![\"Ed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0113-Hervey.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy: David Moll\/CFL<\/p>\n
In two seasons since returning as general manager of the Edmonton Elks, Ed Hervey has helped to spark an impressive on-field turnaround. Like most regime changes, it didn\u2019t come without bloodshed.<\/p>\n
In a sit-down with the CFL on TSN panel prior to Saturday\u2019s 28-26 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders<\/a>, the 53-year-old front office executive gave a refreshingly detailed explanation of the organizational purge he undertook.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first part was finding out who we had in the locker room. Finding out who the leadership was prior to getting here, and then determining whether we wanted those guys leading us or not,\u201d Hervey said. \u201cAnd obviously, I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n 3DownNation Newsletter<\/p>\n \t\tToday\u2019s CFL news in your inbox every day at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n \t\tBy signing up you agree to receive daily emails from 3DownNation, as well as our Just 17 players who were on the Elks\u2019 roster at the end of the 2024 season remain under contract with the team today, a rate of exile and expulsion that would have been considered extreme in the Stalin-era U.S.S.R. That might seem contrary to Hervey\u2019s stated desire to reduce player turnover<\/a>, but first he had to exorcise the mistakes of his predecessors.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to give you the straight goods,\u201d Hervey told TSN when asked about his process. \u201cFirst, I asked the people in the building, the community programs, \u2018Who gives you a hard time with the community?\u2019 They rolled out the names. Then I said, \u2018Okay, who doesn\u2019t show up to the community stuff on time?\u2019 Then I roll through that. Then I go in the locker room, and I say, \u2018Guys, you don\u2019t have to say nothing. We\u2019re gonna walk around, I\u2019m gonna point at the name, and your body language is gonna tell me everything else I need to know about the people here.’\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe walked around the room, and it was like, \u2018Meh. Meh.\u2019 Out. Out. I started unscrewing nameplates, taking their nameplates off. Then a couple of them, they said, \u2018Hey, these guys are good guys, young. Just need certain people out of the room.\u2019 Et cetera, et cetera. I\u2019ll get those people out of the room as well. Don\u2019t worry about that.\u201d<\/p>\n Players who were on the bubble were treated to a one-on-one meeting with the incoming general manager. Those who were less than forthcoming suffered the consequences.<\/p>\n \u201cI talked to those guys, and this is honest, I said, \u2018Tell me what the problems are.\u2019 The guys get quiet; they don\u2019t know me,\u201d Hervey recounted. \u201cI said, \u2018Well, I look at it two ways when you walk out of this room: either you\u2019re part of the solution, or you\u2019re part of the problem. So you better give me the goods.\u2019 And they start spilling.\u201d<\/p>\n Hervey\u2019s cut-throat process led to a complete overhaul of the roster, with Edmonton playing an extremely active role in free agency in each of the past two offseasons. Not every move has panned out, and his blunt approach to player management has rubbed some the wrong way. He became embroiled in a public feud with former receiver Eugene Lewis<\/a> over his departure in 2025, which led to a rebuke from the CFL Players\u2019 Association<\/a>, and he drew criticism for dismissive comments prior to the release of linebacker Nyles Morgan<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n The former Edmonton receiver has always maintained that his treatment of players is fair and just, but that he has little patience for meaningless flattery or dancing around hard truths. Every difficult transaction he\u2019s made has been done in service to a higher purpose.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019m trying to do here is establish Edmonton Eskimo football. I know that pisses people off, but this is the Eskimo Way that you see here. This isn\u2019t anything beyond that,\u201d he said, referencing the franchise\u2019s former moniker, which was changed in 2020 due to its racist connotation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe in the people that we have. We\u2019ve got the people, the process. Good people, good process, good results. If you have bad people in your room, or people that are selfish, or it\u2019s \u2018me first,\u2019 you can\u2019t win with those guys because when you hit a dip, they\u2019re the first people that are complaining. We played with those guys. You played with those guys. We already know. So, I look at my team and say, \u2018Do I want these guys? Would I want them as teammates?\u2019 And I look at this team, and I say, \u2018Absolutely.’\u201d<\/p>\n Hervey played eight seasons in Green and Gold before joining the team\u2019s scouting department in 2007. He rapidly rose through the ranks and was named general manager for the first time in 2013, playing a key role in the franchise\u2019s last Grey Cup victory in 2015. A year later, he was terminated, which coincided with the start of a decade of decline in Edmonton.