Maryland’s coaching search is officially on after the Terps dumped Mike Locksley following a 2-5 start, a move that came on the heels of back-to-back 4-8 seasons. The program handed the interim job to longtime assistant Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, but that’s not expected to turn into the full-time gig.
Now comes the hard part: finding the next coach who can actually steady the ship.
Maryland could chase a name with ties to the program, or it could look for someone who’s already proven he can take a smaller job and punch above its weight. Indiana’s rise under Curt Cignetti is the obvious template, and while there aren’t many coaches like him, the Hoosiers have shown what’s possible when the right hire lands in the right place.
One name that fits the Maryland profile is Charles Huff. The Memphis head coach was born in Denton, Maryland, and he spent time on the Terps’ staff in 2009. He’s bounced around since then, but he knows the region and has roots in the program.
Huff has already had three head-coaching stops, at Marshall, Southern Miss and Memphis, and he’s put together a solid 44-27 record since the 2021 season. He’s also been an assistant at Penn State, Mississippi State and Alabama, so the Power Four level wouldn’t be new to him. The question would be whether he could win over recruits and secure enough buy-in to make it work in College Park.
Brian Kelly is another wild card worth watching. After what the source describes as a disastrous run at LSU, he’s now working as a college football analyst for CBS Sports. A return to coaching would not be surprising, but he’d need the right fit to make the leap.
Maryland may not be a blueblood, but it does have a passionate fan base. And if Kelly isn’t in line for a major opening anytime soon, this could be a chance for him to get back in the game.
He previously coached at Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Notre Dame before heading to LSU. The source also notes that Kelly has been a strong recruiter, while Maryland’s issue under Locksley has been development more than talent acquisition.
If Maryland wants to gamble on the same kind of formula that has worked at Indiana, it could also look at one of Curt Cignetti’s coordinators. Mike Shanahan and Bryant Haines both came over from James Madison, and both have helped drive Indiana’s success. Since they’re already coaching in the Big Ten, they know the territory, and it’s easy to imagine other schools making a run at them for head-coaching jobs.
The other candidate on the list is Billy Napier, who is now at James Madison after being fired by Florida. Napier had been in Gainesville from 2022 to 2025 after his success at Louisiana, and he’s quickly showing again that he can win at the lower level. The Dukes are undefeated, and he’ll surely want another shot in the Power Four.
Napier has spent his entire career in the South, which makes him a less obvious geographic fit for Maryland. Still, he’s been described as a good recruiter, and the possibility of using James Madison as a springboard back to a bigger job makes him worth at least a look.
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