Mark Kilam says Elks head coach job is 'where I'm supposed to be' ahead of Grey Cup
Kilam, an Edmonton native and former Calgary assistant, leads the Elks into the Grey Cup against the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday.
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The Edmonton Elks play the Montreal Alouettes in the Grey Cup on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.
The Elks finished 13-5 and first in the West Division, going 8-1 at home, the club's best home mark since 2015. They beat the B.C. Lions 28-16 in the West Division final at Commonwealth Stadium before a crowd of more than 40,000, their first playoff berth since 2019. Their last CFL title came in 2015.
Head coach Mark Kilam is an Edmonton native. He was hired in December 2024 after 20 seasons as an assistant with the Calgary Stampeders, mostly on special teams, where he won three Grey Cups (2008, 2014, 2018). Calgary fired him in October 2024 alongside defensive co-ordinator Brent Monson and defensive-line coach Juwan Simpson, after the Stampeders missed the playoffs for the first time in 18 years. The Elks went 7-11 and finished fifth in the West in his first season, 2025.
He gave up special-teams co-ordinating this season. Quarterback Cody Fajardo, whose 4,788 passing yards in 2025 were a career high, had told him in an exit interview that he was too focused on special teams and should spend more time with the rest of the team.
"When you get feedback from your veteran players, you always take it to heart," Kilam said. "It means more that we brought back some pride in the Double E."
Fajardo said: "He has been a true head coach, a true leader of men. There's no way we're in this Grey Cup without Mark Kilam as our head coach."
Kilam's contract was extended through the 2029 season, the club announced Oct. 28. It previously ran through 2027.
