Rewind back to Fall 2015. Mike Locksley has just gone 1-5 as interim head coach of Maryland, capping off a pretty mediocre regime under Randy Edsall. Locksley himself went a staggering 2-24 in two seasons + four games at New Mexico before getting fired. Who would’ve thought his career would do much beyond some random assistant jobs after that?

Well, to his credit he went to Alabama and turned around his career as an assistant (winning the 2018 Broyles Award) before getting hired at Maryland for the 2019 season. Seemed to be a meh hire to me, especially after going 5-12 through 2020. But now? Respectable 15-11 in the two full seasons since then, only the third time in the past 30 years that program has won 7+ games at least two seasons in a row. Has the Terps 4-0 going into a likely win against Indiana before OSU next week. I’m shocked he turned it around when everything seemed to be working against him, but kudos to him. Any other notable examples like this?

It's early but Rutgers & Maryland both doing well. Rutgers could hit 6-7 wins, Maryland 8-9

Bama assistant experience and getting Tua’s little brother from the portal helped a lot.

Locksley was (and still is) the perfect fit for Maryland. He is from the area and wants to be there. The cupboard was bare when Locksley took over and the program was in turmoil after the death of Jordan McNair. Locksley had a good reputation as a recruiter and infused talent into the program (including bringing Tagovailoa with him from Alabama). Locksley is also a really good offensive mind.

Locksley is another example of the Nick Saban rehabilitation program working out (e.g. Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian). We will see how Maryland fares next week against Ohio State but they may be the fourth best team in the B1G.[/align]

A good article from yesterday.

Mike Locksley shares lesson he learned at Alabama ‘rehab’

In a recent interview, Locksley revealed a valuable lesson he learned while “spending time at that rehab program down in Tuscaloosa.” Locksley was a member of Nick Saban’s staff from 2016-2018 before getting the head gig at Maryland.

“External motivation only lasts just long enough to wear off,” declared Locksley. “Whereas internal motivation is the one that usually sustains throughout 4 quarters.”

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabam...ama-rehab/

I still consider Locksley the worst coach in the Big Ten mainly due to his poor track record prior to this year.

We also have this running joke on Big Ten message boards where we do weekly Power rankings. Maryland has a history of always looking good in September and then falls apart later. We even have a nickname for it. "September Maryland" . Don't get fooled by September MD, we would say. This goes back even before Locksley was coach. So the jury is still out on MD this year. But the good news is MD still has one more game in September.

But us experts have been proven wrong before. We also used to have a running joke that Jim Harbaugh always had teams that looked like national champions after game 6, then would fizzle out in the last 3-4 games of the season. We don't make that joke anymore.

So there is hope for Locksley. He might finish strong this year and we will stop making jokes about September Maryland.

(09-28-2023 12:36 PM)MadisonHawk Wrote:  Locksley was (and still is) the perfect fit for Maryland. He is from the area and wants to be there. The cupboard was bare when Locksley took over and the program was in turmoil after the death of Jordan McNair. Locksley had a good reputation as a recruiter and infused talent into the program (including bringing Tagovailoa with him from Alabama). Locksley is also a really good offensive mind.

Locksley is another example of the Nick Saban rehabilitation program working out (e.g. Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian). We will see how Maryland fares next week against Ohio State but they may be the fourth best team in the B1G.[/align]

This^^

A lot of people underestimate the divide caused between the football program and the local community/fan base during the Durkin era. It caused more damage than any losing season could. The #1 reason Locksley was hired was to heal the divide with the local community and he was the best person for that. IIRC Mike Locksley was the runner-up for the head coaching job when Durkin was hired, man how different things would have been if we went with Locksley over Durkin. I don't know what the ceiling is with Locksley as our head coach, but he deserves a lot more credit than he gets. It might not show on the football field yet, but the football program is in the best shape it's been since the early day's of Ralph Friedgen and before that back in the 80's with Bob Ross. Every year has been an improvement and I for one, am really enjoying the build/journey.

Now, if we could just recruit/develop a true "Big Ten" line on either side of the ball...

(09-28-2023 12:36 PM)MadisonHawk Wrote:  Locksley was (and still is) the perfect fit for Maryland. He is from the area and wants to be there. The cupboard was bare when Locksley took over and the program was in turmoil after the death of Jordan McNair. Locksley had a good reputation as a recruiter and infused talent into the program (including bringing Tagovailoa with him from Alabama). Locksley is also a really good offensive mind.

