B.C. Lions name Dennis McKnight new special teams coordinator

SURREY — Dennis McKnight wasn’t planning to be on the CFL sidelines this season.

The veteran coach retired last year after overseeing special teams for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats through the 2024 and 2025 campaigns.

He walked away happy with a body of work that stretched across North America, and was looking forward to spending more time with his three grandsons.

“Then football season starts,” McKnight said. “You’re watching the games and I’m sitting there going ‘Don’t lose leverage! Save the block! Don’t push them in the back!’ And my wife’s like ‘You’re done!’ … It never leaves you.”

Now McKnight is back on the field.

The B.C. Lions named him their new special teams coordinator on Monday.

While he hasn’t spent much time with his new squad, McKnight knows what they’re capable from his time with the Ticats.

“I’ve played these guys four times in the past two years. And I’m not blowing smoke up their skirts, but this is a big, strong, fast, physical team,” he said.

“If we can take this physicality that they have and tighten up the technique, we’re going to be good.”

The Lions fired former special teams coordinator Cory McDiarmid on June 28 after opening the season with three straight losses.

“Obviously me and the guys, we wish we could have done more for Coach McDiramid,” said fullback Riley Pickett. “We’re pretty disappointed with how that all shaped up, because we’re the guys that have to go out there on the field and actually make plays for him.

“But with that being said, there’s still a lot of season left and we’re excited to go out there for Coach McKnight and do the same thing.”

Football is full of sudden changes, Pickett added, and getting a new coach four games into a season is just the latest for the Lions.

“You’ve just got to go out there and get used to it,” he said.

There’s always a learning curve that comes with a new coach, said veteran kicker Sean Whyte, and it’s up to athletes to adjust.

“You’ve just got to learn the way he does things, the way he coaches things, and just – as a professional football player – you’ve got to adapt,” he said. “And that’s all I’m going to try to do.”

Hailing from Dallas, Texas, McKnight played 141 NFL games as an offensive guard. He logged eight seasons with the San Diego Chargers, and also spent time with the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles.

His coaching career began at the University of Hawaii in 1999. Since then, he’s held a variety of roles across multiple NCAA programs and the XFL.

“Once you get to know him, he’s a pretty open guy, an old-school type of coach, which I think our players need,” said Neil McEvoy, the Lions’ vice president of football operations.

“It’s a tough position to come into … (McDirmad) was well liked by the players and well liked by everyone. He was a good guy, he wasn’t a bad person at all. So it’s tough for (McKnight) to come into this environment. But from what I’ve seen … he’s really developed a good relationship with his guys the best he can, and so we’re going to see where it takes us.”

It’s been a difficult start to the season for the Lions, who were 1-3 heading into a bye last week. B.C. returns to play on Friday, taking on the Elks (4-1) in Edmonton.

Turning the season around will require the team’s offence, defence and special teams to get back on track, McEvoy said.

“We haven’t played up to the level that we’ve wanted,” he said. “Being 1-3 isn’t where any of us thought we would be. But at the end of the day, we’re here, and so it’s time for our players to take accountability and to go out there and start winning games.

“Because at the end of the day, we can make a million changes, but once you enter the field of play, it’s going to be the players that have to do it.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press