Maryland football fires Mike Locksley after 2-5 opening

Maryland football fired Mike Locksley on Wednesday after a 2-5 start, ending a seven-plus-year tenure that had stalled in Big Ten play.

The school announced the move four days after the Terrapins lost 37-30 to Rutgers in their homecoming game at SECU Stadium. Athletic director Jim Smith said in a statement, "Following thoughtful conversations with Coach Locksley, we agreed that a coaching change was in the best interest of Coach Locksley and the Maryland football program."

Rutgers loss ends runway

Maryland said it would begin the search for a replacement immediately. Smith said he and President Darryll J. Pines were aligned on providing the investment, infrastructure and resources needed for the program to succeed.

The decision makes Maryland the first Power Four program to fire its head coach this season, according to the supplied material. People familiar with staff plans said Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, recently promoted to interim defensive coordinator, will serve as interim head coach, with his first game scheduled for October 31 against Illinois in College Park.

Seven seasons in College Park

Locksley arrived in December 2018 after serving as Alabama's offensive coordinator, bringing local ties as a Washington, D.C., native and a national reputation as a recruiter. He finished 39-54 across seven-plus seasons at Maryland, with the strongest stretch coming from 2021 through 2023.

During that three-year run, Maryland won at least seven games each season and reached a bowl game three times. The high point was an 8-5 finish in 2023, capped by a Music City Bowl win over Auburn.

The program then went 4-8 in both 2024 and 2025, leaving the 2026 season as a test of whether new investment could reverse the decline. Maryland hired Clint Trickett as offensive coordinator, added top-five recruit Zion Elee and retained quarterback Malik Washington, while the supplied material said the school was no longer near the bottom of the Big Ten in football roster spending.

The results did not match those changes. Maryland lost home games to Virginia Tech, UCLA and Rutgers, including a 54-3 defeat against first-year UCLA coach Bob Chesney, and Locksley had gone more than a year without a win over a Power Four opponent.

Buyout frames the search

People familiar with the contract terms said Maryland will owe Locksley $9.75 million in buyout money, against a $6.4 million salary this season. Those people said the deal has no offset language if Locksley takes another job elsewhere.

The financial terms matter because Maryland is trying to sell a job that sits in a difficult Big Ten neighborhood but no longer carries the same resource gap described around the earlier years of Locksley's tenure. The school can point to a larger roster budget, a Power Four opening with an early start, and a location near the Washington recruiting base.

The roster is the first test for the next staff. Washington regressed in 2026 after throwing for 2,963 yards as a true freshman, but the supplied material described his ceiling as high and identified him as the starting point for any retention plan.

Maryland also has defensive talent in Sidney Stewart, Daniel Wingate and Zahir Mathis, who suffered a season-ending injury before the year. If Abdul-Rahim can stabilize the team through the Illinois game and beyond, Maryland may have a cleaner handoff; if losses continue, the transfer risk around key players could become the next constraint on the search.

The broader college football effect is narrower but real: Maryland has opened this season's Power Four coaching market before other programs have moved. If the school hires quickly, it can work ahead of a crowded carousel; if the process drags, the same resource gains cited by Smith may have to compete with jobs that carry stronger recent winning records.