Maryland AD Damon Evans defends football coach Mike Locksley after loss: ‘We have the right man for the job’

on Saturday at SECU Stadium elicited frustration and anger from coach Mike Locksley.

Three days after the outcome that spoiled what some Terps fans had hoped would be a stepping stone toward contending for a Big Ten championship, Locksley said during Tuesdays media availability that he understood their exasperation.

I guess theyre mad at me right now as they should be, he said.

Im disappointed myself.

The setback to the Spartans dispelled some of the good vibes produced by a in the season opener on Aug.

31.

Maryland (1-1) can right the ship by defeating archrival Virginia (2-0) on Saturday at 8 p.m.

at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.

That opportunity, said fifth-year senior outside linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II, is more important than any angst outside the program.

Theres no guarantees in sports and football, he said.

So I dont pay any mind to that.

I keep living.

Im too blessed for that.

Still, the loss to Michigan State stings because the Terps were favored by a touchdown and owned a seven-point lead with less than five minutes to go.

CBS Sports Network college football analyst and former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones called the loss very devastating for Maryland.

I know its still early in the season, but Maryland looked like a team that was finally going to have an opportunity to not just compete in the Big Ten, but really shake things up, he said.

Saturdays outcome was part of a pattern that has haunted the Terps in recent years under Locksley.

Two years ago, they went 4-1, but got surprised by Purdue, 31-29, during Family Weekend.

Last fall, they were 5-1 before losing to Illinois, 27-24, on Homecoming and Northwestern, 33-27, two weeks later.

When reminded of those results, Locksley didnt disagree with the thread that binds those games.

To me, thats the part from a strategy standpoint, Ive got to own it and say, Hey, what do I need to do, what buttons do I need to push to figure out how to get our players to make that play when it needs to be made? he said.

Because the team in green and white did that on Saturday.

Our guys are resilient though, and what it looks like is not being distracted, not losing our focus.

Weve still got a lot of football left to be played, and weve got a good team.

Maryland was expected to handle a Spartans team that featured 61 newcomers, included a first-year coach and staff, and didnt wow observers with a 16-10 win against Florida Atlantic.

And the Terps had been 13-1 in September over the past four years.

The fan base is nervous because were used to getting fat off of wins in September, said Ben Page, a 2001 graduate who is a 23-year season ticket holder and has not missed a home game during the Locksley era.

We were expecting a potential 6-0 or 5-1 [record] going into Homecoming against [No.

11 Southern California on Oct.

19].

The only question we had was whether [redshirt junior quarterback] Billy [Edwards Jr.] was going to be good or not, and he has been.

They should have never lost that game on Saturday, said Bob Lancione, a fan from Towson.

That was a win they let get away from them.

Youre not supposed to lose to Michigan State at home.

Still, its early September in a long season.

Maryland, winners of three consecutive bowl games for the first time, has won eight games each of the past two seasons after having not reached that mark since going 9-4 in Ralph Friedgens final season in College Park in 2010.

Locksley has undoubtedly steadied a program that was in turmoil after the , who died of heatstroke, and the .

But the Terps have not been ranked inside the Associated Press Top 25 poll since Week 3 of Locksleys first season in 2019 one that Maryland finished with a 3-9 record after a 2-0 start, which included a signature blowout win over a ranked Syracuse squad.

The program hasnt finished with a winning record in conference play since 2010, when it went 5-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

Since joining the Big Ten in 2014, Maryland is 0-34 against ranked conference rivals.

Locksley vowed in July 2023 that the .

Saturdays loss showed they still have a ways to go, and some critics have questioned whether Locksley is the right coach for the job.

AJ Atwell, a fan who grew up in Hagerstown, said he does not have much confidence in Locksley.

Coaching is holding them back from beating the teams they should be beating, he wrote via direct message on Facebook.

[The] Terps have the talent to get 10 wins, but continue to fail against the teams they should beat.

Locksley, who is under contract through the 2028 season with an average annual worth of $6.1 million, also has the backing of athletic director Damon Evans, who pointed out that Locksley inherited a program reeling from McNairs death and has mentored 15 players currently in the NFL.

This program does not need a new coach, Evans said.

Everybodys entitled to their own opinion, but we have the right man for the job, and I say that because I have seen what he has done.

Ive seen his work ethic, Ive seen his commitment, and Ive seen how he has built this team.

Locksley, who is 29-29 since taking over the Terps before the 2019 season, has had success recruiting.

The teams 2025 class is ranked No.

23 in the country by 247Sports.

If you hear people calling for his head, theyre morons, Page said.

This is not a time to jump ship with Mike Locksley.

We have 10 more games this season to evaluate the things he continues to tell the fans that hes going to do.

Redshirt junior running back Roman Hemby said he and his teammates are fully behind Locksley.

Hes as tough as they come, and thats a reflection of how we are all the way down to everybody in our building, the Edgewood native and John Carroll graduate said.

Theres always going to be critics.

We feel like thats what comes with the sport.

So him taking it on and doing what he does to be a tremendous leader to us, its what we do as well to kind of pay it forward and keep our heads on straight throughout everything that goes on throughout the season.

Jones, the CBS Sports Network analyst, also dismissed calls for a new coach and said Maryland has made noticeable strides during Locksleys tenure.

Maryland has not been stagnant the last couple of years, he said.

Theyre going into games expecting to win and compete at a high level.

Thats where you want them to be.

Now were talking about how theyve got to win some of those games, but its not like theyre going into these games expecting to get crushed.

Evans, who called Saturdays result disappointing, said he can appreciate the high expectations fans, alumni and donors have for the team.

But I also want to remind people that were two games into the season, and were going to work hard to move forward, and I dont want people pushing the panic button, he said.

I believe in Mike Locksley, and I believe hes done a good job for us, and I believe hell continue to lead us in the right manner.

Related Articles Locksley said he doesnt pay attention to the doubters and emphasized that the players should also avoid listening to outside sources.

It doesnt matter what other people think, he said.

It matters what we think and what we do and how we respond.

Thats what I think is the difference with this team, and I think they understand that.

Wins are the easiest and quickest remedy to assuage fans and alumni, and the Terps have winnable games against Virginia, Villanova, Indiana and Northwestern before USC visits College Park.

But both Hemby and Hyppolite declined to characterize Saturdays game as a must-win.

I feel like every game on our schedule is something that we should go into with a must-win scenario because thats our aspiration as a team to win as many games as we can, Hemby said.

I take the field on Saturdays with the hopes that we win, and Ill do everything we can to get the victory..

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