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Edsall's failures this year are well-documented. Let me just say this one last thing. Great coaches don't need to "tear down the building" in order to succeed. Did Urban Meyer tear down Florida? Did Nick Saban tear down Alabama? Did Les Miles tear down LSU? Did Bob Stoops tear down Oklahoma?

I've just never heard of a college coach having to burn a program to the ground in order to be successful. It sounds like a convenient excuse for abject failure to field a competitive football team.

Please tell me you're not comparing Maryland to these schools....

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Please tell me you're not comparing Maryland to these schools....

Even ignoring the apples to oranges comparison, it's a valid point. MD was not some "thug U" that needed to be burned to the ground. It's just a good excuse when a coach is on a power trip and gets carried away. I've talked to a player or two on the team...most of them HATE him, and not just because he's some big authoritarian, they wouldn't get into reasons with me specifically, but they said there was almost a walkout recently.

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If it doesn't start to work soon, fair or not, he will get fired. As has been pointed out, this isn't the same situation as UConn. He's not supposed to build a program at Maryland, he's supposed to take a successful-but-stagnant program and breathe some life into it.

Even if he came in and saw major structural problems at the foundation, you don't go tearing the building down. You let the fans know that there are problems and why you need to do what you are going to do. He is failing miserably there.

So how exactly are fans supposed to react? A popular coach is fired, and an essentially-unknown coach comes in with some success in his last program. That coach proceeds to take a nine-win team, turn them into a two-win team, alienate players including a popular quarterback, and not only fail to communicate his plans to the fans effectively, but at times go on the attack. Even the rational, logical fans see very little that is rational or logical to latch on to here.

Whether the Maryland brass did Fridge right or wrong is no longer relevant. Edsall has definitely sucked from a vocal standpoint (I personally think he just needs to stop talking in general), but the guy still needs time to work. If you go on and fire him, who are you going to get that?s better? How is having three coaches in three years going to help recruiting? What if the NEW guy sucks? What then? Fridge ain?t comin? back, and now you?ve spent millions of dollars on a colossal failure?and you have to pay even more for another unknown.

You?ve given him one year and pretty much said that he?s horrible and that you must start over, when you have no idea what his plan is. Maybe he didn?t like what he had, and needed to get his guys in to do the job?so the team as constructed, along with his coaching, just don?t mesh. Maybe, after three years or so, the pieces will be in place for a program that can consistently crack the top 25. Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, you can?t tell after one season.

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Even ignoring the apples to oranges comparison, it's a valid point. MD was not some "thug U" that needed to be burned to the ground. It's just a good excuse when a coach is on a power trip and gets carried away. I've talked to a player or two on the team...most of them HATE him, and not just because he's some big authoritarian, they wouldn't get into reasons with me specifically, but they said there was almost a walkout recently.

People keep ignoring all of this and the stuff mentioned in the Feinstein article. He has already lost the majority of his players, fanbase, and big time boosters associated with the MD program. How do people really think he has a chance to turn all of that around??? It's gonna be close to impossible and there is no way Edsall is a guy to pull off the impossible.

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People keep ignoring all of this and the stuff mentioned in the Feinstein article. He has already lost the majority of his players, fanbase, and big time boosters associated with the MD program. How do people really think he has a chance to turn all of that around??? It's gonna be close to impossible and there is no way Edsall is a guy to pull off the impossible.

Then who can?

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Maybe they shouldn't have used him as a read-option quarterback?

He didn't look good as a drop back passer either, and I feel like he made just terrible decisions on where to go with the ball. I know it's trendy to hate on Edsall - and I believe a lot of it's justified. But let's not act like all of DOB's shortcomings this year were a result of Edsall. He just wasn't good.

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That's why I wonder if some of that goes on Gary Crowton. I mean, how do you try to turn him into a zone read option guy? Everyone in the world knew that Megget was getting the handoff every time, no matter what.

As for tearing down and rebuilding, coaches get to rebuild their teams all the time. This isn't the NFL where guys have longterm deals. Players cycle in and out on a four-year, or less, cycle. If this guy couldn't figure out how to even be competitive in a few of the games this season with guys who won 9 games last year, it doesn't inspire much faith for what he'll do in the future.

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Please tell me you're not comparing Maryland to these schools....
Well aside from that, no one is saying that Edsall is Urban Meyer or Les Miles or Bob Stoops. I don't think even his most ardent supporters think he is a "great" coach.

The point is that great (even just good) coaches have never felt it necessary to do a complete tear-down in order to be successful. Good coaches come in, assess the situation, and decide how to win with the cards they are dealt until they can deal their own hand.

And if Edsall isn't a "great" coach, what was that whole "good to great" thing about?! Wasn't that the entire rationale for firing Fridge?

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A popular criticism of Edsall includes his "alienating" of DOB so to speak (not to just put this on you BTerp, since lots of people have been saying this). Yes, DOB had early success as a starter, but he was terrible this year. Personally, I don't care all that much if he feels alienated. You know who doesn't get alienated very often? A QB who plays well and makes good decisions. Why are we so worried that our mediocre QB might be upset at his lack of playing time?

First, because anyone who watched C.J. Brown this year knows that he isn't a starting quarterback at this level. Now at least, and probably not in the future. It would take a jump in ability at least as much as O'Brien regressed this season to change that.

Second, how much of his poor performance was his own fault, and how much was a result of other factors? Did the coaching changes, especially relating specifically to the offense, bring on new or exacerbate existing faults?

Third, because he was a quarterback who played well and made good decisions just last season. Conference rookie of the year. It is a stretch to think that going from that level to how he performed this season is entirely his own fault.

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Whats clear is Edsall can turn an irrelevant football program into a mediocre football program in a crap conference. Sadly, the step up to a mediocre football program in a mediocre football conference was too big a jump.

Sure, except the Big East was similar in quality to the ACC.

Not a big point in the grand scheme of things, but just another way the context of Edsall's career at UConn has been misrepresented here.

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