co-ordinator with the Montreal Alouettes (2002-07) and defensive co-ordinator with both the Calgary Stampeders (2008-11) and Toronto Argonauts (2012-13). He was also the Stamps’ assistant director of player personnel and Argos assistant GM before rejoining the Double Blue in 2021 as a defensive consultant.

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Before leading Edmonton to its last Grey Cup title, Jones earned championship rings in 2002, ’08 and ’12. And he also spent time as a senior defensive specialist with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns (2019).

But it was during his time as a defensive assistant that Jones’s innovation kept CFL offensive co-ordinators up at night. He could draw up schemes to pressure the quarterback involving just the defensive front, allowing him to drop eight defenders back into coverage.

Jones could further complicate matters by blitzing some of his linebackers or defensive backs. But because he didn’t necessarily have to, predicting exactly where the added pressure was coming from was often difficult.

And Jones wasn’t opposed to dropping a defensive lineman into coverage and either bringing a linebacker or defensive back — or no one at all — to create confusion and give his unit an advantage.

Yet that prowess and knowledge didn’t really help the Elks this time around, in part due to the relative youth of the franchise’s roster. Edmonton lost a lot of experience and production when it sent veteran defensive lineman Jake Ceresna (22 combined sacks in 2022-23) to Toronto in the deal to acquire Canadian receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr.

When Jones returned to Edmonton, he was also its defensive co-ordinator, but he relinquished that role this season to protege Jason Shivers.

Edmonton’s defence enters this week’s action ranked eighth in both offensive points allowed (30.4 per game) and offensive yards (402.2) and last in offensive touchdowns surrendered (17). The Elks are tied for fifth in sacks (nine) but rank last in pass knockdowns (36) and defensive penalties (19).

As a team, Edmonton is ranked eighth in penalties (43).

Still, Edmonton has been close to winning games this season as its five losses have been by a combined 20 points. The Elks dropped their season opener 29-21 to Saskatchewan after being outscored 21-3 in the fourth quarter.

Edmonton’s next four losses were all by three points each, with the last three coming via walk-off field goals. On Sunday night, Dakota Prukop’s one-yard TD run with eight seconds remaining tied the score but Boris Bede’s kickoff out of bounds helped set the stage for Lewis Ward’s game-ending 38-yard boot.

Ottawa starter Dru Brown threw for 480 yards and two TDs. Receivers Kalil Pimpleton (four catches, 153 yards, TD), Dominique Rhymes (seven receptions, 131 yards) and Justin Hardy (five catches, 110 yards, touchdown) all cracked the 100-yard plateau.

Edmonton’s defensive struggles were evident last season as it finished last in the West Division with a 4-14 record. The Elks were seventh in offensive yards allowed (375.7 per game), second-last in sacks (39) and last in rushing yards allowed (136.6) and turnovers forced (25).

The Elks also were last overall in offensive points (18.9 per game) and second-last in passing (221.1 yards) but seemingly had a rising star in Canadian quarterback Tre Ford, who led the franchise to all four of its wins despite starting the year well down on the depth chart. Still, Jones opted to sign veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson to a one-year deal this off-season while also tasking the two-time Grey Cup champion with tutoring Ford.

Bethel-Thompson sports a solid 71.7 per cent completion average with 1,497 passing yards, nine TDs and five interceptions. Three times he has thrown for 300 or more yards this season.

Edmonton has also scored 15 offensive TDs (third overall) but is averaging 26.2 offensive points (sixth-best). While the Elks boast the CFL’s fourth-ranked passing attack (299.4 yards per game), they’re second-last in rushing (66 yards).

What’s more, interim head coach Jarious Jackson is on a short week as Edmonton visits Ottawa on Friday. And time is of the essence as the Elks are four points behind Calgary (2-3) and Winnipeg (2-4) for third in the West Division standings.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2024.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press