 Hervey with theEdmonton Elks in 2025 | |
| Edmonton Elks | |
|---|---|
| Title | General manager |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1973-05-04)May 4, 1973 (age 52) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Compton (Compton, California) |
| College | USC |
| NFL draft | 1995: 5th round, 166th overall pick |
| Position | Wide receiver, No. 81 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1995 | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1997 | Oakland Raiders* |
| 1998 | Denver Broncos* |
| 1998 | Oakland Raiders* |
| 1999–2006 | Edmonton Eskimos |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Operations | |
| 2007–2008 | Edmonton Eskimos (West Coast Scout) |
| 2009–2012 | Edmonton Eskimos (Head scout) |
| 2013–2016 | Edmonton Eskimos (GM) |
| 2017–2020 | BC Lions (GM) |
| 2022–2023 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (AssistantGM) |
| 2024 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (GM) |
| 2025–present | Edmonton Elks (GM) |
| Awards and highlights | |
Edward Hervey (born May 4, 1973) is an American professionalfootball executive and former player who is thegeneral manager for theEdmonton Elks of theCanadian Football League (CFL). He played as awide receiver in the CFL for theEdmonton Eskimos for eight years and also served as general manager of the Eskimos from2013 through2016, winning the103rd Grey Cup to conclude the2015 CFL season. He was later the general manager for theBC Lions from2017 to2020 and for theHamilton Tiger-Cats in2024. He playedcollege football for theUSC Trojans.
Hervey attendedCompton High School, where he played as aquarterback andwide receiver. He was selected to the All-Moore League team as a senior. Intrack, he helped the school win the California state4 × 400 metres relay competition.
He moved on toPasadena City College, where he played as a quarterback. As a freshman, he posted 12-of-28 completion for 116 yards and onetouchdown, while rushing for 137 yards on 26 carries.
Hervey became a starter in 1992, registering 78-of-143 completions for 919 passing yards, 3 passingtouchdowns, 791 rushing yards on 169 carries and 8 rushingtouchdowns on his way to a 10–1 record. He was named the MVP of the Rose City Classic Bowl, as he ran for onetouchdown and passed for another in a 28–27 win over theCollege of the Desert. He also received Junior College All-State and All-Mission Conference honors.
Intrack, he finished second in the 1992 California state community college200 metres with 20.99 seconds and400 metres with 46.41 seconds. As a sophomore, he recorded 20.65 seconds in the200 metres and 46.02 seconds in the400 metres, receivingSouth Coast Conference Track Male Athlete of the Year honors, after winning both events at the conference championships.
He transferred to theUniversity of Southern California after his sophomore season and was converted into awide receiver. He was considered the team's fastest player, with head coachJohn Robinson (also former coach of theLos Angeles Rams), saying Hervey was the fastest player he had seen on a football field, including ex-Ram and Olympic4 × 400 metres relay gold medalistRon Brown.[1]
As a junior he was named a starter, but tallied only 22 receptions for 219 yards and a 15-yardtouchdown pass, after suffering a sprained left ankle that forced him to miss 2 games and would limit him the rest of the season. The next year, he suffered a right knee sprain in the season opener and would only play in 8 games (4 games missed and 5 starts), finishing his college career with 41 receptions for 482 yards and 3touchdowns. He was a teammate ofAll-Americanwide receiversJohnnie Morton andKeyshawn Johnson.
Intrack as a senior, he earnedAll-American honors in three events at the NCAA Track and Field Championships. He finished fifth in the200 metres with 20.53 seconds; his best was a 20.40 seconds time at the Pac-10 championships, where he was third. He also ran the second leg on both the4 × 100 metres and4 × 400 metres relay teams that finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Hervey was selected in the fifth round (166th overall) of the1995 NFL draft by theDallas Cowboys.[2] As a rookie, he was leading the team in kickoff returns during the preseason (8 for a 24.4-yard average), until fracturing his left fibula in the final week oftraining camp.[3] Although he returned on September 6, he was declared inactive for every game during the season, as the Cowboys went on to win Super Bowl XXX. He was waived on August 20,1996.[4]
In1997, he signed with theOakland Raiders and was waived on August 24.[5]
On February 13,1998, he was signed by theDenver Broncos and released before the season started.[6]
In1998, he was signed by the Raiders and waived on August 26.[7]
Hervey played eight seasons for theEdmonton Eskimos in theCanadian Football League, and was a CFL all star in2001 and2003.
