Several Maryland football connections through NFL coaching carousel

Ahmed Ghafir
47 minutes ago
2 min read

Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs will look to add another layer to his dominant NFL career with a chance at becoming the first Terp to win a Super Bowl since Jake Funk and Antoine Brooks did so with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022, but with the bulk of the offseason already shifted on the offseason and coaching carousel, there’s been plenty of movement among several alums and former assistants in the early stages of the NFL coaching search.

Of course, former Maryland safety and grad assistant Dennard Wilson took on a defensive coordinator role with the New York Giants under John Harbaugh after two seasons in the same role with the Tennessee Titans. Though Wilson wasn’t retained by new head coach Robert Saleh, Wilson remained in-demand after the Washington Commanders were the first of a handful of interviews this offseason.

Wilson is also part of what proved to be a productive secondary for Maryland, starting alongside Curome Cox, Domonique Foxworth and Madieu Williams. Cox is now preparing for his fifth season as an assistant at UVA after his brief NFL career; Foxworth became the youngest player to become VP of the NLPA before becoming president unopposed; Williams was named the 2024 Big Ten’s Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award thanks to his contributions through The Madieu Williams Foundation. Williams was also named the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2010.

Elsewhere, former Maryland quarterback Frank Reich is the reported favorite to become the next offensive coordinator of the New York Jets under head coach Aaron Glenn. Reich briefly returned to Stanford where he served as interim head coach ahead of the 2025 season before Commanders quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard was named the next head coach toward the end of the regular season. Reich was initially expected to stay with the Cardinals as a senior advisor within the program, though ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Reich is the favorite among the five interviewed candidates. If it materializes, he'll have a chance to team up with Baltimore native and Towson grad Brian Duker, who was officially named the new Jets' defensive coordinator in 2026.

Jim Schwartz, who actually began his coaching career as a grad assistant at Maryland in 1989 after growing up in Halethorpe, MD and graduating from MSJ, was a finalist for the Browns head coaching job before being passed over for former Ravens OC Todd Monken.

Meanwhile, former Maryland offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery, who served as the Detroit Lions’ AHC and WR coach in 2025 after coaching the RBs in 2023 and 2024, is reportedly interviewing with the Baltimore Ravens for their vacant offensive coordinator role. Montgomery becomes the first known interview with speculation that a Kliff Kingsbury landing with the Ravens not yet coming to fruition. Montgomery spent two seasons in College Park where he served as offensive coordinator and QBs coach during the first two years of the Mike Locksley era before making the jump to the NFL, first as the RBs coach of the Indianapolis Colts before moving onto Detroit.

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