The Maryland football team is in the midst of another rough season. The Terrapins are 4-5 overall despite a 4-0 start, which includes Maryland defeating Wisconsin on the road, 27-10. Since then, the Terrapins have lost five in a row, including a lopsided 55-10 loss to Indiana and a 35-20 loss to Rutgers.
Suddenly, head coach Mike Locksley's name is in hot-seat rumors, especially as it looks to be the second straight losing season for the program.
Ralph D. Russo and Bruce Feldman of The Athletic weighed in on Locksley's hot seat buzz, and it looks like this could be the end of the road for his time with the program, unless he finds a way to win a couple more games.
“Mike Locksley’s seat at Maryland has heated up, with the Terrapins fading again in the second half of the season. The Terps have lost five straight, four of those against unranked opponents. We’ve been hearing that Locksley needs to get to six wins. Losing last week at Rutgers was a gut punch; now Maryland either needs to pull off an upset this week at Illinois or next week against No. 18 Michigan and then beat a hapless Michigan State team to get to six win.”
However, if there is some hope of encouragement, it is the incoming recruiting class, as they noted.
“Working in Locksley’s favor is the Terps’ talented freshman class. Quarterback Malik Washington is the most obvious standout, but there are also some playmakers on defense. Maryland also has five-star edge rusher Zion Elee committed as part of its 2026 recruiting class. A coaching change probably means that the Maryland roster gets picked apart. New athletic director Jim Smith, who had been an executive with the Atlanta Braves, isn’t itching to do a coaching search. Locksley also has a buyout of roughly $13 million.”
Still, five straight losses are not a good sign, and Maryland faces Illinois, Michigan and Michigan State to finish out the regular season. At this point, Locksley returning in 2026 seems to be a longshot.
