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<\/p>\nAs the Elks prepare to host the defending Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-2) on Saturday, Kilam has become the face of Edmonton\u2019s turnaround.<\/p>\n
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Quarterback Cody Fajardo, who became Edmonton\u2019s starter midway through last season, said Kilam\u2019s impact on the team has been \u201cincredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s one of the most motivated coaches I\u2019ve ever been around,\u201d Fajardo said. \u201cThe way he gets us fired up for the games \u2026 and challenging guys to be better speaks to the leadership that he has over the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys want to play for him,\u201d he continued. \u201cThat\u2019s why I think you see us pulling off more wins late, because you have a head coach everyone wants to play for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kilam spent 20 years with the Calgary Stampeders, mostly as special teams co-ordinator. He was turned down five times for CFL head coaching jobs before the Elks hired him.<\/p>\n
His influence began to show in the second half of last season and has carried into 2026. Running back Justin Rankin attributes much of the Elks\u2019 success to Kilam\u2019s constant push to improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe passion and the standard that he brings, like some days we can have a great practice, and he\u2019s like, we\u2019ve got to be better,\u201d said Rankin. \u201cWe just had a great practice, but he\u2019s like, we have to be better. And that\u2019s what it is because if we want to win a Grey Cup \u2026 we have to get a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Offensive lineman Mark Korte said the coach\u2019s enthusiasm is contagious.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe brings a lot of energy when he comes in every day,\u201d the fifth-year Elk said. \u201cHe certainly cares, and it rubs off on the guys. You\u2019ve got a head coach who starts every day with energy and that kind of zest for the day. Guys feed off that for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
General manager Ed Hervey said he heard plenty of positive feedback about Kilam before hiring him. Players praised his coaching ability, the way he treated people and his passion for the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s proven so far that the players rally behind him,\u201d Hervey said. \u201cHis energy is everything that I expected, and his positive approach daily is definitely refreshing. He comes to work every day with a renewed passion for getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under Kilam, the Elks have climbed to the top of the West after missing the playoffs every season since earning a crossover berth in 2019 with an 8-10 record. They edged Saskatchewan 36-34 last week on Vincent Blanchard\u2019s 57-yard field goal on the final play.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really pleased with the first third of the season,\u201d said Fajardo, who passed for 510 yards and four touchdowns against the Riders. \u201cBut I\u2019ve seen a lot of craziness in the CFL, so we don\u2019t want to let our foot off the gas pedal. It starts this week by defending home and going against a really talented Sask team that\u2019s going to be hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time since 2023, the Elks will open Commonwealth Stadium\u2019s upper deck after nearly selling out the lower bowl.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
John Korobanik, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the Elks prepare to host the defending Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-2) on Saturday, Kilam has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":839192,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[879,49,48,521,522,2467,520,2461,2468,2460,2462,2463,44,2464,2465,2466,82],"class_list":["post-839191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-breaking-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-central-vancouver-island","tag-cfl","tag-nanaimo","tag-nanaimo-breaking-news","tag-nanaimo-news","tag-nanaimo-news-now","tag-nanaimonewsnow","tag-news","tag-oceanside","tag-parksville","tag-qualicum","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839191","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=839191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/839192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=839191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=839191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=839191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}