Maryland Football officially announced the retirement of on Wednesday Kevin Sumlin as tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator. In addition to those roles, which InsideMDsports first reported on Tuesday, Sumlin will be an assistant head coach Mike Locksleyaccording to the press release from the university.
“Kevin brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our workforce and I couldn’t be more thrilled that he is joining our program,” Locksley said in the press release. “My relationship with Kevin dates back over 25 years. He has tremendous football spirit and a proven track record of developing players and winning at the highest level. I look forward to welcoming him and his family to College Park.”
The question remains whether Sumlin’s co-coordinator will be Will. Locksley is expected to take on a more hands-on playcalling role next season, but it seems unlikely he would give himself that title. And there remains an open assistant job on the offensive side after tight ends coach Mike Miller left to become Charlotte’s offensive coordinator and former offensive coordinator Dan Enos went to Arkansas for the same job. Regardless, Maryland will continue to run Locksley’s multiple, distributed offensive – which heavily uses tight ends – rather than the airstrike that Sumlin used.
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Sumlin, 58, was the head coach and general manager of the USFL’s Houston Gamblers. His last head coaching job was in Arizona, where he went 9-20 from 2018 to 2020, but he’s best known for his success at A&M with star quarterback Johnny Manziel. Manziel won the Heisman Trophy as a freshman under Sumlin’s tutelage in 2012 and led the Aggies to an 11-2 record, including victories over then-No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa and No. 11 Oklahoma in the AT&T Cotton Bowl. This season has included 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns and 1,410 yards and 21 touchdowns in rushing, and Texas A&M became the first SEC team in history to average 7,000 yards of offense in their senior year. He was previously the head coach at Houston, where he won 35-17 overall and 24-8 in conference play, including a 12-0 regular season his senior year there.
Though not as prolific as Manziel, Maryland has an amazing passer in Taulia Tagovailoa, who owns most of Maryland’s passing records and will be one of the Big Ten’s top quarterbacks next season. So there may be hope that Sumlin can sprinkle some of Manziel’s success onto the senior, although Locksley appears to be hiring a new quarterbacks coach to fill the other role Enos had and likely the other half of the co-coordinator scenario becomes.
Earlier in his career, the Brewton, Ala., native was the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M and Oklahoma, directing strong attacks after guiding receivers to a record season at Purdue, where he played linebacker in college.
Locksley also has a defensive vacancy to fill after safety coach Wes Neighors left for Ole Miss.
Sumlin has been a regular at College Park for the past few seasons, assisting Locksley as an analyst.