Friedgen Could Care Less About Maryland

[JohnD]

His 75 wins are third most in school history. Even if it came early in his tenure, he still did what a bunch of other coaches in the past haven't been able to. And the way it's going, it doesn't look like Edsall is going to have much distinction here. Some of Friedgen's comments reflect a lot of hurt and sour grapes, for sure. And I think years from now he'll soften those hard feelings. But he WAS the ACC Coach of the Year, for the second time, and that still got him fired for a guy who loves to point fingers at everyone else for why they're getting waxed.

[glenn__davis]

Friedgen says a lot of dumb, dumb things. I don't know whether he just doesn't have filter to know when not to say things, or what.

I remember when a MD player decided to forgoe his senior season to enroll in the military, and Friedgen basically said it was a dumb decision because it's "not much fun to get a bullet put in you".

Tough to know how much of it is ignorance, and how much of it is just a good ole' boy telling it like he sees it. There's a fine line to draw, there.

Regardless - I for one am glad he's no longer here. Maybe he got a raw deal - I really don't know. A lot things went on behind close doors. A big reason he was COY was because his team was 2 and whatever the year before. Last year he used a pretty soft schedule to cruise to 9 wins.

I'm ready to move forward. I like Edsall and what he brings. Tough to evaluate him at this point, because DOB hasn't even been half the player that he was last year. Is it a new system? Does he miss Friedgen's coaching?

[JohnD]

I'd like Edsall a lot more if he didn't point fingers at everyone else the minute things started to go wrong. He hasn't taken responsibility for one thing that hasn't been good yet.

[glenn__davis]

I'd like Edsall a lot more if he didn't point fingers at everyone else the minute things started to go wrong. He hasn't taken responsibility for one thing that hasn't been good yet.

I know he's blamed some of his issues on the previous regime, and I agree that even if you think it's true, that's not generally something that you do.

Interesting that Turgeon made some similar comments about the roster not being where he would like it to be to start off.

I was one of the few that reallly liked the Edsall hiring, but certainly the early results have not been impressive. A lot of that has to do with DOB playing very poorly to start the year. A lot has to do with the fact that they are seriously under-talented on both lines.

I certainly am not going to change my tune on Edsall this early. The next 3 weeks could be very, very ugly though.

[BaltimoreTerp]

This.

MD football was not a relevant team. The academic situation was horrid. The recruiting was poor. How can anyone be surprised the school went in another direction? You don't get a job for having pride in the team, or else BTerp would be coaching Terp basketball. Stop whining and get over it.

You don't know it, but I can recruit with the best of them

Here's my question: what does everyone think Lefty would have said in an interview in 1987 or '88?

[JohnD]

I know Tony knows a guy who didn't much like Friedgen. Granted, he never had much impact on the field, which could color that perception, but there were always grumblers about what Friedgen was like. Clearly he wasn't always the engaging personality a lot of people wanted, especially with players and recruits.

But that's not to say everyone else is happy. From the Sun....

**Is everyone buying into Edsall's system? "He's a great leader," quarterback Danny O'Brien said of the first-year Maryland coach. But not everybody is on board. One prominent veteran player said privately that Edsall's style is grating and that he's just waiting for the season to end.

Must be annoying when all you hear is "we" when things are going well, but when things go wrong that's a pronoun you never hear. Excuses tend to come out grammatically unflattering when "we" is used.

[OregonBird]

I'm willing to give Edsall some time to see if it all works out.

One thing I'm bored with already is the "coach speak." "Holding guys accountable", etc, etc, etc, I get it and doing these things are important to a building a good program. However, I really just want to hear some real talk so I can figure out what kind of guy this he is, what kind of personality he has, etc. As a fan its very hard for me to connect with a guy that just speaks "coach speak" and seems to have the personality of a 1980s catholic high school football coach.

[Danielos38]

I'm willing to give Edsall some time to see if it all works out.

One thing I'm bored with already is the "coach speak." "Holding guys accountable", etc, etc, etc, I get it and doing these things are important to a building a good program. However, I really just want to hear some real talk so I can figure out what kind of guy this he is, what kind of personality he has, etc. As a fan its very hard for me to connect with a guy that just speaks "coach speak" and seems to have the personality of a 1980s catholic high school football coach.

