Maryland football fires head coach Mike Locksley

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Mike Locksley, the former head coach of Maryland football, has been fired, according to reporting from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Locksley took charge of the Terps on Dec. 4, 2018, leading the Terps to a 38-49 record overall and a 16-47 record in the Big Ten.

His return to the program came in the wake of the death of former Terps offensive lineman Jordan McNair and the subsequent firing of former coach DJ Durkin.

Under Locksley, the program stabilized and found success.

Maryland reeled off a 20-game undefeated streak against nonconference opponents from 2019 to 2026 that ended on Sep. 19 against Virginia Tech.

From 2021-2023, Maryland went to and won three consecutive bowl games, a high-water mark for the program; it was the first time the Terps had made consecutive bowl appearances since 2007-2008.

Following that bowl game success, though, the program recorded consecutive 4-8 seasons. The 2-2 start to the 2026 season was the Terps’ worst beginning to a year since Locksley’s first season in 2019.

Locksley was in his third run-around with the Terps, having served as running backs coach and run coordinator from 1997-2002 and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2012-2015. He was named interim head coach in 2015 following the firing of Randy Edsall, when he went 1-5, capping the season with a dramatic 46-41 victory at Rutgers.

Prior to his tenure at Maryland, Locksley was the offensive coordinator at Alabama. In his last year there, he won the Broyles Award, awarded to the top assistant coach in college football. At his lone prior head-coaching stint in New Mexico, Locksley went 2-26, going 0-4 in his third season before being dismissed.

According to reporting from InsideMarylandSports’ Jeff Ermann, the buyout of Locksley’s contract is worth over $9 million at this point. Half of that sum is due to be paid to the former coach in the next 60 days, according to Ermann, with the remainder due in regular payroll until the end of 2028, when his contract was set to expire.

The Terps will head into the bye week with time to make adjustments in their preparations to host Illinois. Maryland has gone 0-12 in games following bye weeks, with the last 10 losses of that streak coming under Locksley’s tenure.

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