MIKE BURKE
Allegany Communications Sports
Mike Locksley must go. Mike Elias must go. Craig Albernaz must go. John Harbaugh’s already gone. Who else is there to go? Gotta be someone out there who’s not worthy of staying.
Seems we’re not happy unless we’re calling for someone’s head anymore. But the truth is, there has been an awful lot of losing going on around here lately. The Orioles, the Ravens, Maryland football and men’s basketball, even Maryland men’s lacrosse, have been mired in losing of late, and fans and boosters have grown sick of it.
In the case of Mike and Mike, there seems to be valid cause for criticism and warranted calls for dismissal, but complications arise in both circumstances.
Aside from chief Orioles owner David Rubenstein’s Kool-Aidish devotion to Elias, nothing is likely to happen on that front for no other reason than the MLB lockout that will go into effect December 1 and is likely to last through the entire winter and possibly into the spring should the owners play the degree of hardball most observers believe they will.
During a lockout, all baseball business for every MLB team is frozen, so the Orioles aren’t likely to go through an offseason without front office stability, though the argument can be made that they’ve done that through the past four years.
Should Elias go?
That’s subjective in some cases with Rubenstein being the primary reason for that. It is also objective in that in eight years under Elias’ rebuild (or whatever he’s calling it now) the Orioles have had just three winning seasons, have yet to win a postseason game and have had consecutive losing seasons during the prime time of what was to have been their World Series window.
The chief gripe amongst fans as well as paid baseball analysts, aside from hiring an inexperienced manager for a win-now season, seems to be what is perceived as a lack of genuine effort to win even though the Orioles’ payroll has increased substantially over the past few years.
From 2022 to 2024 and then in 2026, the Orioles were in playoff contention and Elias did not substantially add to the roster at the trade deadline, though he did secure some solid bullpen arms this season, and, with ownership’s blessing, took a $5 million flyer on outfielder Luis Robert Jr. that lasted all of three games and 11 plate appearances. So there’s some subjectivity for you.
Orioles fans, though, have grown tired of a little bit of this, a little bit of that. They want, and feel they deserve, the full monty. And they’re not wrong.
What is more likely to happen with the front office is the hiring of a general manager, as Elias’ official title is president of baseball operations. Elias has said he wants help in the warehouse and that he needs help. He also said he is interested in adding external voices to the front office and that ownership is very supportive of that, which is likely to mark the extent of any Orioles front office activity.
As for Maryland football, Saturday’s 54-3 home loss to UCLA appears to be the nadir under head coach Mike Locksley, but that remains to be seen as preparations for this week’s game at Nebraska are under way with Locksley still in charge. In other words, things could get worse.
Maryland needed a bounce-back last Saturday following the previous week’s home loss to Virginia Tech, but the Terps flat-lined and the end of Locksley’s time seems near.
Firing Locksley would cost Maryland $9.2 million, which is not a lot of money for most Power Four schools, but is a lot for a school like Maryland to pay yet another coach not to coach. In the past, Maryland’s Golden Goose has been Under Armour founder and executive chairman Kevin Plank, but Plank and Locksley share a very close friendship.
Maryland has been near the bottom of the Big Ten resource-wise for most of Locksley’s tenure, and while athletic director Jim Smith has improved that considerably in his first year-and-a-half in College Park, the Terps still spent slightly below the league average on its 2026 roster.
This is still a young team, as Locksley shifted largely toward recruiting out of high schools over the transfer portal a couple of years ago, partially due to Maryland’s budget disadvantages.
Yet since the start of the 2024 season, Maryland has managed just three victories against Power Four opponents, and during that same stretch has suffered 13 losses by double figures, including Saturday’s loss to UCLA, providing a clear sign of how noncompetitive they’ve become against quality competition.
Locksley took over the program, a program he has dearly loved since he was a young man, at a very dark time for Maryland football following the death of Jordan McNair. He cleansed the program of its “toxic culture,” recruited well and led Maryland to a school-record three straight bowl victories.
After consecutive 4-8 seasons with one conference win in each one, that seems like such a long time ago.
Maryland must find a head coach who can utilize the talent, not just bring it to the building – see Ron Vanderlinden.
Did Maryland hold on to Mike Locksley for too long? Maybe, but it was done for all of the right reasons. He earned it.
Sadly, all of the right reasons no longer apply in Power Four college football.
It’s now become a matter of when, not if. Maryland has no choice but to move on from Mike Locksley.
Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began. covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at mikeburke934@gmail.com. Follow him on X @MikeBurkeMDT