What Will Be The Effect On The Football Program?

[JohnD]

This seems like a good place to try to put to rest the notion that Friedgen HAD to go. He didn't HAVE to go. He's gone because Anderson decided he didn't want to committ to him for more than one more season. That's his choice to make, but not everyone agreed that it was the right choice, and then everything that happened since then only added to the frustration from a lot of different factions.

Now if you agree that Anderson's vision of a Friedgen-less future for Maryland football was the right one, then yes, it would make sense that you think he had to go. I readily buy that logic because it makes sense even if I'm not among that group. But since not everyone agrees with that vision to begin with, including (anecdotally at least, and KA did acknowledge as much) some of those who donate to the program, to say that Friedgen HAD to go is not true.

[brotherlo38]

Did he have to go? No. You could've extended Ralph and the program probably would've continued along it's 7.5 win average per year. But we were swimming in mediocrity with Ralph, on the field and in the stands. A lot of people, including the ones that sign the big checks, were ready for a change.

[JohnD]

For the last 50 years or so that 7 1/2 wins per year has been considered a good year for the program. The school has never really put any effort into improving that, and simply hiring a new coach doesn't mean they're suddenly trying. Really I'm not sure what's changed inside some of the big offices to think they're suddenly going to work to make Maryland a football powerhouse. Nothing over the past few days suggests that's what's going to happen. Change for the sake of change isn't always productive, nor is it a good reason.

[brotherlo38]

Can we please stop with the "7.5 wins was good enough pre-Fridge" argument. It was good back then, it's not good now. College athletics have changed a lot in the past 10 years, even more in the past 20 years. More and more money is being pumped into college athletic departments and the only way for MD to keep up is to make money on both football and basketball.

Attendance declined 5 straight years and season tickets went from 11,000 pre-Fridge up to 29,000 around 2005 and are now back at 19,000. We had some of the lowest attendance figures of the Ralph Friedgen era this year despite going 9-4. We only filled up 75% of the stadium once this year. Not to mention the unsold luxury suites.

And by the way, the last seven years we averaged 6.2 wins. I don't see why barely being .500, below .500 in the ACC (24-32), should cut it.

[JohnD]

Yes, college athletics have changed. But at Maryland nothing has changed, except money that could go to help make football more relevant winds up supporting swimming and diving or competitive cheerleading and other such nonsense.

[JohnD]

Likewise the school did itself no favors with the scheduling. Having FIU AND Morgan State as your non-conference home games?! That's not Ralph's fault. But he paid the price anyway. Trust me I didn't buy my seats because I wanted to see them.

[Slappy]

Can we please stop with the "7.5 wins was good enough pre-Fridge" argument. It was good back then, it's not good now. College athletics have changed a lot in the past 10 years, even more in the past 20 years. More and more money is being pumped into college athletic departments and the only way for MD to keep up is to make money on both football and basketball.

Attendance declined 5 straight years and season tickets went from 11,000 pre-Fridge up to 29,000 around 2005 and are now back at 19,000. We had some of the lowest attendance figures of the Ralph Friedgen era this year despite going 9-4. We only filled up 75% of the stadium once this year. Not to mention the unsold luxury suites.

And by the way, the last seven years we averaged 6.2 wins. I don't see why barely being .500, below .500 in the ACC (24-32), should cut it.

There is no doubt the program needs to take the next step. Give Friedgen credit for getting it out of the gutter though. Ralph went 75-50 with 7 bowls (5 wins) in 10 seasons, and 3 (maybe 4) final top 25 rankings - only Jerry Claiborne in the late 70's had a better run. Along the way he collected 13 wins over Top 25 teams - by far the best of any Maryland coach. He racked up wins over traditional powerhouses like Florida State, Miami, and Tennessee. Maryland is not a traditional football powerhouse, but Friedgen has brought it a long ways from the Krivak/Duffner/Vanderlinden days.

Your arguments about attendance miss the mark a bit though. First of all, the past two years have been part of what financial journalists have called the Great Depression. That fact, plus the fact that we were 2-10 last year, naturally led to low attendance this season.

Second, how does an Edsall hire address unsold seats and skyboxes? If that is the goal, they should have hired Leach. He would have at the very least generated interest in the program.

[CSB Jack]

Likewise the school did itself no favors with the scheduling. Having FIU AND Morgan State as your non-conference home games?! That's not Ralph's fault. But he paid the price anyway. Trust me I didn't buy my seats because I wanted to see them.

