COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Being the head coach of a college football program can be a lot like being the CEO of a large corporation. The nature of the job forces head coaches to wear many hats at once while they make sure everyone from offensive and defensive coordinators to video interns are working in accord toward the common goal of helping the team win.

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Despite having some success in his seven years as a head coach prior to coming to College Park, including an FCS national championship, Terps defensive line coach Mike London is excited to get a breather from the demands of being in charge and get back to his roots of being a defensive line coach.

“Reconnecting and getting that energy again, being able to coach the position that I love--that’s where I started out at--that’s the thing that’s really been neat for me,” London told TSR at Maryland media day Aug. 16.

London worked his way up the ladder to become a head coach after serving as a defensive line coach for 11 years in college and the NFL. London still brings all the savvy and the demeanor of a head coach to College Park, but the Terps’ first-year head man D.J. Durkin can tell that London is thrilled to be able to work closer with players on an everyday basis again.

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“I think Mike has really enjoyed going back to coaching the defensive line,” Durkin said. “When you talk to him, you can see in his eyes that he has enjoyed going back. There’s something about being a position coach when it’s just you and your guys in that room. There’s that sense of unity and togetherness that’s hard to create anywhere else. And when you do that the right way, which Mike does, that’s a relationship really like second to a father-son relationship in terms of that’s your group of guys and you have their back and they’ve got yours and it’s like we’re going to do this together. Mike does such a phenomenal job at that.”

London’s knack for developing relationships is clear to anyone that interacts with him, which is a large part of the reason Durkin decided to add him to his staff.

“[London] does all the right things,” Durkin said. “There’s not a finer human being that you could be around. Mike is definitely about having a positive effect on the young men in this program and that’s a huge reason why I worked so hard to bring Mike here with us. At the end of the day, that’s what I want this program to be about.”

The emphasis London has put on building strong bonds with people throughout his coaching career has helped him become one of college football’s most effective recruiters, especially in the state of Virginia.

London credits Durkin for putting together a staff that understands the importance of personal relationships when it comes to recruiting and he believes the values of Maryland’s program are evident when recruits interact with the coaches.

“It’s always about relationships and I’m a big relationship guy,” London said. “You’ve got to know people and people have to know that you care about them. Coach Durkin has done a great job of assembling a group of men, a group of people, who are good fathers and good husbands. And so when families come on campus here, it’s reflected in our manner, in our speech, the way we talk to our kids and our wives, the interaction we have with our players. That’s make other young men say, ‘I like the vibe; I feel at home. I want to go to Maryland.’”

But London’s personable approach stretches well beyond recruiting. His caring and honest attitude has also endeared him to the Terps he’s currently coaching.

Now that Maryland’s defensive linemen are beginning to believe in their coaches’ message, London said he can see them making serious strides, especially junior defensive end Jesse Aniebonam, who could be in for a breakout year.

“It’s about developing trust,” London said. “Trusting that what we say, what I talk about, what Coach Durkin wants, is critical to any player’s development. And when they trust that, I believe it moves the needle again. An example of that is Jesse [Aniebonam]. Probably the last two weeks he has had some of the best practices day-by-day since I’ve been here and he’s got a chance to really be special and just keep learning and growing.”