Reporter reacts to Jets ‘head scratching’ move of interviewing Maryland HC Mike Locksley

The New York Jets made one of the more surprising moves when they announced they had completed an interview with Maryland head coach Mike Locksley. The offensive-minded coach just ended the 2024 season going 4-8 and Locksley has a 33-41 record while coaching the Terps.

The Jets aren’t leaving any stone unturned when it comes to finding their next head coach. But The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman and Zach Rosenblatt can’t come to terms as to why New York would interview Locksley. With far more college coaches who have had more success than Locksley, why the under-.500 coach?

“Yet, this one feels like a head-scratcher — if the Jets were going to interview a college candidate, my reporting had indicated there might be some mutual interest in Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, who rejected an interview request from the Jets in 2019 before they hired Adam Gase. That has yet to happen, though it’s still possible it could — especially since Campbell is already expected to interview for the Bears opening.

“It feels like a long shot that the Jets would seriously consider Locksley to be their next coach, considering he has no NFL coaching experience and Maryland has been inconsistent under his watch. But perhaps there’s an outside chance he’d be interested in joining the Jets as an offensive coordinator when they eventually hire a head coach.”

It’s quite unlikely that the Jets hire Locksley away from Mayland. But if anything, it shows that teams are impressed with how the former Alabama offensive coordinator has run his program at Maryland. Playing in the Big Ten with powerhouses like Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and now Oregon, is no easy feat for a program like Maryland that can’t quite recruit at the same level.

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