Maryland will have three new coordinators next season after a 2-10 debacle in coach Randy Edsall‘s first season.
The Terrapins announced Thursday it was shifting the special teams coordinator role from Lyndon Johnson to Andre Powell, completing the changes at all three coordinator positions.
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Johnson will remain the team’s outside linebackers coach, while Powell will also remain the Terps’ running backs coach.
In December, Maryland reassigned offensive coordinator Gary Crowton and hired Mike Locksley as his replacement. In January, the school reached a $300,000 buyout with defensive coordinator Todd Bradford. Brian Stewart was hired as his replacement less than a week later.
Edsall said in a statement he wanted Johnson to concentrate on the two outside linebacker positions, which Edsall believes are “the most critical components” in Maryland’s new 3-4 defense.
Johnson, the lone position coach to join Edsall from his stint at Connecticut, oversaw a special teams that noticeably struggled from the Terps’ first game.
Maryland finished 99th in both punt return average and kickoff return average and 119th in kickoff return defense out of 120 major-college programs. It also had a streak of nearly 12 years without a punt block end in a September loss to Temple.
The Terps did rank 35th in punt return defense and 52nd in net punting. Kicker Nick Ferrara was 12-for-20 on the season on his field goal attempts.
Powell served as a special teams coordinator from 2004 to 2006 at North Carolina and 2008 to 2010 at Clemson.
Powell will be Maryland’s fifth special teams coordinator in six years, joining Ray Rychleski (2007), Danny Pearman (2008), Charles Bankins (2009-10) and Johnson.
—- Patrick Stevens