Locksley is another example of the Nick Saban rehabilitation program working out (e.g. Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian). We will see how Maryland fares next week against Ohio State but they may be the fourth best team in the B1G.[/align]

Locksley is very different from Kiffin and Sarkisian. Those other 2 had already been very successful at major programs. Locksley was a career loser with a 3-31 career record before Maryland hired him in 2019. I wonder what he learned from Saban that he didn't know before....hmmm...perhaps he learned that you need better players than the other team to be a "good" coach? Jimbo learned that, too, which is why his floor is so high, but he just isn't as capable at actually turning those 4 and 5* studs in Ws as Kirby Smart is.

I remember playing New Mexico when we were in the MWC. His teams were some of the worst I have ever seen. I could not believe it when Maryland hired him, but here he is 4-0.

I don't think Locksley is a good coach and is overrated as a recruiter. Maryland missed the boat when it didn't offer the HC job to Matt Canada.

(09-28-2023 02:49 PM)Big Frog II Wrote:  I remember playing New Mexico when we were in the MWC. His teams were some of the worst I have ever seen. I could not believe it when Maryland hired him, but here he is 4-0.

Maryland has a weak schedule this year.

(09-28-2023 02:58 PM)NJ2MDTerp Wrote:  I don't think Locksley is a good coach and is overrated as a recruiter. Maryland missed the boat when it didn't offer the HC job to Matt Canada.

If we are going that route, Chip Kelly, Frank Reich, Mike Leach and more were passed up during the past decade, but we missed the boat on Matt Canada? Maryland wasn't going to put anyone from Durkin's staff as full time head coach.

Matt Canada and the Steelers deserve each other lol

(09-28-2023 02:49 PM)Big Frog II Wrote:  I remember playing New Mexico when we were in the MWC. His teams were some of the worst I have ever seen. I could not believe it when Maryland hired him, but here he is 4-0.

Yeah those New Mexico teams were terrible!
There is a night and day difference between the Maryland program he took over and the program today, but don't read to much into the 4-0 start. It was Towson, Charlotte, Virginia, and Michigan St. The latter two are in very bad places this year. Indiana is next followed by Ohio State. We won't know much, if anything, about this years team until the Ohio State game and that is jumping from one extreme to another. IMO, if Maryland is able to get 8 wins before the bowl, this year is a major win

It's amazing that he's got it turned around. Good for him.

I didn't know when MD hired him that he had rehabbed his career at Alabama. I knew him from going 2-22 at New Mexico State because he interviewed for another HC job around that time and I thought it was odd that he was getting the opportunity to interview. Because of this I expected him to crash and burn at MD in a short time period. I'm glad he's succeeding. It seemed like he had everything going against him.

(09-28-2023 02:23 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  

(09-28-2023 12:36 PM)MadisonHawk Wrote:  Locksley was (and still is) the perfect fit for Maryland. He is from the area and wants to be there. The cupboard was bare when Locksley took over and the program was in turmoil after the death of Jordan McNair. Locksley had a good reputation as a recruiter and infused talent into the program (including bringing Tagovailoa with him from Alabama). Locksley is also a really good offensive mind.

Locksley is another example of the Nick Saban rehabilitation program working out (e.g. Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian). We will see how Maryland fares next week against Ohio State but they may be the fourth best team in the B1G.[/align]

Locksley is very different from Kiffin and Sarkisian. Those other 2 had already been very successful at major programs. Locksley was a career loser with a 3-31 career record before Maryland hired him in 2019. I wonder what he learned from Saban that he didn't know before....hmmm...perhaps he learned that you need better players than the other team to be a "good" coach? Jimbo learned that, too, which is why his floor is so high, but he just isn't as capable at actually turning those 4 and 5* studs in Ws as Kirby Smart is.

Well, he probably picked up a lot more from Saban on how to run a successful program than he did from Ron Zook right before UNM. It doesn’t help that he went to a program in the Rockies when he had never coached anywhere west of Illinois before then, UNM wasn’t a great team when he took over, and he had a lot of stiff MWC competition from the likes of Utah/TCU at the time.

I do think Maryland is worse than their 4-0 start based on their schedule so far, though at the end of the day they have to play OSU/Michigan/Penn State every season and have been better than a few other East programs lately (IU, Rutgers, a bit of MSU).

(09-28-2023 04:01 PM)ENCterrapin Wrote:  

(09-28-2023 02:49 PM)Big Frog II Wrote:  I remember playing New Mexico when we were in the MWC. His teams were some of the worst I have ever seen. I could not believe it when Maryland hired him, but here he is 4-0.

Yeah those New Mexico teams were terrible!
There is a night and day difference between the Maryland program he took over and the program today, but don't read to much into the 4-0 start. It was Towson, Charlotte, Virginia, and Michigan St. The latter two are in very bad places this year. Indiana is next followed by Ohio State. We won't know much, if anything, about this years team until the Ohio State game and that is jumping from one extreme to another. IMO, if Maryland is able to get 8 wins before the bowl, this year is a major win

Yeah, you guys caught UVA and Mich St at the perfect time, they're both in extreme disarray right now.

