Maryland’s coaching search is underway after the program moved on from Mike Locksley following a 2-5 start this season. The Terps are coming off 4-8 finishes in each of the last two years, and the change came after it became clear Locksley wasn’t going to be the answer.
Aazaar Abdul-Rahim has been elevated to interim head coach, but he’s likely not the long-term pick. That leaves Maryland with a bigger question: does it swing for a proven name, chase a rising coordinator, or look for someone who can bring stability fast?
There aren’t many Curt Cignettis available, but Indiana’s rise is at least proof that a program can be transformed. With that in mind, here are four names Maryland should have on its board.
Charles Huff stands out as a familiar fit. The Memphis head coach was born in Denton, Maryland, and spent time as an assistant on the Terps staff in 2009. He knows the area and grew up around the program, which matters in a job where connection can count as much as résumé.
Huff has already handled three head-coaching stops, at Marshall, Southern Miss and Memphis. None of those are blue-blood jobs, but he has won enough to get attention, going 44-27 since the 2021 season.
He’s also coached at Penn State, Mississippi State and Alabama, so he’s seen the demands of Power Four football up close. For Maryland, the appeal is obvious: he could bring steadiness.
The concern is whether he can get the kind of recruiting buy-in the job requires.
Brian Kelly is another possibility, though a very different one. He’s currently working as a college football analyst with CBS Sports after what the source describes as a disastrous run at LSU. A return to coaching would likely depend on the right opportunity, and Maryland may be one of the few jobs that could make sense.
Kelly has coached at Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Notre Dame, and his reputation has long rested on his recruiting ability. Maryland hasn’t had a recruiting problem under Locksley so much as a development problem, which makes Kelly an interesting fit on paper. The Terps may not be a giant brand, but they have passionate fans, and this could be a chance for Kelly to get back in the game and rebuild momentum.
Indiana’s coordinators, Mike Shanahan and Bryant Haines, are also worth watching. Curt Cignetti’s success has made the Hoosiers a model worth studying, and Shanahan and Haines have been a major part of that rise after following Cignetti from James Madison.
Both coaches know the Big Ten now, and both could eventually draw serious head-coaching interest. It’s difficult to picture either remaining in place forever, especially with programs likely to come calling. If Indiana can be turned into a powerhouse, Maryland can at least make the case that the same kind of jump is possible here.
Billy Napier rounds out the list. He was Florida’s head coach from 2022 to 2025, after previously earning the job at Gainesville because of his success at Louisiana. Once he was fired by the Gators, he landed at James Madison after Bob Chesney left, and the Dukes are undefeated under him.
Napier has already shown he can coach at a lower level, and he’ll want back into the Power Four as soon as possible. He’s a southern coach who has only worked in the South, but the source material points to a fit worth considering. He’s been a strong recruiter, and while he would love to turn James Madison into another launch point, Maryland could still make sense.
In Other News...
Arkansas Just Entered A Key Recruiting Battle For Rising 4-Star WR
Arkansas has jumped into the mix for one of the more interesting receiver recruits in the 2027 class, extending a scholarship offer to Dylan Medlock of Robinson High School in Texas. Medlock is already committed to UT San Antonio, but his stock has climbed with a strong senior season, and he now sits among the top wide receivers nationally for his class.
Medlock has made it clear that the chance to play in a more competitive conference matters to him, which is why Arkansas has a real opening here if it can keep building the relationship. The Razorbacks are also a program that can sell early playing opportunity and a bigger stage, and Medlock is considering a visit to Fayetteville as this battle starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Antonio Jordan May Have Just Forced An Arkansas Receiver Shakeup
Antonio Jordans timing could hardly have been better. With Chris Marshall going down in Arkansas win over Vanderbilt, the sophomore wideout stepped into a bigger role and led the team with five catches for 74 yards, giving the Razorbacks a much-needed spark in the passing game. It was the kind of outing that can change a receivers standing quickly, especially for a player who had been on the fringes earlier in the season.
Ryan Silverfield sounded encouraged by what he saw, and for good reason. Jordan flashed the kind of progress Arkansas has been waiting on, and his performance now gives the staff a reason to rethink how the rotation looks moving forward. If Marshalls absence lingers, Jordans snap count could climb fast, turning one strong game into a bigger opportunity for the stretch ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Fans May Need To Rethink How They Judge Ryan Silverfield
Ryan Silverfield stepped into his first year as Arkansas football coach with the kind of backdrop that can make any rebuild feel heavier than it looks from the outside. The Razorbacks are working through budget limits and financial constraints left by the athletic department, and that has already shaped the way the staff can attack the transfer market and assemble a roster with enough depth to compete in the SEC.
Silverfield has not had the luxury of selling a clean, easy pitch to recruits, especially with a limited NIL budget hanging over the program. Even with a rough opening to the season, he is still pushing to raise money and work with the administration on better resources, which means the real test for Arkansas fans may not be how quickly the wins come, but how fairly they judge a coach trying to build under conditions few programs would want to face. [Read more 🡒]