Maryland coach Mike Locksley recognized the mounting questions about his job status after a 54-3 home loss to UCLA on Saturday but vowed that he "won't stop fighting or coaching" for his players.
The Terrapins have lost consecutive home contests and 10 consecutive games to Power 4 opponents under Locksley, who is in his eighth season leading the team. In November, Maryland announced Locksley would return for the 2026 season and have an enhanced budget for the team's roster. Locksley, earning $6.4 million this year, is signed through 2028 and would be owed slightly less than $10 million if fired.
"I still have a lot of confidence in myself and the staff to get this thing fixed," Locksley said Saturday. "That will have to be earned, I won't be able to claim it. I understand why people have to sit and question it, but I'm going to have to earn it. I'm not going to be able to claim it up here."
Locksley meets each Monday with athletic director Jim Smith and expects "us to stay right on our schedule" next week. Smith, in the role since May 2025, did not hire Locksley but elected to retain the coach despite a second straight 4-8 season. Locksley, 56, is 39-51 overall and 17-49 in Big Ten play.
"There's not a lot of messaging when the score is the way it was today -- that thing snowballed on us," Locksley said. "The message is: The only thing we can do is look, first and foremost, at ourselves, me, as the leader of this thing, each player, the accountability I know they understand."
Maryland next plays Oct. 3 at Nebraska.
