Edmonton head coach Chris Jones still has a remarkable love of Xs and Os

WINNIPEG—Football head coaches take many different approaches to the position, from the CEO who oversees strong coordinators and keeps them on the same page to the inspirational figure who fires up his team to the Xs and Os expert who stays heavily involved with a particular unit. Edmonton Eskimos' head coach Chris Jones is mostly the latter, and to a remarkable extent.

Jones spent 11 years in the CFL as a defensive coordinator before getting his first head-coaching shot in 2014, and at Wednesday's coaches' press conference (with Ottawa head coach Rick Campbell), he illustrated just how much he still loves to talk Xs and Os. The clearest example of this was where he vividly discussed a specific play from 13 years ago when then-Montreal head coach Don Matthews' aggressiveness didn't pay off in a loss against the B.C. Lions:

"I mean, we went cover zero," Jones said. "We were ten-and-oh, and we went, you know, cover zero in BC Place and brought weak side hammer pressure, and they went snap rotational, and Damon Allen, he threw it and went 109. I can't remember the receiver's name, but he went 109 to beat us – and we were up four, so that's where I figured out that, you know, you do what you do and you don't worry about what anybody else says. The decisions that you feel like that you got to do to win the football game. Because like he said, it ain't easy."

Jones seems to be talking about this Aug. 21, 2002 game (he only joined the Montreal staff in 2002, and Allen left B.C. before the 2003 season), and he's not quite right on one minor point (the Alouettes were 8-0 heading into that game, not 10-0, although they did have two preseason wins), but it's remarkable that he remembers the defensive calls in so much detail 13 years later. That speaks to his attention to detail and his love of the chess matches within the game, though, something further evidenced in what he said about his time living with then-Montreal quarterbacks coach (and current Toronto Argonauts head coach) Scott Milanovich in 2007:

"Well, we had a good time," Jones said. "You know, he's what I consider one of my best friends. And again, you know, we spent a whole lot of time, and we'd get to talking, you know, around nine o'clock, thinking we're going to get to bed early, and he would present a question. The next thing you know, it's one or two o'clock in the morning. So he's a brilliant guy. I mean, he's you know, him and Dave Dickenson are two of the of the guys I look at as one of the, you know, guys that I've been around offensively that really challenged me. And so it was just a really, really good time during my football career to be around Scott during that time. I know we had a TV about this big. We had a big dry marker board, but our TV was about this big, so..."

Jones said some of his coaching philosophies and practices come from those he's worked with over the years, including current Eskimos' linebackers' coach Phillip Lolley.

"One of the guys that I've learned a ton from is on my staff, Phillip Lolley," Jones said. "He was one of the first guys to give me an opportunity to coach, gave me one of my first jobs down at North Jackson High School down in Stevenson, Alabama. And he taught me a lot about, you know, just organization, having a plan, you know, making your guys be physical, make him, you know, feel like they're a little bit better than what they are, you know.

"And then certainly when I was around Don [Matthews], he taught me about this particular league. You know, sometimes you learn what to do, and some of the things you learn what not to do, quite honestly. And that's what I've tried to go everywhere I've gone, you know, with Huff [Calgary GM John Hufnagel], organization. I mean, he's one of the first guys in the building every single day, and it doesn't matter if it's what day of the year it is. I mean, you can have your end-of-the-year meeting, some kind of end-of-the-year Grey Cup dinner, and the very next day he's in there at five o'clock in the morning. And so it taught me a lot about organization. I've been real fortunate to be around some really, really good folks and, like I said, just try to find what to do and what not to do."

When quizzed about it, Jones said he also keeps in touch with legendary NFL coach Bill Parcells and runs some ideas by him.

"Well, I mean, he and I talk, I don't know, every – about once a month or so I'll text him," Jones said. "I give him a hard time about not being able to return a text, but he gives me, you know, when I have questions, I know it's somebody that I can bounce ideas off of. He and Don have been real good to return my calls. And Paul Jones, who's our personnel director, he and Coach Parcells have been, close friends for years. And Paul put me in touch with him before, right when I first took this job, and wanted to just go, you know, kind of pick his brain, see what things that he felt like that he did well, and that way I could maybe incorporate them into what we did. And so that's kind of how the relationship spawned from there."

Despite all those connections, though, Jones said he doesn't often really think about the friends and acquaintances he's coaching against until just before games..

"I mean, you don't really think about it," he said. "Sometimes you don't even think about it until you get to the game and you're out, you know, getting a workout in or whatever before the game, and then you see them, and then you remember, you know. I mean, the work weeks are so busy – and Rick, I'm sure, can tell you the same thing. I mean, the work weeks are so busy that you don't have time to really think about it a lot until, like, right before the game, you know, a Pete Costanza will come up and say hello or a John Murphy, you know, or whatever. And so that's kind of the way it is, you know.

"But it is fun to compete against them. You know, going against Dave Dickenson, going against Scott Milanovich, going against Jason Maas, that's it's really, really fun. It's really competitive. It's playing on one-on-one hoops."

That deep focus on the strategies and tactics rather than the personalities came to light during one of Campbell's responses, too, where he talked about how both he and Jones love to analyze film for hours.

"Chris knows this," Campbell said. "He's been around football for a long time, and football coaches can kind of be nerds where they sit in their office forever and just watch film and break down games."

Edmonton's defensive improvement has been key in their rise from 4-14 in 2013 to 12-6 last season, Jones' first as head coach, and 14-4 with a Grey Cup berth this year. While there have been personnel changes, too, Jones' unconventional defensive schemes that maximize the talents he has are a key reason for that improvement. He refused to take too much credit for those Wednesday, though.

"I mean, it's myself and three other guys," he said. "We basically put our defence together. It's not my defence, it's not my team. I mean, it's ours. Everything we do, that's the way we present it. And so I call the defence, but it's with great input from all three of the guys that I work with."

There may be many authors, but Jones' impact on the Eskimos' scheme and their playcalling is undeniable. He's been a big factor in their aggressiveness in particular, which goes back to that Matthews call he cited earlier. Aggressiveness permeates more than just his defence, though, as evidenced by what he said about why he went for two early against Calgary last week and why he's been willing to try unusual special teams plays, including a successful fake field goal last week.

"I think it comes from when I was in high school ball," Jones said. "My high school coach, we were, you know, very aggressive, and I mean, we put the pads on every single day and hit every single day. And I think that's probably where it came from. I mean, I just want to win, you know. I mean, you look at it, it's not very hard. I mean, you look at Calgary. I mean, they're the one team that goes for two more than any other team. And so we scored first touchdown, so you know the odds are they're going to score a touchdown, so I'd better go for two or I'm going to be behind by one, right? So I mean, that's a pretty simple little equation as far as going for two. And we were against the win on the first kick, and so I was like, you know, what do we do? We're going to kick this ball and then give them a chance to get a return if we did miss it, or do we sneak it for a yard or two and, you know, and try to play a great defence. I mean, some of that stuff it's kind of right there for you to look at. But as far as aggressiveness is concerned. I mean, it's just my nature, I guess."

That nature is a very focused one, one that's both strategic and tactical, and it's one that's worked out well for the Eskimos so far. It's going to be interesting to see how Jones applies that in Sunday's Grey Cup.