Mike Locksley's seat only getting hotter after Maryland gets embarrassed at home

Mike Locksley's job security as the University of Maryland football coach was already hanging by a thread going into Saturday's game against UCLA.

Things did not improve for him after an absolutely humiliating 54-3 loss.

Mike Locksley still believes he is the right coach and vows to fix Maryland football

The vibes in College Park could not have been worse on Saturday, as boos and "fire Locksley" chants could be heard all day, and it's hard to imagine that the Maryland braintrust is going to allow this to go on much longer. 

Saturday's game was Maryland's 10th consecutive loss to a Power Four team, and it also dropped the Terrapins to 2-10 over their past 12 games going back to the 2025 season. 

The only two wins over that stretch were against FCS Hampton and a Week 2 win against UConn this season.

That is not good enough. 

Locksley said on Saturday he still believes he is the person to fix the program.

"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."

While last week's loss to Virginia Tech was bad enough, Saturday's game against UCLA was the type of game that might actually prompt an in-season change.

It's not just another loss on top of more losses. 

It's not just another loss to another Power Four team, showing once again the program is not able to compete with the best teams in the country.

it was 51-point loss, at home, to a UCLA team that won three games a year ago and is still a bit of a mystery as to how good it actually is this season. 

Losing that game is one thing. Losing without even being remotely competitive is something else entirely. 

Locksley is in his eighth year as Maryland head coach and has yet to win more than eight games in a single season. They are also coming off back-to-back four-win seasons.

The big issue with any coaching change, especially an in-season coaching change, is always going to be the buyout that comes with it. If Maryland were to fire Locksley before the end of this season, it would owe him a $9 million buyout.

It goes down to $8.9 million after the season and down to $4.5 million after the 2027 season.

Economics and money are a big part of every decision in college sports right now, and at some point Maryland, has to start wondering when it is going to be financially worth it to make a change. It might be getting to that point right now. 

Things are not going to get any easier for Maryland as the next two games are on the road at Nebraska and Ohio State.