Maryland football will officially have to least at one position to fill this offseason with offensive coordinator Josh Gattis not expected to return for a third season with the program. FootballScoop first reported the move, though this was expected after head coach Mike Locksley took over play-calling duties during the first bye week before the Terps finished 4-8 (1-8) in 2024.
The news comes on the same day as Gattis was one of 16 college coaches mentioned on the NFL radar this offseason, per NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero. The report comes one offseason after he drew NFL coaching interest once Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDonald were named head coaches by the Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks. Gattis is also one of six active Big Ten coaches mentioned alongside Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck, Ohio State co-OC Brian Hartline, USC co-DC Eric Henderson, USC DC D’Anton Lynn, USC HC Lincoln Riley while former Purdue head coach Ryan Walters was also mentioned.
Gattis joined the program ahead of the 2023 season after one season as the offensive coordinator at Miami (FL). Prior to that, Gattis won the Broyles Award in his third and final season at Michigan as the Wolverines finished with its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff.
At Maryland, Gattis worked with the quarterback room in 2023 as Maryland’s offense finished at the top of the Big Ten in nearly every passing category by season’s end. After changes to the offensive coaching staff following the season, Gattis moved to the wide receiver room ahead of the 2024 season where he oversaw veterans Kaden Prather and Tai Felton as Felton ultimately led the Big Ten in nearly every receiving category all season.
Gattis was also part of a change in the offensive structure during the first bye week of the 2024 season as head coach Mike Locksley took over play-calling duties for the remainder of the fall. Maryland finished the season ranked 15th nationally in passing yards, but also finished with 14 interceptions, ranked 118th nationally and marked the most among Big Ten teams.
“I called the plays today,” Locksley said following the Northwestern loss. “One of the things I talked about is when we evaluate where we are, and I thought, for me, we're in a process of trying to create ways to be productive and that's in all three phases and one of my strengths is being able to help on the offense. It's a system that I know really well. Philosophically, I decided to take over the play calling. Today, Josh assisted me upstairs with the eyes. That's the learning curve because there [are] some different philosophical ways that I call it compared to Josh [Gattis]. And I think you saw a little bit of that today, but that's where I think you'll see, moving forward, the collaboration of how philosophically I want to call it, it'll benefit us, I think down along and Josh continues to serve as the OC, still a voice. He helps and collaborates and keeps it organized during the week. It didn't work as well as we would like to see it work today, but it showed glimpses of what it can be.”
Gattis previously coached players like Chris Godwin, Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle, Nico Collins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Jordan Matthews in addition to 2025 NFL Draft prospects Tai Felton and Kaden Prather, who could both become day two selections next April.
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