Maryland football scandal: Who is interim coach Matt Canada and why did he leave LSU?

It was just a season ago that Matt Canada found himself painted as the scapegoat for LSU’s failures under Ed Orgeron.

After a shocking loss at home to Troy last September, Orgeron effectively ripped away control of the Tigers’ offense from Canada, who had been hired away from Pittsburgh the previous offseason with promises of free rein in an effort to rebuild what had long been a tired offensive attack.

“I’m the head coach,” Orgeron said in the wake of the defeat. “And we’re going to do what I want to do.”

The writing was on the wall: Canada was not long for LSU. Orgeron and Canada would part ways after a bowl loss to Notre Dame. By the end of January, he’d be signed as the offensive coordinator at Maryland.

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Now, with Maryland coach D.J. Durkin’s future in doubt amid troubling allegations of player mistreatment, Canada has been tapped as the Terrapins’ interim coach – for a period that may very well continue into the start of the regular season. Never a head coach on any level, Canada now inherits a team already viewed as no better than average in a deep Big Ten Conference that must now handle a difficult schedule with its head coach's future in doubt.

The one-year blip on Canada’s résumé stands in contrast to his decade-plus run as a successful coordinator at several Football Bowl Subdivision stops. Canada has held the position at five programs – one, Northern Illinois, in two separate stints – since 2003, and during stops at North Carolina State and Pittsburgh developed a reputation as one of college football’s top offensive installers and play-callers.

A student assistant as an undergraduate at Indiana, Canada’s first FBS position came as the running backs coach at Northern Illinois. He spent one season as the Huskies’ coordinator in 2003 before returning to his alma mater, where he spent seven seasons – again moving up to coordinator from 2007-10 – before returning to NIU.

Canada also spent a single year under Bret Bielema at Wisconsin in 2012 before joining Dave Doeren at N.C. State from 2013-15. For his work at Pittsburgh in 2016, Canada was named a finalist for the Broyles Award, which honors the top assistant coach in the FBS.

That fall, the Panthers averaged 40.9 points per game, 5.4 yards per carry and threw 28 touchdowns against only 9 interceptions in finishing 8-5.

In addition to his rocky season at LSU, Canada has been part of a coaching shakeup twice during his career, both times at Indiana. The Hoosiers fired Gerry DiNardo after the 2004 season, when Canada served as the quarterbacks coach, and then fired Bill Lynch following the 2010 season, when Canada added the title of coordinator.