Maryland fires ACC coach of the year, for Randy Edsall??? [Archive]

CarMike

01-03-2011, 05:42 AM

Wondering what Terp fans thoughts are about the hire of Randy Edsall? From what I've read on MBs, it's pretty much split down the middle.

OMT, rumor coming from Clemson is that RF could be signed within the next 2 days to become their OC.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5981463

BALTIMORE -- Randy Edsall, who diligently worked to build the Connecticut football program into a winner, has been hired to pull off a similar feat at Maryland.

Edsall was picked Sunday to replace Ralph Friedgen, who was fired after a 10-year run at his alma mater.

Edsall spent 12 years at Connecticut. He guided the Huskies out of Division I-AA (now FCS) and into the Big East, where he won a pair of conference titles and earned postseason appearances in each of the past four years.

Connecticut lost to Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday night.

The 52-year-old Edsall emerged as a surprise candidate for the job over the weekend. He beat out former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, who was considered the favorite when the search began on Dec. 20.

Edsall, the 2010 Big East coach of the year, led the Huskies to eight or more wins in each of the past four seasons. He finished with a 74-70 record at UConn.

Edsall did not accompany the team on its charter flight back to Connecticut, and players said he told them nothing of his coaching plans after the Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma.

Biggie

01-03-2011, 06:05 AM

I don't know much if anything about Edsall and I'm neither excited nor upset about the hire, but I wish Fridge all the best.

BurgundyNGold

01-03-2011, 06:53 AM

I'm not sure how Edsal will "put fans in the stands". This might be a better long term hire, but it's a short and medium term gamble.

Patrick

01-03-2011, 07:46 AM

Edsall = Friedgen (- 100 lb)
Mike Wise article in the WP is very much on point about this move.
Bottomline Maryland got cold feet with Mike Leach and went the "safe" rout.
I'm NOT thrilled .....:confused:

CarMike

01-03-2011, 07:56 AM

Patrick

01-03-2011, 08:06 AM

Why was the AD so quick to get rid of RF? Was it due to him wanting to put his stamp on the program? [Having HIS choice run the football program]

Why was attendance down so much at Maryland last season? I couldn't believe the empty seats. And the game I saw was late in the season and well on the way to great season. Lot's pf possible answers but bottomline Ralph was not recruiting "Top" players and his teams were not that good. Even this year's team - look at the losses. No BCS bowls the past 9 years, last year's record REALLY left a bad taste in many of the alum mouths.

Patrick

01-03-2011, 08:09 AM

Why was the AD so quick to get rid of RF? Was it due to him wanting to put his stamp on the program? [Having HIS choice run the football program]

Why was attendance down so much at Maryland last season? I couldn't believe the empty seats. And the game I saw was late in the season and well on the way to great season. Lot's of possible answers and everyone will tell you something a little different but IMO Ralph could never recruit the "Top" players and his teams were not that good. Even this year's team - look at the losses. No BCS bowls the past 9 years, last year's record REALLY left a bad taste in many of the alum mouths.

CarMike

01-03-2011, 08:17 AM

I suppose I can understand that reasoning. I was surprised they didn't fire him last year.

AustinSkin

01-03-2011, 09:16 AM

I was rooting for Leach "the Pirate" to shake up the program and put an obscene amount of points on the scoreboard. That will fill a few seats.

Farmer Ted

01-03-2011, 10:41 AM

That's a big move up for Edsall from a Division-II team.

BurgundyNGold

01-03-2011, 10:53 AM

That's a big move up for Edsall from a Division-II team.
I thought Edsall had moved UConn up to D-1 ? In either case, it might prove to be a good hiring, but I don't see how it's the "safe" pick. The "safe" pick for the team and for attendance would have been to hire Leach. Edsall is the "cheap, gamble" pick.

Patrick

01-03-2011, 11:34 AM

I thought Edsall had moved UConn up to D-1 ? In either case, it might prove to be a good hiring, but I don't see how it's the "safe" pick. The "safe" pick for the team and for attendance would have been to hire Leach. Edsall is the "cheap, gamble" pick. He did ....... UConn played in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl this year and got it handed to them by OU 48-20

Farmer Ted

01-03-2011, 11:44 AM

I thought Edsall had moved UConn up to D-1 ? In either case, it might prove to be a good hiring, but I don't see how it's the "safe" pick. The "safe" pick for the team and for attendance would have been to hire Leach. Edsall is the "cheap, gamble" pick.

No. Did you watch UCONN on saturday night? They're still division II, like half the teams in the Big East. [Sarcasm]Adding Villanova will fix that next season, though.[\Sarcasm]

Keino

01-03-2011, 11:55 AM

I suppose I can understand that reasoning. I was surprised they didn't fire him last year.