This thread is a hilarious parody of Edsall's constant coachspeak:

http://maryland.247sports.com/Board/53/YOUNG-MEN-4465390/1

[OregonBird]

This thread is a hilarious parody of Edsall's constant coachspeak:

http://maryland.247sports.com/Board/53/YOUNG-MEN-4465390/1

It looks like the original thread poster went and edited/deleted a lot of his subsequent posts. I'll take a stab at it:

YOUNG MEN BUY INTO OUR SYSTEM YOUNG MEN SET EXPECTATIONS YOUNG MEN DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY YOUNG MEN HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE YOUNG MEN HUSTLE YOUNG MEN PLAY FOOTBALL NO EXCUSES YOUNG MEN NO DO RAGS YOUNG MEN NO NAMES ON BACK OF JERSEY YOUNG MEN PLAY FOR THE NAME ON FRONT OF JERSEY YOUNG MEN ITS MY PROGRAM BUT ITS YOUR TEAM YOUNG MEN PLAY 4 QUARTERS OF FOOTBALL YOUNG MEN MARYLAND PRIDE YOUNG MEN

[JohnD]

Wow, and I thought I was no Edsall fan. Wow.

[glenn__davis]

I'm willing to give Edsall some time to see if it all works out.

One thing I'm bored with already is the "coach speak." "Holding guys accountable", etc, etc, etc, I get it and doing these things are important to a building a good program. However, I really just want to hear some real talk so I can figure out what kind of guy this he is, what kind of personality he has, etc. As a fan its very hard for me to connect with a guy that just speaks "coach speak" and seems to have the personality of a 1980s catholic high school football coach.

I agree with this.

I do think accountability is a big reason why he was brought here, as the inmates had been running the asylum for a while, and the program was obviously in shambles from an academic standpoint. So I think he's trying to set that tone early.

But yeah, after a while, it's time to just play some football.

[Tony-OH]

I agree with this.

I do think accountability is a big reason why he was brought here, as the inmates had been running the asylum for a while, and the program was obviously in shambles from an academic standpoint. So I think he's trying to set that tone early.

But yeah, after a while, it's time to just play some football.

It's not surprising that some players are not buying into Edsall, especially since it's pretty apparent that there was little accountability in the Friedgen era and Edsall is trying to change that. That's all well in good, but Edsall has to remember two things: winning is the only thing that we keep you around and being accountable includes himself and his coaches, especially when dealing with young players.

[JohnD]

Reading between the lines, I'm guessing this is why a running back like DJ Adams is being phased out of the offense. Who cares if he helps you win? He doesn't want to be held accountable!

[glenn__davis]

It's not surprising that some players are not buying into Edsall, especially since it's pretty apparent that there was little accountability in the Friedgen era and Edsall is trying to change that. That's all well in good, but Edsall has to remember two things: winning is the only thing that we keep you around and being accountable includes himself and his coaches, especially when dealing with young players.

I agree 100% with this. However, this is not Edsall's first rodeo. I do not think he is acting any different than he did at UCONN, where he had no business winning but did so anyway.

When you come in with a heavy hand, you are going to lose some guys that aren't accustomed to that. But you're also going to raise the standards so that hopefully new folks coming in will perform better.

It is a very fine line to walk.

[OregonBird]

I'm a diehard MD fan and will support Edsall for 3-4 years. I just want to see some personality out of the guy instead of "Robo-Coach".

Part of me wonders if his seemingly "old school" personality connects w/his current team and recruits. I'm all for accountability and probably some of the other values he's trying to instill in his program, I just wonder if there is a better way to package the message to his team and recruits. Sometimes you package your message in different ways to different audiences.

Tony and I played for an old school, high school baseball coach. He could be a real hardass if you didn't do things his way and you'd run until you puked and dropped. On the other hand, he could also be a lot of fun and I had more fun than I've ever had and would have run through walls for the guy. I truly believe that the great coaches can discipline, obtain buy in, while at the same time win, have fun, and have kids willing to move mountains for them.