The college football coaching carousel is officially spinning, months ahead of what could be another chaotic offseason. Last season, UCLA was first to the line with an in-season firing, moving on from DeShaun Foster, and with the results that Bob Chesney has delivered, there's a clear benefit. On Wednesday Afternoon, Maryland became the first Power 4 school to make the move, firing Mike Locksley.
The timing of the move is a bit of a surprise, given the fact that the team waited until Wednesday to make the move. While the Terrapins are on a bye week, it would've made far more sense to give the interim staff as much time as possible to worj through the transition.
The decision to fire Mike Locksley doesn't come as a surprise, but it is surprising given the fact that he hung onto the job than most would've expected. Locksley was named the full-time head coach in 2019 after working for Nick Saban at Alabama, posting a total record at Maryland including his time as the interim head coach in 2015 of 39-54 with a 17-52 record in Big Ten play.
Maryland's biggest issue with Locklsey is likely the fact that the Terrapins have never found their footing or even caught lightning in a bottle in league play. Locksley never posted a winning season in league play, twice finishing 4-5, as the bad outweighed the good. Dating back to 2024, Maryland has posted a 2-22 record in league play which isn't good enough to retain the head coach.
The Terrapins are able to make the move, given the fact that his buyout is just north of $9 million, which is cheap in this era. Aazar Abdul-Rahim will take the step up from Co-Defensive Coordinator to interim head coach.
Where Maryland should turn for their next head coach
When you look at who's succeeding this season, it's clear that the model a school like Maryland should follow is UCLA's or Kentucky's. The Bruins went with an experience head coach with a proven track record at a lower level in Bob Chesney while Kentucky opted to roll the dice on the hot up-and-coming coordinator in Will Stein.
Unless the Terrapins are going to go all-in out of nowhere, they likely aren't going to steal a Power 4 head coach away from another school. For the purpose of resources, hiring outside the Power 4 may help lower the expenses.
Group of 6 coaches like Oregon State's JaMarcus Shephard and New Mexico's Jason Eck are going to be hot names, and Maryland's chances of landing the duo may come down to if other schools fire their head coach. Dipping back into the Nick Saban tree may not be the most appealing option after hiring Locksley, but Charles Huff has won everywhere he's been as a head coach.
An interesting route Maryland could take is also hiring a re-tread head coach who may not demand a ton of money given the fact that they're being paid by their last school. Coaches like Mike Norvell, Brian Kelly, Luke Fickell, and Shane Beamer among others could all fit this mold.
The coaching carousel chaos is now underway, and there's a good chance that this is just the tip of the iceberg.
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