Will Mark Kilam save the Edmonton Elks?

The upcoming season for the Edmonton Elks is set up to be the starting point of a turnaround era for the program. In December 2024, the team hired Mark Kilam, a University of Alberta Golden Bears Football alum as their head coach. He had previously served as the special team coordinator for the Elks from 2017 to 2022. 

“It felt like the universe aligned with the new ownership. Chris Morris [as] the new president, Ed Hervey [as] the new general manager, and then myself. We see the game very similar[ly] and we are very much aligned in what we feel like a winning program should be like,” Kilam said. 

Kilam highlights that his first steps as part of the coaching team will be to complete the coaching staff and sign in-house and free agent players. However, his primary focus is to reset the culture of the program.

“We’re trying to reset the culture and you can’t just do that overnight. It’s about doing a whole bunch of steps in a similar vision, and that’s what we’re working on right now,” Kilam said.

From one brotherhood to the next

Kilam hopes to bring a sense of brotherhood to the Elks — something he claims was part of the U of A Golden Bears program. 

“We had a brotherhood when I played for the Bears. I think that a connected football team is usually a good football team, and that’s definitely something that I want to bring to the Elks,” Kilam said. 

Kilam played for the Bears during his physical education undergraduate degree, between 1997 and 2001 as a linebacker. He looks back on his time with the Bears as a “key moment” in his life.

“I really enjoyed my time as a Golden Bear and still have a lot of those relationships. I’m still close with a lot of those people, both players and coaches.”

“I shed a tear when they paved over [the] varsity field, because that’s the field that I played on. I look back at nothing but fond memories,” he added.

Kilam is “excited” for every challenge

Kilam has been coaching football for a long time, ranging from the high school level to his previous team, the Calgary Stampeders, with which he won three Grey Cups as their assistant head coach. He believes his experiences have shaped his philosophy when it comes to coaching the Elks.

“I believe in playing a physical style of football. I believe in doing the right things that you need to do to play winning football and those are all things I’m going to bring to the Elks,” he said.

Having been an assistant head coach for five seasons, Kilam expects challenges with everything new he will have to face as the designated head coach. 

“You kind of go through the thought processes of the head coach, but until you’re actually in that seat, you don’t know what you don’t know,” Kilam said. 

His methodology will be to make sure he is surrounded by a strong team and staff, and approach everything step-by-step. He is excited for this new role, and the challenges that await him. 

“It’s a role that I’m excited to challenge myself to take on, and I’m excited to just keep attacking whatever comes next.”