Photo courtesy: Demetrious Maxie
A key member of the Edmonton Elks coaching staff will not be returning in 2026.
According to a report from TSN’s Farhan Lalji, special teams coordinator and defensive line coach Demetrious Maxie will not be back next season.
The Elks finished seventh in the CFL with 24 sacks generated in 2025, while ranking bottom half of the league in a number of key special teams metrics, including opponent punt return allowed (seventh), opponent kick return average (fifth), and opponent return touchdowns allowed (seventh).
Maxie rejoined the Elks after a one-year stint with the Toronto Argonauts, where his defensive line unit led the CFL in sacks en route to a Grey Cup victory. Despite four of those players following him to Edmonton, they failed to repeat the feat.
The 52-year-old spent eight years with Edmonton during his first tenure, serving as the team’s linebackers coach for two seasons before moving to coach the defensive line in 2018. He started his coaching career in 2010 at the University of Texas-El Paso, his alma mater, as a defensive line and linebackers coach.
The native of Shreveport, La. played 13 seasons in the CFL from 1995 to 2007, including five as a member of the Argos. He won two Grey Cups in Toronto and was twice named a CFL all-star, finishing his career with 263 defensive tackles and 70 sacks.
Also not returning to the Elks next season is running backs coach Trysten Dyce, who joined the team after a two-year stint in B.C. He is the son of former Ottawa Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce, who was fired following the season.
The Edmonton Elks finished fifth in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 7-11 record, missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season. Cody Fajardo started the team’s final 13 regular-season games and went 6-7, throwing for 3,408 yards, 14 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Tre Ford started the first five, going 1-4, and threw for 984 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.
The Elks ranked ninth in net offence, ninth in net defence, and fifth with a turnover differential of plus-four. The club’s leading rusher was Justin Rankin with 1,013 yards, the leading receiver was Kaion Julien-Grant with 820 yards, and the leading tackler was Joel Dublanko with 80 tackles. Edmonton finished seventh in attendance with average crowds of 19,050, which was a 7.1 percent decrease from the previous year.