A key member of the Edmonton Elks coaching staff will not return to the team in 2026.
According to a report by TSN correspondent Farhan Lalji.Special teams coordinator and defensive line coach Demetrius Maxey will not return next season.
The Elks ranked seventh in the CFL with 24 sacks in 2025 while ranking in the bottom half of the league in a number of key special teams metrics, including opponent punt returns allowed (seventh), opponent punt return average (fifth) and opponent punt return touchdowns allowed (seventh).
Maxey returned to the Moose after a one-year stint with the Toronto Argonauts, where his defensive line unit led the CFL in sacks en route to a Gray Cup victory. Although four of these players followed him to Edmonton, they were unable 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 defensive line coach in 2018. He began his coaching career in 2010 at the University of Texas at El Paso, his alma mater, as the defensive line and linebackers coach.
The Shreveport, Louisiana native played 13 seasons in the CFL from 1995 to 2007, including five with the Argos. He won two Gray Cups in Toronto and was named a CFL All-Star twice, finishing his career with 263 defensive tackles and 70 sacks.
Also not returning to the Elks next season is running backs coach Tristen Dice, who joined the team after a two-year stint at BC. He is the son of former Ottawa Redblacks head coach Bob Dies, who was fired after 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 top five with a 1-4 record and threw for 984 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
The Moose ranked ninth in net offense, ninth in net defense and fifth with a plus-four turnover margin. The club's leading rusher was Justin Rankin with 1,013 yards, the leading receiver was Kion Julien-Grant with 820 yards, and the leading tackler was Joel Dublancco with 80 tackles. Edmonton ranked seventh in attendance with an average attendance of 19,050, down 7.1 per cent from the previous year.
