Maryland football coach Abdul-Rahim takes over with focus on fixing defense
· Yahoo Sports
COLLEGE PARK — Maryland interim football coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim has an acronym that his players have already adopted: VTE, which stands for violence, technique and effort.
Terps fans would welcome seeing those three attributes from the defense, which grew disenchanted as the team slipped further into a five-game losing skid that prompted the dismissal of coach Mike Locksley.
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One stumbling block that has befuddled Maryland (2-5, 0-4 Big Ten) thus far has been an all-too-generous defense that has surrendered points and yards. Abdul-Rahim, the co-defensive coordinator who became defensive coordinator after Locksley fired Ted Monachino on Oct. 18, is fully aware of the unit’s shortcomings ahead of Saturday’s noon game against Illinois (4-3, 2-2).
“I think it starts with accountability,” he said Tuesday during the team’s weekly media availability. “We have to take a look at the mirror and ourselves and really see what we’re doing good, bad or indifferent. And we were able to do that in this bye week where we could sit down and do a lot of self-scout and see what we do well. We have really good players, and we need to put them probably in a better position to be successful. So that’s kind of been our mission this past week, and you should see some of the results of it in the game Saturday.”
Whether that promise proves empty remains to be seen, but the task seems arduous. The Terps rank last in the Big Ten in points allowed (33.3 per game) and red-zone defense (95.5%), 16th in third-down conversions (41.9%), 15th in yards allowed (366.6 per game) and 14th in first downs (20.3 per game).
They have surrendered 30 or more points to league competition in each of their last six games and nine of their last 12. Their inability to contain conference opponents has put the onus on the offense to score early and often, a fleeting proposition.
Abdul-Rahim’s promotion precipitated other changes on the defensive side of the coaching staff. Zac Spavital was elevated to defensive coordinator from inside linebackers coach, and James Thomas Jr. will serve as co-defensive coordinator after being the safeties coach. Will Likely was promoted to cornerbacks coach from defensive assistant, and David Brownlee will fill the outside linebackers coach role after serving as a graduate assistant.
On Tuesday, Abdul-Rahim emphasized that players need to play fast and not overthink on the field. On a few occasions, he repeated that they need to return to a simpler game plan.
“I started last week trying to condense our game plan and really refining what we’re doing on defense to be able to put a better product out,” he said.
A little later, he revisited the idea of drilling down, saying, “I didn’t want multiple eight to 10 base-down calls on defense or offense. Why don’t we just be really good at five or six? So condensing, I think, is important. Plus, it allows you in practice to rep that call a lot of times with a lot of different scenarios.”
Sophomore outside linebacker Sidney Stewart praised Abdul-Rahim’s voice, noting a “fresh new feeling” around the team’s on-campus practice facility. He said Abdul-Rahim has ingratiated himself on both sides of the ball.
“His involvement, kind of just speaking to both sides of the ball, going from both sides,” Stewart, a Joppa native and Concordia Prep graduate, said of what he has noticed about Abdul-Rahim’s coaching style. “And I just think that practice is just a lot more competitive and has definitely got a fun edge to it.”
The mood might be more festive if Maryland can end its skid with a much-needed win over the Fighting Illini. At the very least, athletic director Jim Smith said he remains confident in Abdul-Rahim to guide the team over the next five games.
“He’s got an excellent relationship with our players, and he was clearly the right choice to become our interim head coach,” Smith said. “He has been very attentive. He has taken the well-being of all our players, our coaches, and our staff very seriously. And I think if you’re going to get a chance to get out to practice at some point in time, you’re going to see a renewed energy from our players. He has changed a lot in a really short period of time, which I’m really excited about.”
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