You do realize that FIU played in and won a bowl game this year? Yes, it was a third tier bowl against a team from a second rate conference, but it still counts as a bowl game. What patsy teams and mid-level teams do you want to see the Terps play? Every BCS level team plays games against the bottom feeders to pad the schedule. VT even lost to one at home this year.

The Terps played one game against a perennial bowl team at a neutral site that was close enough for any fan to attend (Navy at M&T Bank Stadium) and that was pretty well attended. They played against a regional rival with a good recent history, but it was on the road (WVU). If you have to sell the opponent to get fans to a game you are not building your own brand. That was the problem with the Wizards marketing strategy for so many years - they were always hyping the other team's stars and not their own (not that there was much to hype). I can understand the lack of buzz around Morgan State and FIU, but those types of games are scheduled by everyone. And seriously - if the FIU game had been replaced by, say, Alabama would you have rather go see the Terps get waxed in front of thousands of Crimson Tide fans than see the Terps have a chance to win against an upcoming program that is more on the level of the Terps this year? The good news, as far as I am concerned, is that there is hope of the Terps being competitive in upcoming games against Notre Dame next year and Texas in 2017 and 2018.

What I want from the schedule every year is one cupcake, one mid-major type game (FIU, MTSU ECU, etc), one regional matchup (WVU, Navy, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers) and one other game. That can include things like the series with Cal, Texas, Notre Dame, or other BCS conference teams. But I want the Terps to have realistic expectations of winning those games. I don't want the majority of the fans to be rooting for the visiting teams because Terp fans gave up their seats so they would not have to witness a beating.

I am hopeful, though far from certain, that Edsall can get the Terps there. He's not a splashy hire but he may yet prove to be the right man for the job.

[olehippi]

This whole transition thing has been botched from beginning to end, and THE ONLY person who can be blamed for that is Kevin Anderson. He lied to Freidgen when he told him he would be coming back, and then two weeks later unceremoniously dumped him just days before a bowl game that capped an excellent season. Whether or not it was the right decision for Maryland is questionable, but how it was done was flat out wrong.

Freidgen was in the last year of his contract, and James Franklin, was the predestined head coach in waiting. But apparently Anderson wasn't enthralled with the plan in place, and when Franklin was offered the Vanderbilt job, the new AD obviously made zero effort to dissuade him from taking it. IMO, it was an odd decision by Franklin because Vanderbilt is a huge step down from the waiting...and guaranteed.....Maryland head coaching job. This makes me think that Anderson had other plans all along and possibly made that clear to Franklin, while leaving Freidgen in the dark.

Bottom line is, I don't like or trust Anderson, and seriously question both his character and his decision making abilities. And a fear that I and others have expressed, is that he will start messing with an already strong, and very successful, Maryland basketball program.

[brotherlo38]

There is no doubt the program needs to take the next step. Give Friedgen credit for getting it out of the gutter though. Ralph went 75-50 with 7 bowls (5 wins) in 10 seasons, and 3 (maybe 4) final top 25 rankings - only Jerry Claiborne in the late 70's had a better run. Along the way he collected 13 wins over Top 25 teams - by far the best of any Maryland coach. He racked up wins over traditional powerhouses like Florida State, Miami, and Tennessee. Maryland is not a traditional football powerhouse, but Friedgen has brought it a long ways from the Krivak/Duffner/Vanderlinden days.

Your arguments about attendance miss the mark a bit though. First of all, the past two years have been part of what financial journalists have called the Great Depression. That fact, plus the fact that we were 2-10 last year, naturally led to low attendance this season.

Second, how does an Edsall hire address unsold seats and skyboxes? If that is the goal, they should have hired Leach. He would have at the very least generated interest in the program.

That post was directed at those upset at the firing of Friedgen. Yes he deserves credit, and it's actually his own success, and the raised expectations that came with it, that caused his dismissal. I'm not saying anything about the hire, just saying that it was pretty clear the fanbase was ready for a new direction.

[brotherlo38]

Freidgen was in the last year of his contract, and James Franklin, was the predestined head coach in waiting. But apparently Anderson wasn't enthralled with the plan in place, and when Franklin was offered the Vanderbilt job, the new AD obviously made zero effort to dissuade him from taking it. IMO, it was an odd decision by Franklin because Vanderbilt is a huge step down from the waiting...and guaranteed.....Maryland head coaching job. This makes me think that Anderson had other plans all along and possibly made that clear to Franklin, while leaving Freidgen in the dark.

