Unplug the fridge

[8istheman]

It is hard to be a Terp FB fan fight now. This team looks like they mailed the season in after the 3rd game.

Losing to Duke is the final straw.

[Birds of B'more]

A two-yard pattern on 3rd and 6. This team is just a joke, from the head coach all the way down.

[Birds of B'more]

Duke up 17-6....and there's your ballgame.

[Birds of B'more]

Oh how I long for the days when you could a least count on getting an in-conference win against Duke. The Terps are now what Duke used to be...everyone else's "Homecoming Game." Nice job, Ralph.

[OregonBird]

Wow, I honestly don't think the Terps win another game this season. 2-10 with one win versus a D-1AA opponent.

I don't know how Yow doesn't fire him this year. The holes on this team's roster are the direct result of poor player evaluation and development. The performance on the field is the result of poor recruiting and poor coaching.

Watching today's game it appears that Fridge and Franklin have lost the feel for the game. That offensive effort was beyond pathetic and was waaaaay to predictable.

I think he's lost the team too. They'll mail it in the rest of the year, bank on it.

[Birds of B'more]

Wow, I honestly don't think the Terps win another game this season. 2-10 with one win versus a D-1AA opponent.

I don't know how Yow doesn't fire him this year. The holes on this team's roster are the direct result of poor player evaluation and development. The performance on the field is the result of poor recruiting and poor coaching.

Watching today's game it appears that Fridge and Franklin have lost the feel for the game. That offensive effort was beyond pathetic and was waaaaay to predictable.

I think he's lost the team too. They'll mail it in the rest of the year, bank on it.

I don't either, but as was mentioned earlier in this thread, Yow is part of the problem. She doesn't seem to comprehend that you need to devote sufficient financial resources to the revenue producing sports, football and men's basketball. If you do that then those sports make more money, and then all of your non-revenue sports can flourish in turn. All you need to know is that after the team gets cleaned up and dressed following this game, they all have to get on a bus for the trip back to College Park. Even if you fire Friedgen, what decent coach is going to want to sign on with a program that won't even spring for a plane trip home from NC?

And then of course there's the matter of the little problem she'll have with paying off James Franklin. She's really painted herself into a corner.

[Mackus]

Maryland football is in bad, bad shape.

I really hope they can Fridge and Franklin, but can they? That would be a huge monetary commitment. I'm not sure they can do that and then go out and hire someone who could do a decent job of getting recruits here.

I think we're gonna really need to just blow it up. As impossible as it sounds, Fridge may have left the program in worse state than he found it. Not from a players-in-the-program state but in a cash-strapped-university state. We likely can't afford to fire Fridge and Franklin and then go out and pay enough to get someone that this great University deserves.

[OregonBird]

I think you've got to view Friedgen and Franklin as "sunk costs" at this point. The money is already spent and you can't let a bad decision in the past affect you from making the best decision for the future, even if it stings a little financially. Keeping Fridge b/c it would cost too much to let him go is a poor argument IMO.

I see it all the time in business. A certain manager wants to continue dumping money into a project/product with the argument "we've already invested this much money in it, to stop doing it means it was a waste." Not really. It's about what is best for the business going forward.

No one says you've got to go out and hire the "hot" name at $XM per year. There are plenty of hungry young, bright, creative assistants at major programs that deserve a shot and would do a better job than the Fridge at much less cost. Yow needs to perform her due diligence, put together a pitch, and go get the right guy for the program. Franklin isn't it.

I wonder if you could fire Fridge now and give Franklin the final 4 games to evaluate him and see if he's the guy. If that happened, I wonder if the $1M payment could be avoided since he actually did become the head coach, even if for 4 games.

[DuffMan]

Wow did this team really lose to Duke? If this was basketball that would be ok, but football??

