Maryland athletic director Jim Smith laid out the plan for the Maryland football coaching search on Tuesday, and the headline was simple: the Terps will move fast, but they won’t rush.
“We’re going to move with urgency, but we won’t have an artificial deadline,” Smith said at the introductory press conference for interim head coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim in College Park.
Smith said the school intends to bring in a search firm to help, and that the net will be wide. Head coaches at every level of college football are on the table, along with top assistants and coaches from the NFL. The pace, he said, will depend on who Maryland wants and when those candidates are available.
Abdul-Rahim gets his shot
The most direct answer of the day came when Smith was asked whether Abdul-Rahim, a D.C. native, would get a real look at the permanent job.
“[Aazaar] will definitely be considered,” Smith said.
Abdul-Rahim took over after Michael Locksley’s departure on Oct. 21 and made it clear he doesn’t plan to coach like a caretaker.
“I don’t see myself as just an interim; I see myself as someone who is a program builder,” he said. He added that the staff is treating the rest of the year as “a five game season” and that, in his view, Maryland is “0-0 right now.”
What Maryland wants in its next coach
Smith said Big Ten head coaching experience is not a requirement, but any candidate will have to explain how they plan to win in the conference. Beyond that, his list centered on the realities of today’s college game:
- A clear grasp of revenue sharing and NIL, and how to build and manage a roster under both
- A commitment to academics, which Smith put on equal footing with winning
- A willingness to embrace Maryland and the DMV community
Smith also pushed back on any idea that the opening is a hard sell. He called it “an incredibly attractive job” and said the school will find the resources to land a strong hire, though he did not put a dollar figure on it.
Where the Terps stand
Maryland is 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten, and has lost 12 straight conference games. Abdul-Rahim’s first game in charge is Saturday, Oct. 31, at noon against Illinois (4-3).
For more on Locksley’s exit and the interim move, see our earlier story: Michael Locksley Out at Maryland as Aazaar Abdul-Rahim Named Interim Coach.
