Eskimos head coach Chris Jones has earned loyalty and respect for turnaround

WINNIPEG – Sean Whyte would like nothing better than to kick the winning field goal for the Edmonton Eskimos in Sunday’s Grey Cup game against the Ottawa Redblacks.

It wouldn’t be so much for personal glory, but a way to thank the Edmonton organization for giving him another chance to play football.

“That obviously would be great, but I’m not going to stress myself out thinking about that,” Whyte said with a smile after Edmonton’s final preparations at Investors Group Field Saturday.

“Hopefully, it’s like a regular game. If we play the way we should, I’ll just be kicking PATs (points after touchdowns).”

Whyte had been cut by the Montreal Alouettes on Aug. 10 after being a backup, a team he’d been with since a 2011 trade moved him from the B.C. Lions. He was living in B.C. and about to take a job installing and repairing cable and Internet systems when Edmonton called and signed him on Sept. 4.

“These guys, they rejuvenated my whole career,” said the seven-year veteran, who’s been good on 24 of 26 field-goal attempts. “I was ready to call it quits because it was just no more fun for me.”

Second-year head coach Chris Jones has earned loyalty and respect from his coaching staff for bringing them into his circle, and an appreciation from his players for the turnaround he’s guided them through.

The Eskimos were a dismal 4-14 in 2013 under third-year head coach Kavis Reed, who was fired and replaced by Jones. The leadership under Jones and his coaching staff, many with connections to his days as an assistant with the Toronto Argonauts, turned the tide.

Edmonton went 12-6 last season and tied Calgary with a 14-4 record this year, a foe they dispatched 45-31 in the CFL West Division final on the way to a nine-game winning streak.

The Esks are back in the Grey Cup for the first time since 2005, trying to win a 14th title for the storied franchise against the 12-6 Redblacks, who are in their second season.

Perhaps no one in the Edmonton organization has closer ties to Jones than linebackers coach Phillip Lolley, who gave Jones his first coaching job back in 1992 at North Jackson High School in Stevenson, Ala.

The two kept in touch as their jobs took them down separate paths. Lolley had been at Auburn University coaching and then being the director of football external relations when his old gridiron pupil got the Eskimos job.

“He basically challenged me to come to the CFL,” Lolley said. “He just told me, ‘It’s a different game. I think you’d love it. I sure would love for you to help me come build this program. I trust you with everything.’

“All those things that we say to each other when you care about each other and you want to win. This is the only level I haven’t won a ring at…. It’s been a great experience.”

Cornerback Pat Watkins is an ex-Argonaut who formed an allegiance to Jones.

“Win, lose or draw, I was going to follow coach Jones,” said Watkins, a four-year vet in his second season with the Esks.

Watkins hasn’t played in a Grey Cup game, but has a ring from Toronto’s 2012 victory. He wants to earn one with his play on Sunday.

Getting Ottawa quarterback Henry Burris, this year’s CFL most outstanding player, off his rhythm is key for the Eskimos to find success.

“We’re going to do our best to be deceptive and disruptive,” said Watkins, who had four interceptions in the regular season, one he took to the end zone.

Edmonton is making a couple changes to the roster it fielded last week. Defensive linemen Cedric McKinley and former University of Manitoba Bison Don Oramasionwu are in, while DL Gregory Alexandre and running back Chad Simpson are out.