The buyout was too much last year. There were rumors of trying to get boosters to pay it, but that never happened.

dj_stouty

01-03-2011, 12:59 PM

Quick clarification here, folks. UCONN, like soon-to-be Villanova , and previously Marshall did NOT come from Division II. They came from Division I-AA. (now renamed Football Championship Subdivision) Big difference.

MONK_in_HOF

01-03-2011, 01:44 PM

The pulse I get from the UMD message boards is predominantly one of extreme anger. Lots of talk of dropping tickets and Terrapin club donations. I think Kevin Anderson screwed the pooch big time on this one. It seems many Terp fans were pissed with the firing of Fridge and the others were fine with it as long as there was a perceived upgrade. There was a real excitement about Leach and most feel Edsall really isn't an upgrade at all. The new AD has managed to piss off both camps with this decision.

UMD football already plays second fiddle to Bball and now they are really going to face an uphill battle to get fans in the seats, let alone increase interest amongst fans. The AD better hope to get instant results from Edsall because he has placed the man directly behind the 8 ball.

Keino

01-03-2011, 01:51 PM

To tell you the truth, I am in the latter camp. I liked Fridge and was okay with him going so long as we got an upgrade. I looked at Mike Leach as a serious upgrade with name recognition. To read this morning that we landed UCONN's coach was very disappointing, and I definitely feel like the AD screwed the pooch with his handling of the entire affair.

CarMike

01-03-2011, 02:43 PM

The buyout was too much last year. There were rumors of trying to get boosters to pay it, but that never happened.

Yeah, I had read that the buyout was too much. While I was reading your response it hit me that his contract was up so there was no buyout this year. Makes a little more sense.

Except for the hire. I think he may do good things at Maryland if he's given the time. No doubt he has some talent, as in the ACC ROY QB. How is Marylands team looking next year? Depth wise. Losing a lot of upper classman?

MONK_in_HOF

01-03-2011, 03:11 PM

Yeah, I had read that the buyout was too much. While I was reading your response it hit me that his contract was up so there was no buyout this year. Makes a little more sense.

Except for the hire. I think he may do good things at Maryland if he's given the time. No doubt he has some talent, as in the ACC ROY QB. How is Marylands team looking next year? Depth wise. Losing a lot of upper classman?

MD has some good young WRs to go along with O'Brien. Not sure how much time the AD will give Edsell, but it appears that many UMD fans won't give him much at all, if any.

CarMike

01-03-2011, 03:13 PM

MD has some good young WRs to go along with O'Brien. Not sure how much time the AD will give Edsell, but it appears that many UMD fans won't give him much at all, if any.

I'm sure the AD will give him plenty of time since they're married to one another. Like you said, the fans on the other hand wont and that's where the $$$ will come from.

MONK_in_HOF

01-03-2011, 03:19 PM

I'm sure the AD will give him plenty of time since they're married to one another. Like you said, the fans on the other hand wont and that's where the $$$ won't come from.

Fixed. :D

dj_stouty

01-03-2011, 03:21 PM

Any hire that splits the UMD fanbase and creates chaos w/in the Athletics department is a fantastic one to me. lol.

MONK_in_HOF

01-03-2011, 03:44 PM

Any hire that splits the UMD fanbase and creates chaos w/in the Athletics department is a fantastic one to me. lol.

Actually it seems many of the fans are in unison with the absolute hatred of this hire, only the reasons why they hate it seem to differ. I personally won't write Edsall off without giving him a chance, but I do think Leach was a much better hire to create excitement, boost recruiting and improve revenues.

CarMike

01-03-2011, 03:52 PM

dj_stouty

01-03-2011, 03:56 PM

Actually it seems many of the fans are in unison with the absolute hatred of this hire, only the reasons why they hate it seem to differ.

Even better! lol

MONK_in_HOF

01-03-2011, 04:10 PM

Leach may have brought some excitement to the fan base, but I've heard plenty of people say he's a grade A douche bag. One of the hardest people to be around and to work for. Don't know if it's true or not.

Well he is supposedly really close friends with Donald Trump and I don't think many people surpass Trump on the douche scale.

WarEagle

01-03-2011, 04:44 PM

I would think Leach could recruit pretty well in talent rich areas like Fla simply due to the "crazy" legend around him. I think that appeals to many recruits. UMD got cold feet, but the HC they got is a good guy.

Keino

01-03-2011, 06:55 PM

Actually it seems many of the fans are in unison with the absolute hatred of this hire, only the reasons why they hate it seem to differ. I personally won't write Edsall off without giving him a chance, but I do think Leach was a much better hire to create excitement, boost recruiting and improve revenues.

