Alabama hires former Maryland coach Mike Locksley as offensive analyst, per report

The Alabama football program has hired former Maryland interim head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Locksley as an offensive analyst, AL.com's Matt Zenitz reported on Tuesday.

At first glance, it's an odd move. As an analyst, Locksley won't be able to go on the road to recruit for the Tide, and it's unlikely that Nick Saban of all people decided he was just dying to add a 3-31 career head coach to his staff for purely football reasons.

But recruiting is largely about connections, and getting Locksley – a strong Washington-area recruiter – might counteract the loss of former Tide personnel staffer Aazaar Abdul-Rahim to Maryland.

For Locksley, it's a great place to land. If he stays at Alabama for even one or two years, there's a really good shot he'll win a national championship. In the meantime, this isn't great news for the Terps, who just watched the biggest national power hire somebody whose best known asset is the ability to recruit in Maryland's backyard.

It's not clear yet if Locksley going to Alabama will have any financial impact on Maryland, or exactly what the Terps were going to pay Locksley not to coach this season. We'll look into that.