The first major domino of the 2026 college football coaching carousel fell on Wednesday afternoon when reports surfaced that the Maryland Terrapins had fired head coach Mike Locksley after 8 seasons at the helm in College Park.
The move was made following the Terps 37-30 Week 7 loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, a loss that moved their record on the campaign to 2-5. Now, second-year Athletic Director James Smith is on the hunt for a new football coach, and several prominent names have already emerged as potential candidates.
According to CBS Sports insider John Talty, the biggest name that has been linked to the job at Maryland is none other than former Florida Gators head man Billy Napier.
Mike Locksley is OUT at as Maryland's HC @JTalty says to keep an eye out for: • Wake Forest's Jake Dickert• New Mexico's Jason Eck• Duke's Manny Diaz• James Madison's Billy Napier pic.twitter.com/TWyeObM9ts
— 247Sports (@247Sports) October 21, 2026Napier took the head job in Gainesville in 2022 after a successful 4-year stint with the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, but he couldn’t replicate that success with the Gators. He was fired last October after a disastrous 3-4 start, ending his time in Florida with a 22-23 record.
James Madison hired Napier shortly after he departed from Gainesville to replace Bob Chesney, and he has quickly gotten his coaching career back on track with the Dukes. He has led JMU to a perfect 7-0 record as of this writing, and the program appears on track to make its second straight College Football Playoff appearance.
Maryland still has a long way to go before it makes any final decision on its next head football coach, but Napier could end up making his return to the Power 4 level much sooner than anyone anticipated if things keep going well for him and James Madison.
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Prediction Markets Maryland Football Next Head Coach Learn more about Prediction Markets Kalshi Aazaar Abdul-Rahim 50% Charles Huff 11% Brian Hartline 1% Manny Diaz 0% Jake Dickert 0% D'Anton Lynn 0% Dan Mullen 0% Jason Eck 0% Mike Shanahan (Indiana) 0% Glenn Schumann 0% PredictCFB insider links former SEC head coach to Maryland opening Saturday Down South.
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