[Birds of B'more]

I think you've got to view Friedgen and Franklin as "sunk costs" at this point. The money is already spent and you can't let a bad decision in the past affect you from making the best decision for the future, even if it stings a little financially. Keeping Fridge b/c it would cost too much to let him go is a poor argument IMO.

I see it all the time in business. A certain manager wants to continue dumping money into a project/product with the argument "we've already invested this much money in it, to stop doing it means it was a waste." Not really. It's about what is best for the business going forward.

No one says you've got to go out and hire the "hot" name at $XM per year. There are plenty of hungry young, bright, creative assistants at major programs that deserve a shot and would do a better job than the Fridge at much less cost. Yow needs to perform her due diligence, put together a pitch, and go get the right guy for the program. Franklin isn't it.

I wonder if you could fire Fridge now and give Franklin the final 4 games to evaluate him and see if he's the guy. If that happened, I wonder if the $1M payment could be avoided since he actually did become the head coach, even if for 4 games.

I won't pretend to know the details of the UMd Athletic Dept's budget, but you might be overestimating their ability to absorb those sunken costs. Especially the $1 mil to Franklin, which I assume they would have to pay to him up front and in full...unlike the remainder of Friedgen's salary, which I'm sure can be paid out over what would have been the life of his contract.

Your very last point is intriguing though. It was The Sun that unearthed the details of the payout in the first place, so maybe someone there could answer your question.

[OregonBird]

This is a totally different situation than the basketball team...Fridge had a great first few years, but at this point, I question whether he is an above average recruiter or head coach.

Statham, Steffy, Hollenbach, Turner.....none of them were legit D1 BCS caliber QBs. All of them would have had average careers at schools like Akron, Ohio, heck even JMU.

In his entire tenure he couldn't identify and develop 1 single QB, let alone develop a backup to succeed a departing starter. That says a lot to me.

[OregonBird]

I won't pretend to know the details of the UMd Athletic Dept's budget' date=' but you might be overestimating their ability to absorb those sunken costs. Especially the $1 mil to Franklin, which I assume they would have to pay to him up front and in full...unlike the remainder of Friedgen's salary, which I'm sure can be paid out over what would have been the life of his contract.

Your very last point is intriguing though. It was The Sun that unearthed the details of the payout in the first place, so maybe someone there could answer your question.[/quote']

Eventually Yow will have to weigh the cost of a 1/2 full stadium, 1/2 full luxury suites, not to mention rarely ever being on a nationally televised game again, lost recruits vs. the cost of Fridge/Franklin buyout.

[Birds of B'more]

Eventually Yow will have to weigh the cost of a 1/2 full stadium, 1/2 full luxury suites, not to mention rarely ever being on a nationally televised game again, lost recruits vs. the cost of Fridge/Franklin buyout.

I see what your point is, and it's a Catch 22...they're going to lose money going forward, but they don't have the money in the present to stop it from happening. It's like getting a leaky roof on your house when you're already struggling just to pay the mortgage. The leak is only going to get worse and more costly as time goes by, but without the money for a new roof right now, what do you do?

I know one thing, if I was an underclassman athlete on a team like men's tennis or wrestling right now, I'd be thinking about transferring before I lose my scholarship.

[ccbird]

I'm not exactly sure of the details with Franklin's coach in waiting contract but from what I understand it's going to be nearly impossible to get out from under that contract. Not only that, but it's going to look bad to pronounce the guy as the coach in waiting and then not give him the job. It's simply bad business. I know Franklin was/is considered a solid recruiter and has connections in the area. To not give him a chance would undoubtedly cause some bad blood with a number of HS coaches. Yeah, it seems likely Ralph is on the way out but Franklin's going to get his shot and I think that's the best and pretty much the only thing we can do for now.

[Majin Buu]

Yow may have to do something sooner rather than later considering traditional doormat schools like UNC and Wake Forest are starting to win and therefore starting to recruit better. Let’s also not forget Georgia Tech is in first place of the coastal division with Paul Johnson who is also new on the block.