Lots of well connected people are saying Edsalls name.

[Tony-OH]

Its pretty impressive when you consider where the UCONN program was though. That's the key.

And the Big East has had some good years and good teams over the last 7 years...but agree that it has been down lately..Of course, so has the ACC.

There is no question that what Leach accomplished in TT is impressive..I am not doubting that. But those accomplishments don't make him a better coach than Edsall and they may not help him recruit because of the James stuff.

Also, outside of Crabtree, did his offense produce a lot of pro players? I don't recall hearing a lot of Texas Tech guys going pro but maybe I am wrong about that one...and yes, that is important to recruits.

Its really all about excitement Rob. Edsall doesn't bring any, and for a fan base that was basically thinking that Friedgen was fired because he couldn't bring excitement, Leach was the guy people had their hearts set on.

You may be totally right about Edsell, I'm not arguing against the guy as a football coach or recruiter, but he certainly doesn't bring a buzz of excitement that Leach would have brought. Reading through various sites, it the overwheling consensus is that Anderson just made a major mistake. Time will tell, but he just ruined any chance in a significant buzz for next season and along with it the bump in ticket sales.

They basically fired a longtime Terp for a guy 99% of the fans hadn't even heard of before today. Not smart in my opinion, but like ccbird said, we're used to Lucy pulling the ball out when it comes to the MD football.

[Whatss]

I would have to think that the other ACC schools are ecstatic that we chose Edsall over Leach.

I think one point that hasn't been made here is why Leach wasn't chosen. This may not be an Anderson problem - but a problem of the current/future player's parents. If they decide to pull their kids because of Leach's problems with TT than that changes things.

Leach may be innocent - but the damage to his ability to recruit may be damaged beyond repair.

There is no real evidence that that would happen. Bobby Knight had similar issues but still managed to get good recruits at IU and TT. Other coaches have had character issues and managed to recruit. I'm not saying it wouldn't cause a couple parents to pull their kids but we aren't even getting looks from quality recruits and there is no reason to believe that Edsall will change that.

[tylerfrombelair]

I love how people are already annointing the Edsall hire as a failure. When was the last time UMD has been to a BCS Bowl game? As SG stated earlier in this thread, Edsall took UCONN from a 1-AA football team to a 1-A team. Within the ten years of transition he lead them to a Big East title and a BCS Bowl game.

Leach would of been the sexy hire, but its a high risk move. Who's to say Leach wouldn't bolt after 1-2 succesful seasons for a higher profile gig. It's been known that Leach pursued other jobs while being employed at TTU. Leach's high flying offense would of been nice to see with O'Brien but when it came down to it, the AD, and higher powers probably didn't want to gain the baggage that came with hiring him.

Edsall is a good coach and wanted to be a Terp, give him time to turn this program into a great one and not run him off without introducing himself at the press conference

[waroriole]

Its really all about excitement Rob. Edsell doesn't bring any, and for a fan base that was basically thinking that Friedgen was fired because he couldn't bring excitement, Leach was the guy people had their hearts set on.

You may be totally right about Edsell, I'm not arguing against the guy as a football coach or recruiter, but he certainly doesn't bring a buzz of excitement that Leach would have brought. Reading through various sites, it the overwheling consensus is that Anderson just made a major mistake. Time will tell, but he just ruined any chance in a significant buzz for next season and along with it the bump in ticket sales.

They basically fired a longtime Terp for a guy 99% of the fans hadn't even heard of before today. Not smart in my opinion, but like ccbird said, we're used to Lucy pulling the ball out when it comes to the MD football.

You guys certainly know alot more about MD football than me, but you don't hire a football coach to create buzz. You hire the guy who gives you the best chance of winning, through his recruiting and coaching ability. IMO, Edsall is a very good hire for MD. He has done a very nice job at UConn, and built that program from the ground up. He'll have more resources at MD, and will be able to get better players than he could at UConn. I'm not sure what kind of program the fans are looking for, but he could turn them into a perrenial 9 win team. That's very solid for MD, and looking for anything more is not being realistic, IMO.

[Sports Guy]

Its really all about excitement Rob. Edsell doesn't bring any, and for a fan base that was basically thinking that Friedgen was fired because he couldn't bring excitement, Leach was the guy people had their hearts set on.

