ANALYZING THE HERVEY FIRING
Now Esks have to match his success
It was like a bolt of lightning made even more shocking by the timing, given Ed Hervey was fired fewer than seven weeks shy of Canadian Football League training camps opening.
And in the aftermath of his sudden dismissal from the Edmonton Eskimos, questions remain: How do your fire a general manager with a four-year record of 40-32? Inheriting a 7-11 team, only to win a Grey Cup three years later?
It was the second time club president Len Rhodes pulled the trigger on a GM with a winning record here. Hervey’s predecessor, Eric Tillman, took over an Eskimos team that was 2-8, but was jettisoned two and half seasons later with a 23-21 record.
While Tillman was an outsider who was never embraced in Edmonton — far from it, in fact — Hervey was an Eskimo through and through. Even after his playing career was over, he remained tight with a small but strong nucleus of former teammates. Extended an offer to remain with the club, some referred to him as the “Chosen One,” ascending from community relations to west coast scout, to head scout, to GM by age 39. It was a meteoric rise that proved as complicated as it was impressive.
Hervey could be warm, but also cold as ice. He was quick to speak about the Eskimo Way and even quicker to distance himself from his bosses when they were criticized. Some called him a loyal Eskimo, others cunning and opportunistic.
When the Eskimos collapsed in the final stages of the Danny Maciocia era, not once did Hervey take heat as head scout of a dwindling roster. When the Eskimos had a major 11-7 turnaround the first year after Tillman hired head coach Kavis Reed, those closest to Hervey claimed he wasn’t getting enough credit. Two seasons later, when the Eskimos fell to just four wins in Hervey’s first year as GM, all of the blame went to Reed and Hervey ’s predecessor, Tillman, who traded Ricky Ray. And Hervey was quick to remind everyone of that during that abysmal 2013 season — and beyond — even though Mike Reilly ended up passing for 4,207 yards compared to Ray’s 2,878.
As controversial as the Ray trade remains to this day, quarterbacking clearly wasn’t the reason the Eskimos went 4-14.
While Hervey brought in Reilly to justifiably rave reviews, he also made mistakes like all GMs. Trading the Canuck Truck Jerome Messam to the Montreal Alouettes for a sixth-round draft pick was chief among them, especially when the running back went on to be named CFL most outstanding Canadian for a second time. Not to mention in his four seasons as GM, Hervey didn’t draft a single Canadian starter.
Still, he was a winner, a champion and beloved by the Eskimos faithful. But within the Eskimos organization and the league office, his problems were growing. No doubt, the outside perspective of Hervey was very different than the view from the inside.
Macocia was guarded but very professional. The controversial Tillman was always warm, open and friendly. Liked or not, both GMs were consistent. The only constant with Hervey, however, was conflict. Multiple conflicts. Hervey often took credit for scouting done by now interim GM Paul Jones. He despised Tillman and let it be known. He hadn’t been on speaking terms with vice-president of communications Allan Watt. His relationship with Reed quickly soured, although both men played the public-relations game well. His relationship with Chris Jones became so distant that the former Eskimos head coach told his assistant coaches to avoid talking to the GM at all costs. And, as strained as all of those relationships were, if possible, Hervey’s relationships with Rhodes and CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge became even worse.
It was the worst kept secret around Commonwealth Stadium that Hervey had told Rhodes to “butt out” of football operations. And he used much stronger words in a heated exchanged with the commissioner over last year’s live mic fiasco.
It wasn’t the only time Hervey argued defiantly with those in the CFL office, either.
It seemed like Hervey felt the Eskimos were his kingdom. He acted bulletproof and took a “Do You Know Who I Am?” approach to anyone who challenged him, including the commissioner.
The list of people with whom Hervey had such conflict seemed longer than his list of on-field victories, including league bosses, club bosses, players who balked at taking pay cuts and even TSN — the CFL’s lifeblood television partner.
Ultimately, in a business that’s supposed to be about winning, winning simply wasn’t enough. Trying to be respectful to an Eskimos legend, Rhodes struggled through Friday’s press conference attempting to paint the firing as being connected to marketing, media relations and ticket sales. Some of that is true, but in the end, Rhodes should have just called it what it was: Endless conflict with numerous parties.
Hervey should be and will be remembered in his adopted home as a Grey Cup-winning player and GM. He did it all in Edmonton, and had it all, too. In truth, Len Rhodes didn’t fire Ed Hervey. Hervey did it to himself.
It was a sad ending to what could have been so much more.