Edmonton Elks coach and general manager Chris Jones was fired Monday after the team lost five straight games, including three on the last play.Jones was hired by the Elks in December of 2021 and had an 8-33 over two-plus seasons (2022 (4-14), 2023 (4-14), 2024 (0-5)). This was his second stint with the club, after previously serving as head coach from 2014 to 2015 ending with a Grey Cup championship.Geroy Simon takes over as interim general manager, while Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Jarious Jackson becomes the team’s interim head coach. Jackson will retain his offensive play calling duties.Elks President and CEO Rick LeLacheur made the decision to fire Jones.“I know Chris has worked tremendously hard to bring this franchise around, but when you're 0 and 5, there's got to be some consequences," he said. "Let's get on with it. And we have not given up on this year at all."Asked how the team had failed, LeLacheur cited key plays.“I've got enough experience to know usually, it's five or six plays in a game that will either make you or break you. And it's those five or six plays this year that have breaking us, some mental mistakes, some bad penalties," he said.The Elks lost in walk-off field goals the past three weeks, first to Toronto, then B.C., then Ottawa."Even Bill Murray in Groundhog Day wouldn’t believe what’s going on in Edmonton," wrote Michael Arcuri in an article for the Elks.Newly promoted Jarious Jackson said Monday was "a tough day" for the team."I think we're all in shock right now," he said."The players, they believe the locker room is still together. And I just want them to have hope and push forward and know that we can get wins going down the stretch here. I mean, we've only had almost a third of the season so far, so there's still a lot of football left to be played."The former quarterback expressed confidence in his staff and passers."McLeod is still our quarterback, I believe in Dakota and I believe in Tre. So, hopefully some way or another we'll figure out if we need to get all the guys on the field at some form or fashion."Jones had trouble last season snapping his team out of a 22-game home losing streak that went back to 2019. It was the longest of its kind in North American professional sports history. The team ended the year at 4-14, getting a spark after Canadian quarterback Tre Ford got some starts.The Elks are 0-5 this season and Ford hasn't taken a snap. Their most recent loss was 37-34 to Ottawa before just 18,362 fans in Edmonton on July 14.As the game wound down, Edmonton possession at the Ottawa one-yard line with 34 seconds left. Elks quarterback Dakota Prukop failed at his first two attempts to score. Instead of running out the clock before his third attempt, he scored with 11 seconds left.After kicking the game-tying convert, Boris Bede, who missed a 31-yard field goal earlier in the quarter, tried a low and long kickoff, illegally drilling it out of bounds. This left Ottawa with the ball at their 50-yard line. After a successful passing play, Ottawa kicked a 38-yard field goal to win.Geroy Simon, the CFL's all-time leading reception yards leader at 15,787, doesn't expect major changes to the roster."I looked at the roster, I looked at the staff and there isn't a lot that needs to be changed. There will be a few tweaks," Simon said."We have a talented roster... Guys are positive...we set out on what we accomplished in getting bigger, faster, stronger. Now we've got to play a little bit smarter, and find a way to win at the end of games."The 3-2 Ottawa Redblacks host the Elks for a rematch on Friday.
