EDMONTON — When the 0-8 Edmonton Elks return to action after a bye week, they'll have a new offensive coordinator calling the plays and a different quarterback under centre.
The Elks promoted Jarious Jackson from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator on Monday. One of his first decisions was to move quarterback Taylor Cornelius from the starter’s role to No. 3 on the depth chart, leaving Canadian Tre Ford and Jarret Doege to battle for the top job.
“It’s time for a change,” Jackson said at a media availability. “It’s time for one of those guys to take the bull by the horns.
“Taylor is still going to be very supportive of those guys, and the best man wins out.”
Jackson, a former quarterback with the B.C. Lions and Toronto Argonauts, was later an offensive coordinator for both of those teams before joining the Elks’ coaching staff.
He replaces outgoing offensive coordinator Stephen McAdoo. Elks general manager and head coach Chris Jones said McAdoo will be “repositioned” in the coaching staff and have more responsibilities on the defensive side.
“It was my decision, I’ve been thinking about it for quite some time,” Jones said.
He added that he and McAdoo spoke three weeks ago, and understood things were critical for an offence that has sputtered this season.
“Nobody would have envisioned we’d be in this position,” Jones said. “I’m not saying we were going to be undefeated, but at the same time nobody saw 0-8 either.”
The Elks have scored a league-worst 105 points over eight games this season and have been shut out twice by the Lions. The final straw for McAdoo was Saturday’s 27-0 loss to B.C. at Commonwealth Stadium.
Cornelius has appeared in all eight losses this season, starting seven of them.
“When you get hit a few times in a game, you can get a little rattled sometimes,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to remember, Taylor is still a young quarterback. He hasn’t been here and been playing in this league for a very long time ... he’s working on his confidence issues and the things he knows he needs to get better at.
"We’re going to continue with him and hopefully one day, he may be back in that starting role.”
Cornelius has completed 101 of 173 passes for 1,250 yards with four touchdowns and nine interceptions.
“Certainly his confidence has been hurt,” Jones said. “I look at it like a starting pitcher in baseball. They don’t just throw their starting pitcher out when he loses his curveball in the seventh. They bring in people to try and help him. So we’re going to look at all avenues.
"Tre is going to get a solid look, Doege is going to get a solid look, and we’re not going to throw Taylor out the door.”
Doege has started one game and appeared in five others.
He has completed 42 of 65 passes for 587 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions.
Many fans in Edmonton have been baying for the team to have another look at Ford.
The Canadian pivot looked to have won the starting job early in the 2022 season, but his campaign was derailed by a shoulder injury.
He threw for 461 yards last year and earned one start against Hamilton. Ford also rushed for 149 yards on 19 attempts and appears to be the quickest pivot on the roster.
Jackson said the Elks have to do a better job getting the ball into the hands of players with big-play potential. He added they need to involve running back Kevin Brown and wide receiver Dillon Mitchell more in the offence.
Both players turned heads when they arrived midway through the 2022 season. However, Brown has just 342 rushing yards and one touchdown this year while Mitchell has 308 receiving yards and one TD.
Jones was asked if the CFL’s football operations cap forced him to look internally to try to solve the team’s offensive woes.
“It’s one of those things where you have to look at what’s best for the team,” Jones said. “The football operations cap is not looked upon favourably by any of the organizations, and I do think it’s hurt the quality of play across the league.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2023.
Steven Sandor, The Canadian Press
