Aazaar Abdul-Rahim is ready to use his DMV ties and love for his players to guide Maryland in his new role.
Brady Ruth, Staff Writer
10/27/2026
Exuding energy, passion for the program and love for his players, Aazaar Abdul-Rahim took the podium for the first time on Tuesday afternoon to address the media and fans about what he plans to accomplish in his new role.
Before he stepped into the new position, he walked row to row in Tyser Tower and shook every hand of each journalist and staff member in attendance. It’s always been about the people for Abdul-Rahim, and he made it clear in his first moments as interim head coach.
“Meaningful relationships mean something to me,” Abdul-Rahim said. “The biggest motivating factor is love and creating that brotherhood.”
Backed by Maryland Athletics’ leadership staff, the players he’s built connections with, and the area that raised him, Abdul-Rahim is ready to make the most of every moment left in the 2026 season and remind everyone what Maryland football is all about.
Effort is important. Effort is how hard you strain. Probably the biggest component of effort is doing it for someone else. We have to create a different brotherhood, and that’s really our focus for the rest of the year, creating a family environment where guys want success for the team more than they want success for themselves.Aazaar Abdul-Rahim
For Abdul-Rahim, the DMV is more than an area. It’s the foundation that raised him, the people that shaped him and the place he’s excited to continue to work in and elevate to what he knows it can be.
“I’m a D.C. native and proud of it, so it means a little bit more to me to be standing here as the interim head coach at the University of Maryland,” Abdul-Rahim said. “I don’t see myself as just an interim coach. I see myself as someone who’s a program builder, and that’s going to allow this program to take the next steps.”
When you’re from the DMV, you have a certain pride. You have a way that you carry yourself in being proud that you’re from here. Coach carries that same pride in him. For me, he’s another face that I’ve known for a long time and I’m able to relate to. I know I can talk to him about anything. It adds to that comfortability.Quarterback Malik Washington
When staffing adjustments were made during Maryland’s bye week, the direction became clear to Maryland Athletics: go with the guy whom the players love and who loves this place.
“I’m very confident Aazaar is the right guy,” said Jim Smith, the Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics. “Aazaar has tremendous energy. You’re not going to see it all the time, but he has tremendous energy, intensity and enthusiasm for this opportunity. He was clearly the right choice to become our interim head coach.”
Smith noted he’s already seen some positive changes around the program with Abdul-Rahim in his new role.
“You’re going to see a renewed energy from our players,” Smith said. “He has changed a lot in a really short period of time, which I’m really excited about.”
Our main focus has been truly wrapping our arms around these young men. We’re really excited to be moving forward into the next season, which is what we’re calling it. This is a five-game season for us, and as far as I’m concerned, we’re 0-0 right now, and the kids are excited to show you guys a better brand of football.Aazaar Abdul-Rahim
The mission now is simple: bring the focus back to football.
“There are so many things that these young men have to think about, so we want to get back to the basics, and that’s the love of the game,” Abdul-Rahim said. “We definitely want you guys to see a different side of our young men, but it starts with just the love of football.”
Mental toughness, technique, effort — the three things that he says encompass a play — will be the identity of Abdul-Rahim’s Terps moving forward. Success won’t be determined by wins and losses, but about the process of growth, both for players and the program.
In Abdul-Rahim’s programs, only two questions matter: do you love football and how bad do you want to win?
“We all know at the end of the day we have five more games left,” Sidney Stewart said. “College football goes by fast. We’ve got to take these last five games because if we attack it, we have an opportunity to win.”
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The thing that makes Abdul-Rahim so valuable to Maryland football isn’t his scheme or experience, both of which are key traits he excels in, but in the relationships he builds with his players.
Following a three-year playing career at San Diego State and time in the Arena Football League, he turned to coaching and building the game through the younger generations that play it.
An elite recruiter and mentor, Abdul-Rahim founded the football program at Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington D.C., where he served as head coach for nearly a decade and turned over 100 players into scholarship-earning young men.
I’m a proud District of Washingtonian. I understand the fabric of this area. I’ve watched it become a superpower. There’s no doubt in my mind that the best players in the area can play anywhere in the country. It’s our duty and our job to continue to keep them home.Aazaar Abdul-Rahim
He then helped Alabama secure two top-ranked recruiting classes during his two seasons in Tuscaloosa, and played a key role in helping Maryland land nine of the top 20 players from the state of Maryland and three of the top nine players from Washington, D.C. in 2017, earning him national recognition as a top-25 recruiter.
Abdul-Rahim is known for making strong relationships with his players and bringing wisdom and experience to the locker room. With multiple ranked recruiting classes and a number of nationally-recognized defenses on his resume, Abdul-Rahim has made himself invaluable in the DMV.
Abdul-Rahim is currently in his second stint at Maryland after previously working with the Terps’ defensive backs from 2016-2018. He spent time with both UMass and Boston College before returning to College Park ahead of the 2024 season.
Now, he’s leading a program that means the world to him, and the changes are already noticeable.
“There’s kind of like a new school feeling,” Stewart said. “It’s a fresh, new feeling, and it makes you put your best foot forward. We’re having fun practicing, competing.”
According to Stewart, practice is already “more competitive and has a fun edge to it”, signifying that the future is exciting and the shift has already started in College Park.
For Abdul-Rahim, the rest of the 2026 season isn’t one to mail in. It’s one that’s still full of opportunities for growth. The DMV raised him. Now, he gets to help lift it up.