You touch on the very crux of the matter good sir.

I think Edsall is a good coach. I think Fridge is a good coach. I think Leach is better than both and has a certain name recognition that would be better for the program in terms of all the stuff outside of the lines......

Edsall clearly knows how to build a program, as he took a DI-AA School and made them competitive on the DI-A level (albeit in the Big Least). Ultimately he is going to suffer the same issues fridge suffered from....the inability to keep local talent home.

WarEagle

01-03-2011, 07:18 PM

Randy Edsall played at Syracuse! Where's our resident defender of the Orangemen? lol
One weird cocktail tidbit is that Mike Leach never actually played football. Maybe this factor was seen unfavorably on some level by the UMD selection crew. Randy is an east coast guy, anyways.

nicefellow31

01-05-2011, 10:25 AM

Randy Edsall played at Syracuse! Where's our resident defender of the Orangemen? lol

Edsall was a QB at Syracuse who graduated in 1980. While there he would have passed and handed the ball to one James Arthur Monk.

BurgundyNGold

01-05-2011, 10:27 AM

I've seen Edsall on film a few times now. Regardless of his coaching ability, he's a pretty shiny guy. He probably reflects like 98% of the light that hits his face.

CarMike

01-08-2011, 08:22 AM

Perhaps this had something to do with Maryland backing off of Mike Leach:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5999907

LUBBOCK, Texas -- The NCAA put Texas Tech on two years of probation Friday for a series of recruiting violations, saying 16 coaches or assistants sent nearly 1,000 impermissible text messages to football, softball and golf prospects.

The NCAA said the school discovered the violations and reported them. It did not add punishments beyond the school's self-imposed probation, recruiting restrictions and scholarship reductions.

The football violations occurred between August 2007 and February 2009 under former coach Mike Leach, the NCAA said. Members of the football staff sent 234 text messages to 45 recruits, with Leach sending nine of them, according to the report compiled by the Division I Committee on Infractions.

Leach, fired in December 2009 amid allegations he mistreated a player suffering from a concussion, told The Associated Press the football program "fully cooperated" with the inquiry. After signing day in one of the years involved in the infractions, coaches were allowed to call, he said.

"Our staff didn't understand that they weren't allowed to text," Leach said.

The NCAA report quotes Leach as saying he never deliberately sent text messages to recruits and that all the messages from his phone were inadvertent because he didn't know, or pay attention to, who sent them.

"Somebody would say 'Merry Christmas' and I would say 'Merry Christmas' back or I would get, 'Nice win against A&M' and I would reply 'Thanks," he said.

WarEagle

01-09-2011, 01:05 AM

On backing off Leach. Maybe schools think he's uninsurable due to the player abuse thing. Miami passed on him, and UMD sniffed. Wonder who else considered and passed...

Farmer Ted

01-09-2011, 09:14 AM

On backing off Leach. Maybe schools think he's uninsurable due to the player abuse thing. Miami passed on him, and UMD sniffed. Wonder who else considered and passed...

He's kind of a loose cannon, so I'm not surprised schools are afraid of him. He'll probably end up somewhere like Long Beach St. the way George Allen did, and will go on to kick some ass. Maybe UNLV would be a good fit.

WarEagle

01-09-2011, 02:51 PM

He's kind of a loose cannon, so I'm not surprised schools are afraid of him. He'll probably end up somewhere like Long Beach St. the way George Allen did, and will go on to kick some ass. Maybe UNLV would be a good fit.

That's a good point. Former Aub coach Terry Bowden coaches at Univ of North Alabama and seems very content. After Alabama fired Mike Dubose he went off and coached high school for 3 seasons. So yes, these guys can find jobs somewhere.

IH Brave

04-04-2011, 11:34 PM

Is this a knock on Friedgen? I don't know what the criteria is to come up with this score.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terrapins-insider/post/randy-edsall-believes-maryland-football-teams-academic-standing-can-be-turned-around-right-away/2011/04/04/AFZS9wcC_blog.html

The school announced Saturday that the football team will be stripped of three scholarships for the 2011 season due to a low score on the latest Academic Progress Report, which measures the eligibility and retention of each scholarship student-athlete.

A team’s APR score is based on said team’s showing over the past four years, and 925 (out of 1,000) is the benchmark for potential penalties. Maryland tallied a score of 922 on the latest report, after earning a 929 mark last year. Maryland’s score on the latest report compiled from the time period during which Ralph Friedgen was the team’s head coach.

smoot

04-05-2011, 11:13 AM