Staff Evolution

Maryland football’s coaching staff boasts 55 combined years of NFL experience. 

Assistants Ted Monachino (16 years), Pep Hamilton (15 years) and Hal Hunter (14 years) have worked in various coaching roles at the NFL level. Their experience, combined with Corey Liuget’s decade-long playing career in the NFL, gives the Terps’ coaching staff a strong foundation for developing and recruiting student-athletes in the program.    

“As you start looking at the pro model of where college football has gone, I thought it was important for us to take that next step by elevating in every area of our program,” head football coach Michael Locksley said. “We've done that with our coaching hires.”

Monachino, Hamilton and Hunter joined Maryland’s staff over the off-season and will be first-time coaches in College Park. Liuget was on last year's staff as a defensive assistant.

Hamilton, who serves as the Terps’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, has worked for eight NFL teams, including serving as the offensive coordinator for the Colts (2013-15) and the Texans (2022). Maryland is Hamilton's fourth coaching stop at the collegiate level. Throughout his career at both levels, he’s worked with and developed signal-callers such as Andrew Luck, Justin Herbert, Alex Smith, Jay Cutler and Chad Pennington.  

Locksley and Hamilton first met at a Maryland football camp in the summer of 1997. Locksley was in his sixth year coaching and his first at Maryland as its running backs coach, while Hamilton was in his first year coaching as Howard’s quarterbacks coach. Their prior relationship, along with Hamilton’s son — Jackson Hamilton — being on the Terps’ roster, led to them working alongside each other for the first time. 

“Maryland's offense in recent years has been one of the best in the Big Ten,” Hamilton said. “Coach Locksley’s system has proven to be a system that can flourish in college football, and I would hope that with Hal Hunter, Damian Wroblewski and myself, we're able to complement the things that coach Locksley has been able to do in recent years, specifically in the passing game. With the run game, that's going to take some of the pressure off the quarterback.”

Monachino was the most recent addition to Maryland’s coaching staff. He’s the team’s defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach. Monachino previously worked in roles with the Falcons, Colts and Ravens from 2010-17 and 2021-22. He won a Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2012.  

Monachino, a coach with over 30 years of experience at all levels of football, has coached All-Pro linebackers Terrell Suggs, Khalil Mack, Elvis Dumervil and C.J. Mosely. 

“Being able to see that collage of players that I've worked with, I think young players can at least know I know how to communicate and deal with a really good player, a rare player,” Monachino said. “I think that experience is important to hear, especially for young players that are considering where they're going to go to college.”

Hunter, Maryland’s senior offensive assistant and offensive tackles and tight ends coach, worked in the NFL from 2006-22. He most notably served as the Chargers' offensive coordinator during the 2012 season and worked in various roles with the Colts, Browns, Giants and Texans.

His father also coached in the NFL and was Maryland’s offensive line coach from 1964–65 under head coach Tom Nugent. 

“I think our players are excited about having guys that have coached where a lot of them want to go,” Hunter said. “A lot of people talk about what it takes to play in the NFL. Unless you've coached in the NFL, you don’t know what it takes. I'm hoping that I can just be part of this staff, help build the offensive line, build the offense and help these players develop to where they want to be.”

Liuget is the only returning coach with NFL experience. He enters his second year on staff after being promoted to coach the defensive line. The former player for the Chargers, Raiders, Bills and Texans from 2011-20 was previously a volunteer defensive assistant for the Terps. 

Locksley recruited the former defensive tackle to Illinois. They overlapped one season in 2008 before Locksley became the head coach at New Mexico. 

“With my experience being in the NFL, players tend to ask me quite a bit of questions,” Liuget said. “I think it's important to have that NFL experience because with guys who have been there, we have NFL relationships. Players tend to feel like those types of coaches and those types of people being around the program will help boost their chances of getting to the next level.”

Maryland football also welcomed back Andre Powell as its special teams coordinator. Locksley and Powell worked together on Maryland's staff from 2012-14. Powell, who has over 35 years of coaching experience, spent the 2024 season serving as the special teams coordinator at East Carolina University.

However, their relationship goes back even further. From 1997-2000, the two coaches frequently met on opposite sidelines. Locksley coached the running backs while holding recruiting coordinator duties for the Terps, while Powell coached at Virginia. As rivals in the ACC at the time, Locksley and Powell also often competed against each other in the recruiting world. 

“I had a chance to work hand in hand with Locksley,” Powell said. “I was really impressed with his knowledge, his ability to build rapport with the players and obviously his recruiting ability.”

Liuget is one of four coaches promoted this offseason. The others include Louis Swaba (running backs), Damian Wroblewski (offensive line) and Derek Kief (assistant wide receivers). Swaba has coached at Maryland all but one season since 2019 — when Locksley was named head coach. Kief played wide receiver at Alabama from 2014-18. He played under Locksley for his final three seasons with the Crimson Tide. Locksley worked in offensive coordinator and wide receivers coaching roles in his stint in Tuscaloosa. 

Other assistants, such as Latrell Scott (wide receivers), James Thomas Jr. (safeties) and Zac Spavital (inside linebackers), are returning coaches who were moved to coach new position groups, but ones that they are familiar with from prior coaching stops. 

Aazaar Abdul-Rahim is the lone coach returning in the same role he held last season, serving as the Terps Co-Defensive Coordinator and cornerbacks coach. Abdul-Rahim was Maryland’s highest-rated assistant coach in recruiting last year, ranking in the top 50 nationally according to 247Sports.

The plethora of NFL experience and long-standing relationships among Maryland football’s coaching staff create a cohesive unit tasked with leading a program ready to adhere to the ever-changing college landscape. 

“Many of these coaches are guys that I've known for over 20 years,” explained Locksley. “They’re guys that I put a lot of trust and faith in as we develop our football program to more of a pro model.”