Four candidates Maryland football should avoid in head coaching search

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Maryland football is in the midst of preparations for the first road game under interim head coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, but the bigger question sits with the ongoing coaching search. With a chance for the search to take shape by the end of the month and ahead of the early signing period in the first week of December, we take a look at four candidates who make no sense as Mike Locksley's replacement to become Maryland football's next head coach.

Brian Kelly

Easily the most successful among the four coaches, yet maybe the worst fit of all. Kelly is in his first full season at a TV commentator after watching his LSU stint go south -- even if that included a 34-14 (19-10) record before being canned midway through year four. Kelly has found success largely everywhere he's been, even if he hasn't always met the moment in big games before falling short in the SEC. While Kelly has been loosely tied to coaching vacancies since officially becoming available, how motivated he'd be to revamp the roster and likely start from scratch is a main question. How successful Kelly would be with a competitive, yet incomparable NIL budget compared to LSU is another question. And maybe as important, how likely Kelly is to motivate the Maryland fanbase to usher in the next chapter would spark its own debate.

Billy Napier

After a hot start to year one, James Madison has dropped consecutive games on field goals in overtime to fall to 7-2 (4-2). The Dukes were back in action on Thursday night with a road game against Southern Miss, dominating the second half on ESPN2 to move to 8-2 (5-2) as they now prepare to travel to face UConn next week. But the last two games prior to Thursday night have led to criticism for Napier's play calling and decision making that drew parallels to the end of his Florida tenure. In addition to the questions that Napier faced about how successful he can be at a Power Four level, JMU's performances since the vacancy became official have only raised more concerns than confidence.

Biff Poggi

The former high school coach makes the case as the most unqualified among the four names on the list. After building up Gilman then St. Frances behind his wealth, souring relationships with local coaches throughout the DMV in the process, Poggi got his first shot as a head coach on the college level at Charlotte in 2023. His two year stint could not have ended much worse with borderline conistent negative feedback coming out of the program during his tenure, while the 49ers went 6-16 (4-10) under his leadership. Charlotte also tried to rebuild its roster primarily through the St. Frances tree, capitalizing on overlooked talent and Power Four transfers looking to restart their career. After his tenure ended midway through 2024, Poggi made his way back to Ann Arbor for a second stint on the staff, eventually being named interim head coach after the Sherrone Moore saga that ended in charges filed against him. At no point has Poggi proven capable of running a college football program, while local recruiting would be a massive challenge under a polarizing head coach. Biff Poggi should not be involved with Maryland football, much less connected to the head coaching vacancy.

Dennard Wilson

A former ACC honorable mention at Maryland who played one season with the Washington Redskins back in '04, Wilson has made a name for himself -- at the NFL level. After spending over a decade as a position coach with the St. Louis-turned-Los Angeles Rams, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens, Wilson finally got a chance as an NFL coordinator. After two seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Wilson is now in year one as the New York Giants' coordinator under John Harbaugh where they've produced one of the NFL's best pass defenses in 2026. Wilson has proven himself at the NFL level, and rarely do sitting NFL coaches depart to go back to college. It would be its own question as to why Wilson would choose to make that career move, but his NFL experience as a coordinator doesn't translate to managing a college program. Maryland did not move on from Mike Locksley to take a chance on a coach's first-time rebuild efforts, evidence while AD Jim Smith has consistently pointed to a candidate's experience building a program in the modern era of college football.

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