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Huffman Sports Wire — Breaking News Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Maryland Parts Ways With Mike Locksley in First Coaching Change of the Season
Maryland announced on Wednesday that the school and head coach Mike Locksley have parted ways, ending his run in College Park with five games left in the 2026 season. The school described the move as an agreement reached after conversations between Locksley and athletic director Jim Smith, who said a coaching change was in the best interest of both Locksley and the program. The move makes Maryland the first program in the Football Bowl Subdivision to make a head coaching change this season.
The decision followed a fifth straight loss for the Terrapins, who fell 37-30 at home to Rutgers on Saturday, October 17. Maryland dropped to 2-5 overall and 0-4 in Big Ten play with that loss, and the team is on its bye week. Locksley had dismissed defensive coordinator Ted Monachino on October 18, three days before the school made its own change at the top.
Locksley finished with a 39-54 overall record at Maryland, a total that includes his stint as interim coach in 2015. He took over as the full-time head coach ahead of the 2019 season, and his teams posted three straight winning seasons from 2021-23 with a bowl victory in each of those seasons. Maryland then went 4-8 in 2024. The Terrapins matched that 4-8 mark in 2025, and the slide continued into this fall.
Defensive coordinator Aazaar Abdul-Rahim will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season. Maryland said a search for a permanent head coach will begin immediately, and the Terrapins have five games left on the schedule. Locksley is owed a reported buyout of about 9.75 million dollars, and the size of that figure underlines how ready the school was to start over now instead of waiting for the season to end.
Sources: - [Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/college/maryland/football/breaking-maryland-fires-head-coach-mike-locksley-01m3n7cf3750) - [theScore](https://www.thescore.com/ncaaf/news/3630656/maryland-fires-locksley-after-2-5-start) - [USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/bigten/2026/10/21/maryland-fires-mike-locksley-contract-buyout/91959683007/) - [New York Post](https://nypost.com/2026/10/21/sports/mike-locksley-steps-down-from-maryland-as-first-college-football-coach-exit-midseason/)