The biggest non-recruiting Maryland football news of the offseason arrived on Friday afternoon. Brian Williams, Mike Locksley’s defensive coordinator for the past three seasons, is leaving for the defensive coordinator job at Jacksonville State, Matt Zenitz reported on X.

Williams, a Miami native with deep ties in Florida, spent six years at Maryalnd and was promoted from defensive line coach in 2022. The move to the same job at a lower level of college football hints that Locksley was not renewing Williams’ contract.

In his first year as defensive coordinator in 2022, Maryland allowed the fewest points per game and total touchdowns since 2010.  He was also one of the top recruiters on the coaching staff, including serving as the primary recruiter for prized local quarterback Malik Washington, who recently enrolled early. But Maryalnd’s defense had a dismal season in 2024, allowing 378.1 yards per game, ranking third from the bottom of the Big Ten. They were also third to last in run defense and pass defense and gave up the second-most points per game in the Big Ten (30.4).

The move means Locksley has two vacancies on his staff. It’s unclear who he’s targeting as a replacement, but sources said he could look for a more aggressive scheme than the more conservative one Williams ran.

He has a co-defensive coordinator still on staff in cornerbacks coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim.

The sixth-year Terps head coach has already replaced his offensive coordinator, letting Josh Gattis walk and hiring former NFL offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton.

Widely liked and known to friends and colleagues as ‘B-Dub,’ Williams also was primary recruiter for many of Maryland’s top signees from Florida, including linebackers Terrence Lewis, a five0star who didn’t pan out, and Branden Jennings, who shined as a freshman before going a spree of transfers. He also was the primary recruiter for longtime starting linebacker Ruben Hyppolite and local blue-chip edge Chop Robinson, who later transferred to Penn State after his freshman year. He also landed four-stars Tommy Akingbesote and Keyshawn Flowers.

Williams started coaching as the defensive coordinator for Rickards High School in Tallahassee, Fla., from 1999 to 2001. He then returned to his alma mater, Miami Carol City High School, holding the same position for seven years.  In 2009, Williams took on the role of defensive coordinator at Northeast High School in Georgia, followed by a three-year stint at Amos P. Godby High School in Florida. His success at the high school level paved the way for opportunities in collegiate football.

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He got his first college coaching job in 2013 as a defensive analyst for Florida State, before moving on to Georgia in an administrative role and UAB as linebackers coach.

In 2015, he joined the University of Georgia as the Player Relations Director, further broadening his administrative and coaching skills. The following year, Williams was appointed as the linebackers coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where he played a pivotal role in revitalizing the program and securing a Conference USA Championship. Williams joined the University of Maryland’s coaching staff in 2019 under Locksley. He initially served as the outside linebackers coach before transitioning to defensive line coach in 2020.

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