Edmonton Elks head coach Mark Kilam says he’s where he’s supposed to be as the team prepares to face the Montreal Alouettes in Sunday’s Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium.
The Story
Mark Kilam is preparing for his first Grey Cup as a CFL head coach after guiding the Edmonton Elks to the league’s championship game.
Edmonton will face the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday at McMahon Stadium.
Kilam’s first season as Edmonton head coach was the 2025 campaign, when the Elks finished fifth in the West Division with a 7-11 record.
This year, the Elks earned their first playoff berth since 2019 by finishing atop the West with a 13-5 record.
The Elks won six of their final 11 games and went 8-1 at Commonwealth Stadium, including a 28-16 win over the B.C. Lions in the West Division final last weekend before more than 40,000 spectators.
Kilam said he took advice from former teammate and quarterback Cody Fajardo from a year earlier and adjusted how he spent his time with the team.
According to Kilam, Fajardo told him he was too focused on special teams and needed to spend more time with the rest of the squad during Kilam’s second season.
Kilam said the change came as he handed off special-teams coordination and focused on other areas, adding that the team was “more streamlined in all three phases.”
Fajardo, who threw for a career-high 4,788 yards to help Edmonton, said he encouraged Kilam to lead across offense, defence and special teams.
Kilam also addressed the personal side of reaching the Grey Cup as a head coach in Edmonton, where he spent 20 years as a coach and called home for that period.
He said the week leading up to the game has reinforced a sense of pride in Edmonton’s resurgence, pointing to crowds at Commonwealth Stadium and visible support across the city.
Montreal head coach Jason Maas, who will make his third Grey Cup appearance as a head coach—all with Montreal—also commented on seeing Edmonton return to relevance.
Maas said he thinks it is “amazing” to see the Elks successful again and praised the community support for the team.
Kilam, Maas and B.C. Lions head coach Buck Pierce are listed as finalists for the CFL’s 2026 coach of the year award.
← More stories