{"id":475716,"date":"2026-02-15T03:17:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T03:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/475716\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T03:17:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T03:17:22","slug":"edmonton-elks-unveil-coaching-staff-add-former-cfl-player-nic-cross-to-football-ops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/475716\/","title":{"rendered":"Edmonton Elks unveil coaching staff, add former CFL player Nic Cross to football ops"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.3downnation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/MG_9665-scaled.jpg\" data-caption=\"Photo:  Bob Butrym\/3DownNation. All rights reserved.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" class=\"entry-thumb td-modal-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/MG_9665-696x464.jpg\"   alt=\"\" title=\"Nic Cross\"\/><\/a>Photo:  Bob Butrym\/3DownNation. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<p>The Edmonton Elks have unveiled their coaching and football operations staff for the 2026 season, including a few recognizable additions.<\/p>\n<p>While the team\u2019s football operations department remains intact from last season, former CFL linebacker Nic Cross will be joining as a full-time football operations assistant.<\/p>\n<p>Cross was selected in the first round, ninth overall, during the 2021 CFL Draft by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He played in 29 games for the team, recording 38 special teams tackles and two defensive stops, before being released in May 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The Regina native concluded his collegiate career at the University of British Columbia, where he was named a first-team U Sports All-Canadian in 2019 after leading the country in tackles. He previously played for the University of Regina, where he won the Peter Gorman Trophy as U Sports\u2019 top rookie in 2017 and was a second-team All-Canadian, but was suspended after testing positive for cannabis and spent the 2018 campaign with the CJFL\u2019s Okanagan Sun.<\/p>\n<p>The Elks also added two members to their coaching staff in running backs coach Jabari Arthur and defensive line coach Cedric Douglas.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/3downnation.com\/2026\/02\/06\/former-cfl-receiver-jabari-arthur-joins-edmonton-elks-coaching-staff\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">3DownNation reported the hiring of Arthur, a former CFL receiver, on February 6<\/a>. A first-round pick in the 2007 CFL Draft by the Calgary Stampeders, he played eight seasons north of the border and made 97 career receptions for 1,162 yards and six touchdowns in 76 career games. The native of Montreal, Que., has been coaching for the University of Calgary since 2017, serving as the Dinos\u2019 offensive coordinator for the past four seasons.<\/p>\n<p>Douglas last served as defensive line coach for Georgia Southern University in 2025. He previously held jobs at Utah State (2024), University at Buffalo (2021-23), University of Massachusetts (2019-20), Arkansas State (2017-18), Hutchinson Community College (2016), Coffeyville Community College (2015), and Ave Maria University (2013-14). The native of Ypsilanti, Mich., played at Northern Michigan from 2007 to 2011, appearing in 35 games as an outside linebacker and defensive end, while recording 89 tackles, nine sacks, and two interceptions.<\/p>\n<p>Edmonton has also promoted former University of Manitoba quarterback Des Catellier from special teams assistant to special teams coach, while adding Danelle Tucker as a full-time strength &amp; conditioning specialist.<\/p>\n<p>Leaving the Elks are running backs coach and offensive assistant Trysten Dyce and special teams coordinator and defensive assistant Demetrious Maxie, who has since been hired by Toronto.<\/p>\n<p>Edmonton\u2019s complete coaching and football operations staff can be read below.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-uw-rm-heading=\"hide\">ELKS 2026 FOOTBALL OPERATIONS<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Ed Hervey \u2013 VP of Football Operations and General Manager<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Spencer Zimmerman \u2013 Sr. Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Personnel<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Spencer Boehm \u2013 Director, US Scouting<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Rich Massaro \u2013 Director, Canadian Scouting<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Nick Pelletier \u2013 Director, Football Operations<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Nic Cross \u2013 Football Operations Assistant<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Brian Cheeseman \u2013 Director of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Lisa Swallow \u2013 Asst. Athletic Therapist and Physical Therapist<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Danelle Tucker \u2013 Strength &amp; Conditioning Specialist<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Dan Rosnau \u2013 Equipment Manager<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Shaylee Ford \u2013 Video Coordinator<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-uw-rm-heading=\"hide\">ELKS 2026 COACHING STAFF<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Mark Kilam \u2013 Head Coach<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Jordan Maksymic \u2013 Offensive Coordinator, Assistant Head Coach<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">J.C. Sherritt \u2013 Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers Coach<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Stephen Sorrells \u2013 Offensive Line Coach, Run Game Coordinator<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Jason Tucker \u2013 Receivers Coach<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Aaron Grymes \u2013 Defensive Backs Coach<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Des Catellier \u2013 Special Teams Coach<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Jabari Arthur \u2013 Running Backs Coach<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Cedric Douglas \u2013 Defensive Line Coach<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Danny Nesbitt \u2013 Defensive Quality Control Coach<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Anthony Vitale \u2013 Defensive Analyst<\/p>\n<p>The Edmonton Elks finished fifth in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 7-11 record, missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season. Cody Fajardo started the team\u2019s final 13 regular-season games and went 6-7, throwing for 3,408 yards, 14 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Tre Ford started the first five, going 1-4, and threw for 984 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.<\/p>\n<p>The Elks ranked ninth in net offence, ninth in net defence, and fifth with a turnover differential of plus-four. The club\u2019s leading rusher was Justin Rankin with 1,013 yards, the leading receiver was Kaion Julien-Grant with 820 yards, and the leading tackler was Joel Dublanko with 80 tackles. Edmonton finished seventh in attendance with average crowds of 19,050, which was a 7.1 percent decrease from the previous year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo: Bob Butrym\/3DownNation. All rights reserved. The Edmonton Elks have unveiled their coaching and football operations staff for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[166835,166836,49,48,7028,521,522,193088,520,38135,193089,23752,77213,527,167748,193090,2002,193091,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-475716","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-3down","9":"tag-3downnation","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-canadian","13":"tag-canadian-football-league","14":"tag-canadianfootballleague","15":"tag-cedric-douglas","16":"tag-cfl","17":"tag-coaching-staff","18":"tag-des-catellier","19":"tag-edmonton","20":"tag-elks","21":"tag-football","22":"tag-football-operations","23":"tag-jabari-arthur","24":"tag-league","25":"tag-nic-cross","26":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}