The Edmonton Elks have named former offensive lineman Chris Morris their new team president and CEO the club announced Wednesday. Morris previously spent time with the club as a player between 1992-2005 winning 3 Grey Cups along the way.
The 56 year old takes over from Rick LeLacheur, leaving behind his head coaching duties at the University of Alberta in the process.
“This is a dream opportunity for me,” said Morris. “As a proud EE Alum and passionate supporter of football in Northern Alberta, I know how much this club means to the community and I look forward to continuing our tradition of giving back and winning football games.”
“I’d like to thank Larry and outgoing president and CEO Rick LeLacheur for giving me the chance to come back to the place I consider my football home. It’s a job I don’t take lightly and I’m excited to get to work and return us to our winning ways.”
Morris took home the 2023 Frank Tindall Trophy as the top U-Sports football coach, and is intimately familiar with the Edmonton organization.
“Chris was a winner and a leader during his time as an Eskimo,” said Elks owner Larry Thompson. “As a teacher, principal, and most recently coach of the Golden Bears, Chris has strived for excellence and commanded respect.”
“His connection to our past, leadership attributes, and understanding of what it takes to win made him the right choice to lead us into 2025 and beyond.”
One of the first matters at hand for Morris will be making a decision on the futures of current GM Geroy Simon and head coach Jarious Jackson. Both took on the roles on an interim basis following the dismissal of Chris Jones after the team began 0-5. Since then, the team has gone 7-6 to claw their way out of the West Division basement.
The Elks announced that an introductory press conference would be held on Thursday to formally introduce the new face of their front office.
Photo: Quintin Soloviev. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.