Bottom line is, I don't like or trust Anderson, and seriously question both his character and his decision making abilities. And a fear that I and others have expressed, is that he will start messing with an already strong, and very successful, Maryland basketball program.

First, yes Anderson let it be known that Franklin wouldn't be handed the job. Anderson told him he wanted to open it up to a national search. I really don't see the problem there. Franklin was Yow's hire, not Anderson's. Obviously the whole thing was botched but I've never had a problem with Anderson letting it be known that Franklin wasn't going to be handed the job.

Second, I don't have too many fears about Anderson disrupting the basketball team while Gary is there. If you haven't noticed, they've become BFFs so Gary is obviously happy.

[olehippi]

First, yes Anderson let it be known that Franklin wouldn't be handed the job. Anderson told him he wanted to open it up to a national search. I really don't see the problem there. Franklin was Yow's hire, not Anderson's. Obviously the whole thing was botched but I've never had a problem with Anderson letting it be known that Franklin wasn't going to be handed the job.

Second, I don't have too many fears about Anderson disrupting the basketball team while Gary is there. If you haven't noticed, they've become BFFs so Gary is obviously happy.

Does this also mean that you don't have a problem with Anderson reneging on his promise to Freidgen? IMO, Anderson's word is worthless, and if your word is worthless, how can he expect to be trusted on anything? I'm sure Gary Williams is smart enough to be wary.

[brotherlo38]

Does this also mean that you don't have a problem with Anderson reneging on his promise to Freidgen? IMO, Anderson's word is worthless, and if your word is worthless, how can he expect to be trusted on anything? I'm sure Gary Williams is smart enough to be wary.

Things change. When he promised Fridge he'd be back he was also under the impression that Franklin would be back.

If you rather stick with a decision you made even though the facts have changed and you'll just make the situation worse if you don't act, then I guess there isn't much to argue. I on the hand prefer someone who is going to react as things unfold and won't stick with a decision they've already made even though the situation has changed.

[CSB Jack]

Does this also mean that you don't have a problem with Anderson reneging on his promise to Freidgen? IMO, Anderson's word is worthless, and if your word is worthless, how can he expect to be trusted on anything? I'm sure Gary Williams is smart enough to be wary.

This is probably the biggest issue surrounding the whole situation. However, in fairness to Anderson the circumstances changed dramatically between the time he said Friedgen was coming back and when he said he wasn't. What Anderson REALLY was saying was that he was going to keep the status quo for one more year. When Franklin left, that all changed. Not only was the OC gone, but he was likely to take more coaches with him.

That left Anderson with three options:

1 - Extend Friedgen's contract.

2 - Let Friedgen finish his current contract.

3 - Buy out Friedgen's contract.

Anderson had apparently already decided not to extend Friedgen. Whether you agree with that decision or not, once you accept the premise that Friedgen would not be coaching after 2011 you can either let him finish out his last year or replace him. As unseemly as the whole situation has been, it would have been even worse to keep Friedgen for one more year because he would not be able to attract good coaches or keep recruits. Thus the best option for the long term health of the program was to replace Friedgen.

At whatever time Anderson made the initial decision to not extend Friedgen he must have felt that he had better long term options than Friedgen, with or without identifying spefically who those options were. But no athletic director is going to make that kind of move without having at least a short list of possibilities. It is probable that Edsall was on the list, along with Leach. Regardless of who was on the list and in what order of preference, once Franklin left it became necessary to buy out Friedgen, no matter how painful the immediate reaction would be.

It seems to me that the biggest driver of the current outrage is not so much over the fact that Friedgen was replaced or even the way it went down (does not reflect well on Anderson or the university, for sure), but that in hiring Edsall the AD is not bringing in a "sexy" choice that will immediately improve ticket sales. This is particularly upsetting to those who did not want Friedgen replaced in the first place, and to those who wanted Ralph gone but wanted somebody else with a higher profile.

[olehippi]

Freidgen had a contract through the 2011 season. Franklin's leaving should not have changed anything, as I'm sure that Freidgen was perfectly capable of selecting a new offensive coordinator, and replacing anyone else who left. And Freidgen was well within his rights to request an extension. Any coach would have done so under the circumstances. After all, Ralph had just finished an 8-4 season, been selected ACC Coach of the Year, and taken the team to a bowl game....a bowl selection that Maryland got screwed on through no fault of Freidgen.

There are a lot of jobs coming open, and if he still wants to coach, I hope Freidgen lands one of them. If Rodriguez is fired, I'd love to see Ralph at Michigan, and in one of the big bowls next year, just so he can tell Kevin Anderson to shove it.