The Edmonton Elks have gone two seasons without winning a home game. They finished the 2022 CFL campaign with a 4-14 record, on the heels of a 3-11 record in 2021.
But, as the players cleared out of the locker room at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday, the overriding feeling was one of optimism.
Wait. Optimism? Can that be right? Chris Jones, who led this franchise to a Grey Cup in 2015, was brought back to Edmonton before the 2022 season.
As coach and general manager, his job is to right the ship. This was Year 1 of the process. And the players believe the second year of the Jones 2.0 era will be the one that pays off. "This has a similar feeling to when I was in B.C last year," said linebacker Adam Konar, who spent the 2021 season with the 5-9 Lions, who have established themselves as contenders in 2022. "I feel like we do have a lot of good pieces in place.