Chris Jones, head coach/defensive co-ordinator: The results speak for themselves when it comes to Jones, who brought the 4-14 club he inherited all the way to the 2014 West Division final following a 12-6 record in his debut season as a CFL head coach. While his contract was only extended to the end of 2016 this past off-season, Jones one-upped himself with a 14-4 record to finish first overall and host Commonwealth Stadium's first divisional final since 2003. His defence surrendered the fewest points in the league for the second year in a row.

Stephen McAdoo, offensive co-ordinator: Lost his starting quarterback for half the season on opening day, but his offence still finished first in the West Division in passing yards, despite posting the worst pass rating out of any team that made the playoffs this year. Lost his starting running back in training camp and still managed to earn the most rushing yards out of any playoff-bound team. The Eskimos finished second overall with 6,473 yards of net offence and fourth overall with 23.9 offensive points per game – just 1.2 back of the league-leading Calgary Stampeders offence.

Craig Dickenson, special-teams co-ordinator: Under Dickenson, Edmonton's field-goal accuracy was tied for a league-leading 90% this season, while the rest didn't quite measure up, finishing seventh in punting, tied for sixth in kickoffs, sixth in punt returns and eighth in kickoff returns. The point may be moot, however, with li'l brother Dave taking over John Hufnagel's head-coaching gig in Calgary, paving the way for a potential swap of special-teams co-ordinators that could finally bring Mark Kilam back home here to Edmonton. A U of A product himself, Kilam had previously been offered the Golden Bears head-coaching job, but ultimately ended up staying with the Stampeders – after much arm twisting by Huf.

Will Kilam be coaching in Edmonton next season?

It's probably no coincidence Edmonton's eight-game win streak to finish the regular season coincided with the return of quarterback Mike Reilly to the starting role following a knee injury that kept him out for nine games. He still finished seventh overall with 2,449 passing yards with 65% completions, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while adding two more TDs on 324 rushing yards.