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Mike Locksley took a huge pay cut to go from Maryland to Alabama
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Nobody is going to accuse Mike Locksley of leaving Maryland for the money. He definitely didn’t do that.
The former Terps offensive coordinator and interim coach elected not to stay on the staff of newly hired head coach D.J. Durkin. Locksley then accepted a job as an offensive advisor at Alabama.
Little did the college football world know the financial downgrade that was.
At Maryland, Locksley made $898,940 last season (USA Today), which made him the B1G’s highest-paid assistant coach and the 14th highest-paid assistant nationally. He got extra compensation for taking over for Randy Edsall after he was fired halfway through the season. Had Locksley stayed at Maryland for the final year of his contract, he would’ve made a reported $650,000.
Instead, he’ll make $45,000 from Alabama, according to records obtained by AL.com.
It’s worth noting that Locksley could receive some sort of compensation from Maryland, even though he reportedly didn’t agree to a lesser role on the staff. Durkin eventually hired Arkansas State’s Walt Bell to take over the offensive duties.
Locksley is expected to have a more expanded role than his new Alabama salary would suggest. He’s already been at satellite camps on the East Coast, and he figures to help Nick Saban’s recruiting efforts in the area.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.