You may be totally right about Edsell, I'm not arguing against the guy as a football coach or recruiter, but he certainly doesn't bring a buzz of excitement that Leach would have brought. Reading through various sites, it the overwheling consensus is that Anderson just made a major mistake. Time will tell, but he just ruined any chance in a significant buzz for next season and along with it the bump in ticket sales.

They basically fired a longtime Terp for a guy 99% of the fans hadn't even heard of before today. Not smart in my opinion, but like ccbird said, we're used to Lucy pulling the ball out when it comes to the MD football.

Like i said, I can get behind that concept. I am not a MD sports fan, so I really could care less.

However, if Edsall gets this team winning and winning consistently, we can all agree that the excitement will figure itself out, right?

So, maybe in the first season or so, ticket sales don't go crazy but if Edsall comes in, recruits well and wins games, the excitement will come.

[waroriole]

There is no real evidence that that would happen. Bobby Knight had similar issues but still managed to get good recruits at IU and TT. Other coaches have had character issues and managed to recruit. I'm not saying it wouldn't cause a couple parents to pull their kids but we aren't even getting looks from quality recruits and there is no reason to believe that Edsall will change that.

Knight is also one of the greatest coaches in basketball history. He can show them his NC rings. Leach is a completely different situation.

[glorydays]

There is no real evidence that that would happen. Bobby Knight had similar issues but still managed to get good recruits at IU and TT. Other coaches have had character issues and managed to recruit. I'm not saying it wouldn't cause a couple parents to pull their kids but we aren't even getting looks from quality recruits and there is no reason to believe that Edsall will change that.

Leach is not Bobby Knight in so many ways...

[Whatss]

Leach is not Bobby Knight in so many ways...

No he's not but the character issues were there. Other coaches have had them too. There isn't any evidence that it would keep him from luring good recruits to UMD

[jerryterp]

Being a season ticket(4) holder for the past 10 years, yes I'm excited. When you hire an AD from West Point you will not be hiring anyone who is perceived by the new Presdent & his new AD as anything but sqeaky clean. Yes, that was Ralph but he didn't put people in the stands. They needed to have someone in place by Tuesday & now it's done. You haven't seen anyone busting the bank to hire Leach. Maybe Pitt will do the honors since their new coach lasted about two weeks. I'm looking forward to renewing my tickets & seeing Danny O leading us to new hgts next year. Yes I "bleed" Terp red. GO TERPS!!!!!

[Sports Guy]

Knight is also one of the greatest coaches in basketball history. He can show them his NC rings. Leach is a completely different situation.

Leach is not Bobby Knight in so many ways...

Usually what happens to guys like this, they go to lower tier schools to build their reputations back up.

Now, that is much easier to do in basketball than football because of the amount of teams.

You could also argue that MD is a lower tier team but I think that is wrong....A lower tier school would be going to a perennial doormat in a major conference...like for example a team like Washington St. Go there, build the program back up and then he can leave for a bigger job.

Now, maybe MD is a school like that but they are usually a little better than that.

[PaulBako]

Ill tel you one thing: Anderson better not make the basketball hire. Alums may want someone like Jay Wright but Anderson would probably hire Mike Brey.

[glorydays]

No he's not but the character issues were there. Other coaches have had them too. There isn't any evidence that it would keep him from luring good recruits to UMD

Knight had "issues" when society chose to accept (and in some ways... honor) them. It was OK to get into a players grill and the players/parents/alum/fans/media accepted it.

But society/culture changed and Bobby Knight didn't.

Unfortunately - Leach had to learn the hard way and chose the wrong player to mess with.

[Guest baltimore34]

Thinking outside the box here, but maybe MD was worried about Leach leaving in a couple years for a bigger more respected school. Just a thought. BTW i was hoping for Leach too.

[waroriole]

Thinking outside the box here, but maybe MD was worried about Leach leaving in a couple years for a bigger more respected school. Just a thought. BTW i was hoping for Leach too.

You could say the same for Edsall.

[Guest baltimore34]

You could say the same for Edsall

I don't know much about Edsall, but i guess it's possible.