Maryland fires coach Mike Locksley after loss to Rutgers
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The Maryland Terrapins are the first team with an FBS head coach opening. They fired head coach Mike Locksley on Wednesday, according to Pete Nakos. They're set to name defensive coordinator Aazaar Abdul-Rahim the interim head coach.
A 37-30 loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-4) sealed Locksley's fate. That ends a seven and a half year tenure that saw Locksley lead the Terrapins to a 39-54 record overall. They went 17-52 in the Big Ten, and over the past three seasons, they've gone 2-20 against their own conference.
Locksley, who will earn at least half of his $4.9 million buyout within 60 days, had a stretch of three seasons (2021-23) where he led the Terrapins to a winning record and a bowl win each season. Before the 2022 season, Maryland signed him to a $21 million extension that ran through 2026.
Maryland started out the season 2-0, but they've spiraled since then. They've given up 219 points during their current five-game losing streak, and the Terps are ranked 127th nationally in points allowed and 83rd in yards allowed.
After the loss to Rutgers, which saw the Terps give up 24 unanswered points, Locksley fired his defensive coordinator, Ted Monachino. "I won't even get into that," Locksley said Saturday, when asked what he wanted his tenure to be remembered for. "As I said, I'm here for these players. I'm super convicted. The only thing I'm concerned about is doing my very best for them, until they tell me I can't. And those players continue to give me their best, so I'll continue to give them my best."
Maryland has been a stable ground for NFL talent for years under Locksley. They've earned at least five selections in two of the past three drafts, and they've recruited phenom quarterback Malik Washington and offensive tackle Zion Elee to play for Maryland. Still, results didn't show up on the field for the Terrapins.
Before his tenure at Maryland, Locksley had previous head coaching experience at New Mexico from 2009-11. He led the Lobos to a 2-26 record before he was fired there as well. After that, he was the offensive coordinator at Maryland from 2012-15 and even became the interim head coach after Randy Edsall was fired. He then became an assistant under Nick Saban in Alabama from 2016-18 before the Terrapins hired him in 2019.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Maryland fires coach Mike Locksley after loss to Rutgers
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