YORKTON - When sports fans see the name Geroy Simon they are likely to flashback to one of greatest receivers to ever play in the Canadian Football League.
While hailing from Pennsylvania, and honing his early skills at the University of Maryland, it is here in Canada Simon carved out a truly notable playing career.
Simon’s CFL career spanned 15 seasons in the CFL, 12 of them with the BC Lions, and of course time we in Saskatchewan remember fondly as he suited up with the Roughriders. Along the way Simon won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award in 2006 and adding a trio of Grey Cup championships; two with the Lions in 2006 and 2011 and then with the ‘Riders in 2013.
When Simon retired after the Roughrider Grey Cup he was the all-time career leader in CFL receiving yards with 16,352 yards, second in pass receptions with 1,029 and third in touchdown receptions with 103.
So it wasn’t surprising Simon was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Retirement for Simon did not mean stepping away from the CFL though. He remained with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a front office role, and then in 2015 returned to the Lions serving as the team's Director for Global Scouting and a US Regional Scout.
Now he has taken another step in his management career being named the assistant general manager of the Edmonton Elks, in late December 2021.
“I’m very excited about this new opportunity,” he said in a recent interview with this reporter.
Simon said it was rather easy to accept the position given that Chris Jones is now the general manager and head coach in Edmonton.
“I’ve been friends with Chris a long time,” he said, adding they had discussions in the past about working together at some point.
It is important to have a relationship given their respective roles.
“I’ve got to do what he asks me to do,” said Simon, adding he is the assistant and Jones will be running the show.
That said because they have been friends Simon fully expects to be asked for his input at times, and knows Jones will listen.
The position is also one that Simon said will give him some autonomy an assistant GM does not always get.
“This is a unique opportunity,” he said, reiterating Jones has a dual role, but that once the players are on the field for the season he has to be the head coach first.
“Most of his time – he’ll be focused on the field.”
That will mean Simon will need to step up to take some added responsibility on the general manager side of things.
Simon said his lengthy time playing in the CFL is an asset as he ventures deeper into the management side.
“There’s a number of different experiences I’ve had . . . I think it’s very important,” he said of his experience. He said the CFL is a unique league where situations arise that are not necessarily seen in football elsewhere, such as the need to constantly be aware of player ratios – ensuring Canadian content. “. . . If you’ve never been in the league some of the things can get complicated.”
It helps too that as a player he has been on that side of dealing with management, again experience Simon said he can draw upon.
It didn’t take long for Simon to be handed an assignment.
“The first day I got hired I had to release 11 players,” he said, adding he’s been involved in release before “but 11 players at one shot I had never done.”
Of course personnel changes were expected considering the Elks finished the 2021 season with only three wins – none of those at home -- against 11 losses, scoring only 246 points while allowing 378 for a negative differential of 132.
Simon said were are calls most mornings at 6:30 a.m. between himself in B.C. and Jones in the US talking about players.
Finding the players to improve the Elks is not as easy given the situation with COVID.
“It’s tough. You want to be able to see players,” said Simon, adding that just isn’t as easy this year.
In that regard Simon said the Elks are fortunate to have Jones who has what he terms a “unique” formula for rating players. While saying he wasn’t going to offer “trade secrets” on just how Jones’ formula works it takes various metrics and gives a rating to what a player brings to the field.
It helps too Jones is highly focused too.
“I’ve never seen a guy work as hard,” he said.
When sports fans see the name Geroy Simon they are likely to flashback to one of greatest receivers to ever play in the Canadian Football League.
While hailing from Pennsylvania, and honing his early skills at the University of Maryland, it is here in Canada Simon carved out a truly notable playing career.
Simon’s CFL career spanned 15 seasons in the CFL, 12 of them with the BC Lions, and of course time we in Saskatchewan remember fondly as he suited up with the Roughriders. Along the way Simon won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award in 2006 and adding a trio of Grey Cup championships; two with the Lions in 2006 and 2011 and then with the ‘Riders in 2013.
When Simon retired after the Roughrider Grey Cup he was the all-time career leader in CFL receiving yards with 16,352 yards, second in pass receptions with 1,029 and third in touchdown receptions with 103.
So it wasn’t surprising Simon was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Retirement for Simon did not mean stepping away from the CFL though. He remained with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a front office role, and then in 2015 returned to the Lions serving as the team's Director for Global Scouting and a US Regional Scout.
Now he has taken another step in his management career being named the assistant general manager of the Edmonton Elks, in late December 2021.
“I’m very excited about this new opportunity,” he said in a recent interview with this reporter.
Simon said it was rather easy to accept the position given that Chris Jones is now the general manager and head coach in Edmonton.
“I’ve been friends with Chris a long time,” he said, adding they had discussions in the past about working together at some point.
It is important to have a relationship given their respective roles.
“I’ve got to do what he asks me to do,” said Simon, adding he is the assistant and Jones will be running the show.
That said because they have been friends Simon fully expects to be asked for his input at times, and knows Jones will listen.
The position is also one that Simon said will give him some autonomy an assistant GM does not always get.
“This is a unique opportunity,” he said, reiterating Jones has a dual role, but that once the players are on the field for the season he has to be the head coach first.
“Most of his time – he’ll be focused on the field.”
That will mean Simon will need to step up to take some added responsibility on the general manager side of things.
Simon said his lengthy time playing in the CFL is an asset as he ventures deeper into the management side.
“There’s a number of different experiences I’ve had . . . I think it’s very important,” he said of his experience. He said the CFL is a unique league where situations arise that are not necessarily seen in football elsewhere, such as the need to constantly be aware of player ratios – ensuring Canadian content. “. . . If you’ve never been in the league some of the things can get complicated.”
It helps too that as a player he has been on that side of dealing with management, again experience Simon said he can draw upon.
It didn’t take long for Simon to be handed an assignment.
“The first day I got hired I had to release 11 players,” he said, adding he’s been involved in release before “but 11 players at one shot I had never done.”
Of course personnel changes were expected considering the Elks finished the 2021 season with only three wins – none of those at home -- against 11 losses, scoring only 246 points while allowing 378 for a negative differential of 132.
Simon said were are calls most mornings at 6:30 a.m. between himself in B.C. and Jones in the US talking about players.
Finding the players to improve the Elks is not as easy given the situation with COVID.
“It’s tough. You want to be able to see players,” said Simon, adding that just isn’t as easy this year.
In that regard Simon said the Elks are fortunate to have Jones who has what he terms a “unique” formula for rating players. While saying he wasn’t going to offer “trade secrets” on just how Jones’ formula works it takes various metrics and gives a rating to what a player brings to the field.
It helps too Jones is highly focused too.
“I’ve never seen a guy work as hard,” he said.
