Main reason explained why Edmonton Elks special teams coordinator and defensive line coach Demetrious Maxie will not be back next season to the team 2026

A key figure on the Edmonton Elks coaching staff will not return for the 2026 season.

According to TSN’s Farhan Lalji, special teams coordinator and defensive line coach Demetrious Maxie will be leaving the team. In 2025, the Elks ranked seventh in the CFL with 24 sacks but struggled in several special teams categories, including opponent punt returns allowed (7th), kick return average (5th), and return touchdowns conceded (7th).

Maxie had rejoined Edmonton after a year with the Toronto Argonauts, where his defensive line led the league in sacks and helped the team win the Grey Cup. Despite bringing four players from Toronto to Edmonton, he was unable to replicate that success.

The 52-year-old previously spent eight years with the Elks, serving as linebackers coach for two seasons before taking over the defensive line in 2018. He began his coaching career in 2010 at his alma mater, the University of Texas-El Paso, working with both linebackers and the defensive line.

A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Maxie played 13 CFL seasons from 1995 to 2007, including five with the Argonauts. He won two Grey Cups in Toronto, was twice named a CFL all-star, and finished his career with 263 defensive tackles and 70 sacks.

Also leaving the team is running backs coach Trysten Dyce, who joined Edmonton after two years in B.C. Dyce is the son of former Ottawa Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce, who was dismissed following the 2025 season.

Edmonton concluded the 2025 campaign fifth in the West Division with a 7-11 record, missing the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. Cody Fajardo started 13 of the team’s regular-season games, going 6-7 with 3,408 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while Tre Ford started the first five games, going 1-4 with 984 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.

The Elks finished ninth in both net offence and net defence and ranked fifth in turnover differential (+4). Leading the team in key stats were Justin Rankin (rushing, 1,013 yards), Kaion Julien-Grant (receiving, 820 yards), and Joel Dublanko (tackles, 80). Attendance averaged 19,050 per game, a 7.1% drop from the previous season, ranking seventh in the league.