 Locksley at 2025 Big Ten Media Days | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Maryland |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Record | 37–48 |
| Annual salary | $4 million[1] |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1969-12-25)December 25, 1969 (age 55) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1988–1991 | Towson State |
| Position | Defensive back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1992 | Towson State (DB/ST) |
| 1993 | Navy Prep (RI) (DC/DB) |
| 1994 | Navy Prep (RI) (DC/DL) |
| 1995 | Pacific (CA) (OLB) |
| 1996 | Army (WR/TE) |
| 1997 | Maryland (RB) |
| 1998–2002 | Maryland (RB/RC) |
| 2003–2004 | Florida (RB/RC) |
| 2005 | Illinois (OC/TE) |
| 2006–2008 | Illinois (OC/QB) |
| 2009–2011 | New Mexico |
| 2012–2015 | Maryland (OC/QB) |
| 2015 | Maryland (interim HC) |
| 2016 | Alabama (OA) |
| 2017 | Alabama (co-OC/WR) |
| 2018 | Alabama (OC) |
| 2019–present | Maryland |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 39–74 |
| Bowls | 3–0 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| Broyles Award (2018) | |
Michael Anthony Locksley (born December 25, 1969) is an Americancollege football coach. He is currently the head football coach at theUniversity of Maryland, a position he has held since 2019.
After serving as an assistant coach for severalcollege football squads, he became the head football coach at theUniversity of New Mexico in 2009, returning to Maryland as an offensive coordinator after his dismissal from New Mexico in 2011. In 2015, Locksley was named the interim head coach at Maryland afterRandy Edsall was relieved of his duties.[2] Locksley did not return to Maryland after that season, joining the University of Alabama as an offensive analyst. Locksley was promoted to offensive coordinator for the2018 season, and that year received theBroyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant coach. Locksley returned to Maryland in December 2018 as head coach, following the firing ofD. J. Durkin.
Locksley grew up in inner-cityWashington D.C., and attendedBallou High School.[3]
Locksley played college football at Towson State University, nowTowson University. He redshirted his first year on theTowson State Tigers and then spent two seasons sharing time atsafety andcornerback, backing up Towson veteran Bryant Hall.[3] For the 1990 season he had 43 tackles and two interceptions at safety, after he filled in for the injured Aaron Bates.[4] He was named the Tigers' Defensive Player of the Year for his senior season.[5] He graduated in the spring of 1992 with a degree in marketing.[3]
Locksley served as defensive backs coach and special teams coach at Towson State for the 1992 season, then defensive coordinator atNaval Academy Preparatory School in 1993 (defensive backs) and 1994 (defensive line), was outside linebackers coach at theUniversity of the Pacific for 1995, then spent the 1996 season coaching tight ends and split ends atArmy.[6]
Locksley became the running backs coach for theUniversity of Maryland under head coachRon Vanderlinden in February1997.[5] Vanderlinden named Locksley to the additional post of recruiting coordinator, replacingChris Cosh who left to take the defensive coordinator's job at Michigan State, in February1998.[7] After Vanderlinden was fired, in 2000, andRalph Friedgen was named head coach, Locksley and wide receivers coachJames Franklin were the only two assistants to be retained by Maryland.[8]
In February 2003, after six years at Maryland, Locksley was named as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at theUniversity of Florida underRon Zook, replacingTyke Tolbert, who left to be a coach with theArizona Cardinals of the NFL.[9]
Locksley was named offensive coordinator atIllinois in January 2005, replacingLarry Fedora who went toOklahoma State University, pairing Locksley again with head coach Ron Zook.[10] He is credited with luring at least nine players from the Washington D.C. area for Illinois from 2005 through 2008, including wide receiverArrelious Benn, 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.[11]
Locksley was named head coach of theNew Mexico Lobos on December 9, 2008. He signed a six-year contract worth $750,000 annually.[12]
In late May 2009, a former administrative assistant at New Mexico filed an age and sex discrimination complaint against Locksley with theEqual Opportunity Commission.[13] The complaint was filed by Locksley's former administrative assistant Sylvia Lopez, who claimed to have been subjected to age and sexual discrimination before being transferred out of Locksley's office. The claims were later withdrawn.[14]
In late September 2009, Locksley was reprimanded for an altercation with an assistant coach. He was subsequently suspended without pay for ten days.[15] He was not on the sideline for the game against UNLV on October 24, 2009.[16]Locksley led his Lobos to 1–11 records his first and second seasons. The high buyout was a large reason UNM chose at first not to fire him.[17] New Mexico athletic directorPaul Krebs, who made the decision to retain Locksley, expected improvement in the 2011 season.[18] On September 25, 2011, Locksley wasrelieved of his duties following an 0–4 start that culminated in a loss at home to FCS Sam Houston State as well as the arrest of a minor for a DWI while driving a car registered to Locksley's 19-year-old son Meiko, a member of the Lobo football team. After an internal investigation by UNM, it was found the minor was not a recruit as erroneously reported. Instead, the minor was a childhood friend of Meiko Locksley from his Champaign, IL days, when his father served as offensive coordinator for the Illini from 2005 to 2008.[19]
On December 22, 2011, Locksley returned to the University of Maryland to joinRandy Edsall's staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.[20]
Locksley was named interim head coach at Maryland on October 11, 2015, after Edsall was terminated.
