BREAKING: Maryland head coach Kevin Willard addresses coaching rumors, future with basketball program
It's not necessarily the kind of thing you want to be talking about a little more than 24 hours before playing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. After a pretty successful regular season in his third year with the Terrapins, head coach Kevin Willard has been the focus of coaching rumors over the last week.
Meeting with the media ahead of the matchup against Grand Canyon. Willard addressed those rumors. He said he spoke with athletic director Damon Evans about the terms of a new deal, but admitted that its hard to negotiate with an athletic director who is likely taking another job in the coming days.
"Yeah, I've addressed it with them directly," Willard said. "I'll say this, Damon [Evans] and I talked on Sunday night right before Selection Sunday. He gave me a terms sheet right before Selection Sunday. I really wasn't focused on it. I've been focused on this team. Damon's talked to my agent, I talked to Damon this morning at length about where we are. Obviously it's difficult right now, because I think we know his situation. He's probably going to SMU, so it's kind of tough to negotiate with somebody that's maybe not here."
And although Willard is clearly looking at all of his options at this point, it sounds like he wants to remain in College Park. But in order to make that happen, Willard says that fundamental changes need to take place with the basketball program.
"But I need to make fundamental changes to the program," Willard continued. "That's what I'm focused on right now. That's why probably a deal hasn't gotten done, because I want to see... I need to see fundamental changes done. I want this program to be great, I want it to be the best in the country, I want to win a national championship.
"But there's things that need to change. When you're at a place for three years, and you put your heat and soul into it, you kind of sit there and say, 'ok, for us to be successful, x, y, and z needs to change.' First and foremost, I need to make sure that where we are with NIL and rev share is not where we've been with NIL in the past few years. We've been one of the worst, if not the lowest in NIL over the last two years. "
You can watch the entire video below:
During his media availability, Kevin Willard addressed the ongoing rumors about him leaving the program. He confirms that Damon Evans “is probably going to SMU” and that he’s been negotiating for more resources for the basketball program. Listen here: pic.twitter.com/GC01JIeOyg
— Inside Maryland Sports (@Terrapins247) March 20, 2025
- Enjoy more Maryland coverage on Maryland Terrapins On SI -
More Maryland News
Make sure to follow us on Facebook by clicking HERE
You can also follow our X(Twitter) account by clicking HERE
Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.