Perhaps I should recuse myself from writing this because of my personal knowledge of Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, who was fired on Monday after 10 seasons with the Terps.
I played at Murray State University back in the day when Friedgen was on the staff as Frank Beamer’s offensive coordinator.
Friedgen’s passion for football has been a constant throughout his coaching career, especially since returning to his Alma mater.
Maryland has never been a college football powerhouse, with an all-time record of 600-524-43 and 22 bowl appearances.
From 1987 to 2000 the Terps compiled a record of 55-88, which led to Friedgen’s hiring in 2001. When he took over, Maryland had not won a bowl game in 16 years and had only one winning season since 1990.
In his first season as the Terps coach, Friedgen led Maryland to a 10-2 record, winning the ACC and an Orange Bowl appearance. Over the past nine seasons Friedgen has guided the Terps to a 64-48 record and seven bowl appearances.
He’s been named the ACC Coach of the Year twice, the latest coming this season after leading Maryland to an 8-4 record and a Military Bowl berth.
So what did Friedgen do to warrant being fired?
Perhaps the better question is what didn’t he do, and in the eyes of Maryland athletics director Kevin Anderson what Friedgen didn’t do was win more ACC championships and compete for BCS national championships.
Aspiring to win is fine, but reality seems to be an issue for Anderson.
Having such high expectations for a program that plays in a basketball crazy conference is incredibly ambitious given Maryland’s budget limitations.
The type of coach that can have the impact Anderson wants will cost more than the $2 million Maryland is going to pay buying out Friedgen’s contract.
With former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach being mentioned as a possible replacement, Anderson may get the guy he wants to coach Maryland but he won’t necessarily get the right coach for the job.
Even with all of his success, Friedgen hasn’t signed a top 25 recruiting class since 2005 while North Carolina, Clemson, Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech have consistently signed top 25 classes.
Even with a coach like Leach who has a national presence, that’s not going to sway enough talented players to sign with Maryland.
If you can’t successfully recruit against ACC schools and even some SEC teams, you’re chances of winning aren’t very good.
Friedgen ran a clean program and helped make Maryland football relevant again despite all the disadvantages.
Regardless of what Anderson believes, firing Friedgen and hiring another coach won’t turn Maryland into a program that can compete for ACC and BCS titles.