On March 1, 2016, Locksley joined theUniversity of Alabama staff as an offensive analyst. On January 13, 2017, he was promoted to an on-field coaching role helping the Tide win their 17th national championship. The following year, on January 17, 2018, he was promoted to offensive coordinator. Following the 2018 regular season, Locksley received theBroyles Award, given to the nation's top college football coaching assistant.[21]
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On December 4, 2018, Locksley was named head football coach at the University of Maryland, becoming the 21st full-time head coach in program history.[22] Locksley led Maryland to a strong offensive start. In the first game of the 2019 season, Maryland defeatedFCS affiliateHoward 79–0, following that up with a victory against 21st-rankedSyracuse 63–20.[23] The 142 points in its first two games marked the Terps' highest-ever scoring output in consecutive games,[citation needed] and the 63 points scored against Syracuse were the most points scored by a Maryland football team against a ranked opponent in program history.[24] The Terps finished 3–9 in his first season as head coach.
In hissecond season as the head coach of the Terps, Locksley helped bring inAlabama quarterback transferTaulia Tagovailoa. Locksley tested positive forCOVID-19 on November 19, 2020.[25] The Terps finished 2–3 after a highly condensed season due to the pandemic.
In histhird season, Locksley led the Terps to victory overWest Virginia in the season opener by a score of 30–24. In the following week, the Terps went 2–0 on the season after defeatingHoward in a blowout by a score of 62–0. The Terps would finish the regular season 6–6 and would go on to win the2021 New Era Pinstripe Bowl overVirginia Tech by a score of 54–10.
On April 29, 2022, Locksley signed a $21 million contract extension through the 2026 season. In his fourth season, Locksley started with 3–0 with wins overBuffalo,Charlotte, andSMU. He then finished the season going 4–5. The team would finish the year with a 8–5 overall record and a 4–5 conference record. He was bowl eligible for a second straight season whichMaryland had not achieved since the 2007 and 2008 season. Locksley appeared and won theDuke's Mayo Bowl defeatingNC State 16–12.[26]
Locksley returned for his fifth season in 2023. In his fifth season, Locksley started the season with 5–0 record, the best start to a season since 2001. They would later finish conference play with a 4–5 record and 7–5 overall record. Locksley and the Terrapins were bowl eligible for a third straight season and played in the TransPerfectMusic City Bowl winning over theAuburn Tigers, 31–13.
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Locksley returned for his sixth season as coach in 2024.The year was plagued with instability at the quarterback position after the departure of veteran quarterbackTaulia Tagovailoa, and inconsistent defensive play. The team would finish with an overall record of 4-8 and a conference record on just 1-8. The poor performance on the year led to Locksley making multiple staff changes going into the following season.
Locksley returned as head coach for Maryland in 2025 for his seventh season and continues to be less than impressive.
Locksley and his wife Kia have four children: three sons (Mike Jr., Meiko, and Kai) and a daughter (Kori).[27] On September 3, 2017, Meiko was fatally shot inColumbia, Maryland.[28] Mike's sonKai was a college football quarterback who played atTexas andIowa Western Community College, and finished his final two years of eligibility atUTEP.[29]Kai now plays with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League.
Kia Locksley is ayoga instructor. She helped teach some members of the Fighting Illini football team yoga in the summer of 2008.[30]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico Lobos(Mountain West Conference)(2009–2011) | |||||||||
| 2009 | New Mexico | 1–11 | 1–7 | 8th | |||||
| 2010 | New Mexico | 1–11 | 1–7 | T–8th | |||||
| 2011 | New Mexico | 0–4[n 1] | 0–1[n 1] | [n 1] | |||||
| New Mexico: | 2–26 | 2–15 | |||||||
| Maryland Terrapins(Big Ten Conference)(2015) | |||||||||
| 2015 | Maryland | 1–5[n 2] | 1–5[n 2] | T–6th(East) | |||||
| Maryland Terrapins(Big Ten Conference)(2019–present) | |||||||||
| 2019 | Maryland | 3–9 | 1–8 | 6th(East) | |||||
| 2020 | Maryland | 2–3 | 2–3 | 4th(East) | |||||
| 2021 | Maryland | 7–6 | 3–6 | 5th(East) | WPinstripe | ||||
| 2022 | Maryland | 8–5 | 4–5 | 4th(East) | WDuke's Mayo | ||||
| 2023 | Maryland | 8–5 | 4–5 | 4th(East) | WMusic City | ||||
| 2024 | Maryland | 4–8 | 1–8 | 17th | |||||
| 2025 | Maryland | 4–7 | 1–7 | ||||||
| Maryland: | 37–48 | 17–47 | |||||||
| Total: | 39–74 | ||||||||
