The Edsall Factor

[Munson]

I was ok with going in a different direction. Yes, to an extent Ralph had gotten stale here, though firing him after a 9-4 season and an ACC Coach of the Year honor wasn't good PR right off the bat. My problem was and is if your going to go in a different direction, if your shooting for "tranformative excellence" and going from "good to grea"t how in the blue hell do you decide Edsall is the guy for the job. We can argue Edsall's credentials to a point but there is no way anybody should have nor did they get goose bumps over the hire or the feeling that the program was pointing up. Best case scenario is Edsall is exactly what Fridge was from 2004-2010. He gets you some 6, 7 and maybe an 8 win season here or there and some minor bowl games. So you fire an alum coming off a 9 win season and COY award to hire a guy who in a best case scenario is going to give you what that guy you just fired gave you. That isn't tranformative excellence or going from good to great.

And I'll note one thing after the above. That is that there are rumors out there that KA wanted Leech and had been told that Leech was willing to come here but some of the other bigwigs at the school wouldn't allow it. Now, that gives KA some small pass but bottom line is you have to have your ducks in a row before you fire Ralph. You have to know that Leech is going to be accepted and approved by the other powers that be at the University.

I agree with you. It is hard to justify getting rid of your coach after a 9-4 season. But, at the same time was that the most we could expect from Ralph. The ACC is one of the weakest BCS conferences and he really couldn't get the Terps to that next level of being ACC contenders outside his first year. I guess one of the things that hurt Ralph was having the success he had in his first three years.

Edsall certainly wasn't the "sexy" hire. But, I'm willing to give him a year or two as long as the team is improving. I would think getting kids to go to UConn to play football was a pretty tough thing to do. He did a good job building that program from pretty much nothing. Just getting UConn to a BCS game was impressive, although probably not deserved. If he could do that with UConn, I would like to think he could do more at MD. If he doesn't improve next year, he will probably get run out of here pretty quick.

[BaltimoreTerp]

This is for the Fridge supporters. If he was kept on, do you think he would have improved the program from his previous seven seasons? Sure his first three seasons were great, but the last seven were pretty mediocre. He had a 24-32 ACC record and 44-42 overall record. He went to four mid-tier to lower level bowls. Could the Terps improve anymore under Friedgen? I had no problem with a coaching change. Maybe Edsall isn't the answer. I know this past year was a disaster, but I'm willing to give the guy another year or two. I'm not ready to hold his record against top twenty five teams against him. How many teams are going to have success against ranked opponents when they just moved up to D-1A? UConn didn't even play in a conference until 2004. IMO, he probably didn't have the same resources at UConn that he has at MD either.

Are we assuming that Friedgen takes on Locksley like Edsall did? If so, I absolutely believe that the program would have improved.

Even without Locksley, I do think that the Terps are much better last season, even if "much better" is 5-7 or something, and there isn't the same exodus of talent from the program.

[GoldGlove21]

A little off the Edsall topic but didn't want to start a new thread. Adam Breneman' date=' the #1 TE prospect in 2013, from Pennsylvania is deciding next Friday March 9th between Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame and MARYLAND! Odds are he goes to Penn State but he has reportedly been to College Park half a dozen times or so. He would be a huge get for the Terps. Imagine, Maryland lands the #2 WR in the country from the 2012 class and then the #1 TE from 2013??? One can hope.[/quote']

If I am that kid I would be hald tempted to go to Notre Damn (especially if he likes basketball), but Maryland is somehow smelling like roses right now to some extent. Maryland has a history of developing really good tight ends so the kid would have a chance in our offense to really do well. If that kid comes here than I would imagine that it starts off on a great footing for 2013 where the arrow is pointing up for the Terps to have a top-20 recruting class.

[Munson]

Are we assuming that Friedgen takes on Locksley like Edsall did? If so, I absolutely believe that the program would have improved.

Even without Locksley, I do think that the Terps are much better last season, even if "much better" is 5-7 or something, and there isn't the same exodus of talent from the program.

I won't assume that Locksley would be here. If Ralph was kept on and Franklin left for Vandy, he would have been replaced before Locksley was available.

If the Terps did go 5-7 last year under Ralph, is that good enough? Should MD fans expect more?

Maybe this is a better question. What is the ceiling for MD football?

Can MD get on the level of Virginia Tech? Can MD go higher and compete for a NC? If the answer is yes, I have no problem replacing Ralph.

If the ceiling is what Ralph was producing, then replacing him was pointless.

I think the ceiling is higher than what Ralph was doing, but probably not NC level. This is why I have no problem with the coaching change. But like I said earlier, I don't know if Edsall is the answer, but I'm willing to give him another year or two.

[allstar1579]

I won't assume that Locksley would be here. If Ralph was kept on and Franklin left for Vandy, he would have been replaced before Locksley was available.

If the Terps did go 5-7 last year under Ralph, is that good enough? Should MD fans expect more?

Maybe this is a better question. What is the ceiling for MD football?

Can MD get on the level of Virginia Tech? Can MD go higher and compete for a NC? If the answer is yes, I have no problem replacing Ralph.

If the ceiling is what Ralph was producing, then replacing him was pointless.

I think the ceiling is higher than what Ralph was doing, but probably not NC level. This is why I have no problem with the coaching change. But like I said earlier, I don't know if Edsall is the answer, but I'm willing to give him another year or two.