Over the course of his career Hervey posted 6715 yards receiving with 476 receptions in 118 career CFL games. In2001, he had his best season stats-wise, when he registered 1447 yards on 77 receptions with 12touchdowns. He was also a part of twoGrey Cup winning teams. In 2006, he received the David Boone Memorial Award in recognition for his contributions to the community. On March 20, 2007, Hervey officially announced his retirement from professional football.
After his playing career, Hervery served as the Eskimos'head scout until December 10,2012, when he was named as the club's general manager.[8] In2015, the Eskimos won theGrey Cup. On April 7,2017, the Eskimos held a press conference to announce the termination of Hervey's contract.[9]
On November 30, 2017, Hervey was named the general manager of theBC Lions.[10] Hervey's 2019 Lions missed the playoffs, and Hervey's handpicked head coach,DeVone Claybrooks, was fired after his first season on the job.[11] Furthermore, Hervey's conduct during the season was criticized. His handling of the release of fan favorite and star linebackerSolomon Elimimian drew criticism from Elimimian's agent for its timing, as did Hervey's justification that he knew when a player's time was up;[12] Elimimian still earned divisional All-Star honours for the season, and recorded a sack in each game he played against BC. Also during the season, Hervey was called out by the press for his refusal to shake the hand of Edmonton wideoutKenny Stafford.[13] During the cancelled2020 year, it was announced that Hervey had resigned from his position for personal reasons.[14][15] Roughly one month later,TSN reported that when Hervey signed marquee free agent quarterbackMike Reilly to the highest ever CFL contract in early 2019 (4 years, $2.9 million CND total),[16] Hervey had, contrary to league rules, signed a separate document outside of the contract, guaranteeing $250,000 of Reilly's yearly salary. However this separate document was never submitted to the league. With the cancelled 2020 season, Reilly had not received the guaranteed payment and filed a grievance in October, prior to Hervey's resignation. Neither BC Lions team president Rick Lelacheur nor ownerDavid Braley (who died in between Hervey's resignation and the TSN report) were aware of Hervey's guarantee to Reilly until the grievance .[17]
After a year away from the CFL, Hervey was named the assistant general manager and senior advisor to the president of football operations for theHamilton Tiger-Cats on December 24, 2021.[18] He spent two years in that capacity before being promoted to general manager on December 5, 2023.[19]
On November 9, 2024, it was announced that Hervey had been named the vice president of football operations and general manager for theEdmonton Elks.[20]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Result | |||
| EDM | 2013 | 4 | 14 | 0 | .222 | 4th in West Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| EDM | 2014 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .666 | 2nd in West Division | 1 | 1 | Lost in West Final | |
| EDM | 2015 | 14 | 4 | 0 | .777 | 1st in West Division | 2 | 0 | Won Grey Cup | |
| EDM | 2016 | 10 | 8 | 0 | .555 | 3rd in West Division | 1 | 1 | Lost in East Final | |
| BC | 2018 | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 4th in West Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in East Semi Final | |
| BC | 2019 | 5 | 13 | 0 | .278 | 5th in West Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| HAM | 2024 | 7 | 11 | 0 | .389 | 4th in East Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| EDM | 2025 | 7 | 11 | 0 | .389 | 5th in West Division | – | – | Failed to qualify | |
| Total | 68 | 76 | 0 | .472 | 1 Division Championship | 4 | 3 | 1 Grey Cup | ||