<\/p>\n That came to a head under the management of head coach and general manager Chris Jones, who coached the Grey Cup team under Hervey before abandoning the franchise and returning years later with complete control. Known for his propensity for constant roster upheaval and penchant for signing players with previous off-field red flags, the Tennessee native intensified the turmoil during his two-and-a-half years at the helm, leaving behind what his successor has indelicately called a \u201cstench.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n The priority since has been investing in a different type of player \u2014 those engaged in the community and willing to make Edmonton their home.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to have good character to play here. You\u2019ve got to have integrity,\u201d Hervey said. \u201cGood football players, we\u2019re recruiting those guys, we\u2019re looking for those guys \u2014 that goes without saying. Do they check the other boxes? What is that player going to be like when he leaves the building? Is he going to embrace the community? Is he going to be someone that\u2019s going to get in trouble, or is it going to be someone that\u2019s going to help build and make sure he represents the club and his family the right way? What are their motivations? If your motivation is cash and money and girls, that\u2019s okay, but I\u2019m more into the family people.\u201d<\/p>\n Every organization in professional football claims to hold those same values, but most are guilty of compromising in pursuit of top talent. Hervey insists that the Elks are different, committed to their pure-of-heart ideals. No exceptions will be made, regardless of the calibre of the player.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, no. You want to know why? We are not in a position for that,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are not there because we\u2019ve already seen that act here. Not anymore. If you don\u2019t fit, you\u2019ve got to split.\u201d<\/p>\n Time will test Hervey\u2019s convictions, but at least for now, the results on the field speak for themselves. After five straight seasons without a playoff appearance, Edmonton sits atop the West Division at 6-2, already one win removed from their total in each of the last two seasons. Saturday\u2019s loss to Saskatchewan was a minor setback, but a two-game split with the defending Grey Cup champions would have been a fantasy just a few years ago.<\/p>\n To accomplish the feat, multiple aspects of the organization have had to work in alignment. In addition to sandblasting the locker room, Hervey found a head coach in Mark Kilam who could instill the team\u2019s new identity<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe head coach position is understated and sometimes overrated in this league. In Mark\u2019s case, you wonder why wasn\u2019t he considered a long time ago?\u201d he said. \u201cYou get a chance to talk with him, and you hear his philosophy, and you say, \u2018Well, we\u2019re definitely aligned there,\u2019 and you realize that he wasn\u2019t overlooked; it was just probably another opportunity somewhere for someone else. We\u2019re happy to have him here. \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe energy he brings to the locker room, he brings every day, whether it\u2019s high or low. I like his energy on the sidelines. I always tell him sometimes, \u2018Hey, tone it down; we need the officials on our side.\u2019 But all in all, he has revitalized that locker room with the players and staff, and they\u2019ll run through a wall for him. That\u2019s what you\u2019ve got to have. You don\u2019t want somebody that\u2019s gonna punish players for every little thing, like a penalty, and then they want to sit them for a week. We don\u2019t want to do that stuff here.\u201d<\/p>\n The combination of Hervey\u2019s exciting roster, Kilam\u2019s tenacious coaching, and team president Chris Morris\u2019 sound business strategy<\/a> resulted in a crowd of 31,757 against Saskatchewan. The upper bowl at Commonwealth Stadium was opened for the first time since 2023<\/a>, sparking hope of further renewal in the former City of Champions.<\/p>\n Crowds over 40,000 were once the norm in Edmonton, and Hervey professed that opening the upper bowl was a goal of his when he took the job. He\u2019s not surprised it has happened this quickly, though there is much more that needs to be done.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, in the CFL, things can happen really quickly, as y\u2019all know. But we\u2019re a long way away from where we expect to be,\u201d he insisted. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to build sustainable success here. We\u2019re not going to be a quick-fix football team, but we needed to start fast to re-energize our fan base and to gain confidence within this community. As far as our expectations, our expectations are to continue to sustain this, and we have a lot to go. We\u2019re still trying to figure out who we are as a football team, but the team is fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n The Elks (6-2) will return to action on Saturday, August 8, when they visit the Montreal Alouettes (7-1).<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league’s Global initiative.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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