Mike Locksley ESPN Interview: Former Terps Coach at Peace, Eyes NFL Return as Three Recruits Decommit
A day after Maryland and Mike Locksley parted ways, the former Terrapins coach told ESPN he isn’t bitter about how it ended. In his first interview since leaving, he said he is “at peace with it,” and the program felt the fallout on the recruiting trail at the same time.
“I kind of knew it was coming, just didn’t know when,” Locksley told ESPN’s Heather Dinich in the interview, published Thursday.
Maryland announced Wednesday that it had reached a mutual agreement with Locksley after a 2-5 start and five straight losses. The latest was a 37-30 homecoming loss to Rutgers. Co-defensive coordinator Aazaar Abdul-Rahim is the interim head coach while the school runs a national search.
Done With Rebuilding
Locksley, 56, said he doesn’t expect another chance to be a college head coach. He hopes to get back to the NFL or become a coordinator at a program “you can win a championship at.”
“But I’m done with the heavy laboring of building,” he said. “And taking a job that’s going to wear me out. I can’t do it anymore.”
He also said he believes he leaves the program better than he found it. “It’s actually not hard to win at Maryland; it’s hard to win consistently at Maryland,” Locksley said.
Regrets on Staff and NIL
Locksley said his biggest regret is that he couldn’t keep top assistants together. He named Scottie Montgomery, Jon Hoke and Dan Enos among the coaches who left. “I was not able to keep consistency with the staff,” he said.
He was just as direct about name, image and likeness. Locksley said NIL changed the landscape and he “wasn’t prepared for it.” He said that in 2024, the payments created “haves and have-nots for the first time in our locker room.”
Locksley finishes 39-54 as Maryland’s head coach, a record that counts his six game interim stint in 2015. The Terps went to three straight bowl games from 2021 to 2023 but are 10-21 since the start of the 2024 season.
Recruits Head for the Exit
The coaching change hit the Terps’ recruiting board right away. Three commitments have reopened their recruitment since Wednesday, according to On3 and Testudo Times:
- Jerome Larue Jr., a four star running back in the 2028 class
- Caleb Canty, a three star offensive tackle
- Abdus Kone, a three star offensive lineman
Testudo Times reported that Canty has hinted at a move to Florida State and that Kone visited UTSA last weekend.
Not everyone is leaving. Three star commit Kenaz Sullivan has reaffirmed his pledge to Maryland, according to On3.
What’s Next
Abdul-Rahim’s first game as interim coach comes as Maryland tries to stop a five game skid and save what’s left of the 2026 season. The bigger question is who athletic director Jim Smith hires to lead a program that, by Locksley’s own account, needs a coach ready for college football’s NIL era.