UNM is one of the toughest jobs in the country, not a lot of local talent, basketball first school, and significantly fewer resources than most of their conference peers.

Locklsey's tenure there was rough, but it's also a school that's made a bowl game twice in the past 15 years.

It is definitely still an impressive turnaround, most people wouldn't get another chance at a HC job - let alone a P5 job - after a tenure like that, but he's done alright. He's definitely stabilized Maryland, it seems like they should be a consistent bowl team under him, but I'm not 100% sold he can take them to the next level.

That said, it would take a lot for Maryland to become a Big 10 contender, being in a division with Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan is tough. Plus, unless they're a consistent top 25 team it's tough to move the needle in DC. I live about a half hour from their campus and kinda forget that they're so close by.

I was going to school at Maryland when the Durkin drama took place and Locksley was brought in afterwards. Watching from a far now, they're holding their own with Locksley at the helm. He wants to be there and wants the program to be successful, and the school has poured a lot of money into making that happen. What needs to happen now is the fans need to do two things:

1. Accept the fact that Maryland is never going back to the ACC. Even if they did, they would be in the same situation they are in now. Losing longtime rivals Virginia, North Carolina, and Duke, along with regional opponents was hard, but the university was in debt at the time, and the BIG was more than willing to lend them a hand, in exchange for their academics and media market.

2. Actually show their support for the team by coming to the games. Going back to point number 1, the only time I saw fans come to games there was if Maryland was playing a local FCS team, or Ohio State, Michigan, or their main rival Penn State. I remember watching their game against West Virginia back in 2021. This was during the height of COVID, and the stadium was almost at capacity. Granted it was non-conference game against an old rival, but there was still a big crowd there. That needs to replicated at every game, regardless if it's Ohio State or Rutgers.

Hopefully things continue to go well for Maryland and Locksley. He deserves to reap the rewards of his successes.

(09-28-2023 06:18 PM)andybible1995 Wrote:  I was going to school at Maryland when the Durkin drama took place and Locksley was brought in afterwards. Watching from a far now, they're holding their own with Locksley at the helm. He wants to be there and wants the program to be successful, and the school has poured a lot of money into making that happen. What needs to happen now is the fans need to do two things:

1. Accept the fact that Maryland is never going back to the ACC. Even if they did, they would be in the same situation they are in now. Losing longtime rivals Virginia, North Carolina, and Duke, along with regional opponents was hard, but the university was in debt at the time, and the BIG was more than willing to lend them a hand, in exchange for their academics and media market.

2. Actually show their support for the team by coming to the games. Going back to point number 1, the only time I saw fans come to games there was if Maryland was playing a local FCS team, or Ohio State, Michigan, or their main rival Penn State. I remember watching their game against West Virginia back in 2021. This was during the height of COVID, and the stadium was almost at capacity. Granted it was non-conference game against an old rival, but there was still a big crowd there. That needs to replicated at every game, regardless if it's Ohio State or Rutgers.

Hopefully things continue to go well for Maryland and Locksley. He deserves to reap the rewards of his successes.

While I admit that UVA, UNC, Duke, and West Virginia will always live rent free in my head, your post needs to be pinned on every Maryland message board. Perfect!

(09-28-2023 06:37 PM)ENCterrapin Wrote:  

(09-28-2023 06:18 PM)andybible1995 Wrote:  I was going to school at Maryland when the Durkin drama took place and Locksley was brought in afterwards. Watching from a far now, they're holding their own with Locksley at the helm. He wants to be there and wants the program to be successful, and the school has poured a lot of money into making that happen. What needs to happen now is the fans need to do two things:

1. Accept the fact that Maryland is never going back to the ACC. Even if they did, they would be in the same situation they are in now. Losing longtime rivals Virginia, North Carolina, and Duke, along with regional opponents was hard, but the university was in debt at the time, and the BIG was more than willing to lend them a hand, in exchange for their academics and media market.

2. Actually show their support for the team by coming to the games. Going back to point number 1, the only time I saw fans come to games there was if Maryland was playing a local FCS team, or Ohio State, Michigan, or their main rival Penn State. I remember watching their game against West Virginia back in 2021. This was during the height of COVID, and the stadium was almost at capacity. Granted it was non-conference game against an old rival, but there was still a big crowd there. That needs to replicated at every game, regardless if it's Ohio State or Rutgers.

Hopefully things continue to go well for Maryland and Locksley. He deserves to reap the rewards of his successes.

While I admit that UVA, UNC, Duke, and West Virginia will always live rent free in my head, your post needs to be pinned on every Maryland message board. Perfect!

Feel free to share.