Yeah but Ralph's part of the equation was the coaching, not the recruiting. The coaching was fine, the players loved their coach. If Locksley is brought in to step the recruiting game up (and even if there is another OC, as soon as Locksley was let go MD was jumping on him either way, they've been after him for a while and would have created a position to get him on board), they could have gotten to that level. Still have to go through some SEC schools that in general should be better teams, BUT with good players AND good coaching, it could have happened.

[Birds of B'more]

I won't assume that Locksley would be here. If Ralph was kept on and Franklin left for Vandy, he would have been replaced before Locksley was available.

If the Terps did go 5-7 last year under Ralph, is that good enough? Should MD fans expect more?

Maybe this is a better question. What is the ceiling for MD football?

Can MD get on the level of Virginia Tech? Can MD go higher and compete for a NC? If the answer is yes, I have no problem replacing Ralph.

If the ceiling is what Ralph was producing, then replacing him was pointless.

I think the ceiling is higher than what Ralph was doing, but probably not NC level. This is why I have no problem with the coaching change. But like I said earlier, I don't know if Edsall is the answer, but I'm willing to give him another year or two.

If Ralph had only won 5 games last season, he wouldn't be coach right now anyway. We obviously know KA was intent on replacing him. If Anderson waited until after this season he would have been able to do it without eating any contract. It's interesting food for thought to wonder who might have been the new coach though. With competition for Leach this time, would UM been more eager to hire him, or would they not even interview him? With Edsall coming off a 5-win season at UConn (assuming they would have the same result had Edsall stayed) does he not get the interest from UM that he did coming off a Fiesta Bowl bid?

As to MD's ceiling, I feel that it is definitely higher than what Friedgen's last 7 seasons gave us. It certainly isn't NC caliber. But I think 8-9 win seasons could be the norm, with a 10+ win season and a serious run at the ACC title mixed in now and then. Of course the thing to keep in mind is that the ACC currently has 2 national championship caliber schools that have been under-performing for most of the past decade. If Miami and FSU return to national prominence, and still penciling in VaTech for 10 wins a season give-or-take, all of a sudden winning 8-9 games regularly in the ACC is pretty impressive.

[o's fan 14]

If Ralph had only won 5 games last season' date=' he wouldn't be coach right now anyway. We obviously know KA was intent on replacing him. [b']If Anderson waited until after this season he would have been able to do it without eating any contract.[/b] It's interesting food for thought to wonder who might have been the new coach though. With competition for Leach this time, would UM been more eager to hire him, or would they not even interview him? With Edsall coming off a 5-win season at UConn (assuming they would have the same result had Edsall stayed) does he not get the interest from UM that he did coming off a Fiesta Bowl bid?

As to MD's ceiling, I feel that it is definitely higher than what Friedgen's last 7 seasons gave us. It certainly isn't NC caliber. But I think 8-9 win seasons could be the norm, with a 10+ win season and a serious run at the ACC title mixed in now and then. Of course the thing to keep in mind is that the ACC currently has 2 national championship caliber schools that have been under-performing for most of the past decade. If Miami and FSU return to national prominence, and still penciling in VaTech for 10 wins a season give-or-take, all of a sudden winning 8-9 games regularly in the ACC is pretty impressive.

Anderson couldn't really afford to do nothing. He either had to extend Ralph or bring in a new coach. If Ralph coached last season without an extension then it would have hurt their recruiting efforts. I can't imagine many kids would want to commit to a program/coach not knowing if he would be there next season.

[Todd-O]

If we are in that Orange Bowl game with Lamont Jordan and Kris Jenkins it's a different game.

I'm sorry... I sat in the stands at pro player stadium and watched this game from start to finish. These two players wouldn't have changed that game too much. The final score was 56-23 and if my memory serves me right, Florida gained close to 700 yards. Maryland needed about 10 Kris Jenkins/Lamont Jordan caliber players to change that game.

I'm not dogging that MD team... They had a great year... Very exciting... One of the best seasons in the last several decades. But, seriously, they got destroyed in that Orange bowl.

[allstar1579]

I'm sorry... I sat in the stands at pro player stadium and watched this game from start to finish. These two players wouldn't have changed that game too much. The final score was 56-23 and if my memory serves me right, Florida gained close to 700 yards. Maryland needed about 10 Kris Jenkins/Lamont Jordan caliber players to change that game.

I'm not dogging that MD team... They had a great year... Very exciting... One of the best seasons in the last several decades. But, seriously, they got destroyed in that Orange bowl.

I was there too. Not saying absolutely with 2 players we win, but we got NO pressure on Grossman that day, and couldn't keep the ball out of their hands, 2 key areas that Jenkins and Jordan were best in the ACC at. They didn't cram the ball down our throat, they just kept getting big plays, and it was a close-ish game at halftime. (Keep in mind, drinking all day my recollection might be a bit foggy).

[Todd-O]

LOL... They didn't need to cram the ball. Their QB, back-up QB, O-line, Wide Receivers... Their ball boy... Their laundry handler... Just about everything across the board... Were better. Maryland had a couple of guys that were very good - perry, henderson, starks, hill, novak(?) ... Thats about it - That's why they set an Orange Bowl record for most yards gained and most points scored. It was 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. And I'll agree that Maryland had a little fight in them that quarter... But at the half it was 28-10. Remember, Grossman (who was the runner up heisman) wasn't allowed to play for the first 20 or 25 min of the games. When he entered the game he led 6 straight drives that ended in touchdowns. It was an epic blow-out.