Calgary Stampeders' Brandon Smith (28) tries to stop Edmonton Eskimos' Adarius Bowman (4) from scoring a touchdown during first half of a Canadian Football League West final in Edmonton, Alberta, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) MANDATORY CREDITChris Jones has been here before, but never as a head coach. For Adarius Bowman, the whole experience is brand new.
Jones, who played at South Pittsburg High School and the University of Tennessee R Chattanooga, has helped seven Canadian Football League teams reach the Grey Cup as an assistant coach, with three Cup victories. Now Jones has a chance to claim his first title as a head coach when he leads the Edmonton Eskimos into this evening's title game.
Bowman, the former Notre Dame High School all-state receiver, will play in a championship game for the first time in an accomplished eight-year professional career. He comes into the game as the Eskimos' leading receiver, a second straight 1,300-plus yard season.
Those two, as well as linebackers coach Phillip Lolley, a former North Jackson High and Auburn University coach, will try to help Edmonton win the 103rd Grey Cup today against the Ottawa RedBlack at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2).
"I'm really proud of the way Adarius has matured into a leader," Jones said this past week. "I told him when I took over here that he had a chance to become really special, and right now he's the best receiver in our league.
"I'm proud of what we've accomplished already, but I won't be satisfied unless we win it all."
Jones, who has coached in the CFL for 15 years and won two Grey Cups as a defensive coordinator, is in his second season as the Eskimos head coach. He took over an Edmonton team that finished 4-14 in 2013 and came within one win of reaching the title game in his first season, winning 12 games.
The Eskimos are on a nine-game winning streak, with the 6-foot-3, 217-pound Bowman being a major reason for so much success. He has been named the CFL's offensive player of the week three times in the past seven weeks and has 1,304 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. That's after a career-best 1,456 yards last year, giving him the most yards by any receiver in the league over those two seasons.
"We've got a lot of really good players and they want to be good," Jones said. "I'm proud of what we've done already, but hopefully we'll finish things off the right way now."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.