Friedgen to return for 10th season, Thoughts
It was announced today that Ralph Friedgen will return for his 10th season as head football coach.
Previously ( https://charmcitysportstalk.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/analyzing-friedgen-situation-potential-candidates/) I stated that this decision will tell a lot about the athletic department. I argued that if Friedgen is brought back, it will be a sign that they are not serious about raising the program back to its level early this decade when they reached the Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Gator Bowl in 3 consecutive years. Bringing Friedgen back is a sign that the athletic department is accepting of a mediocre football program, and this quote today by Athletic Director Debbie Yow tells Maryland fans all they need to know.
Coach Friedgen and I are in complete agreement on the expectation to return the football program to its competitive stature. He has assured the university and fans of his intentions to do whatever is necessary to become a top 25 program again. … He continues to have my full support.
Being “competitive” is acceptable for mediocre teams that are happy to make an appearance in the top 25 for a few weeks every couple years. If that is all that Yow strives for, then I can see why she is bringing Friedgen back. I find it ironic that Yow cannot get along with Gary Williams, and holds him to such high standards, yet she has no problem bringing Ralph back after a 2-10 season and after repeated seasons of mediocre, lackluster play. Perhaps Yow is the real problem here.
To be fair to Ralph, he is optimistic for the upcoming year.
“Keep the faith. We have a lot of guys coming back next year and I believe in this team very much. I think the future’s pretty bright. We have three impressive young quarterbacks that are pretty good. We have all our running backs returning, as well as our wide receivers. All of our offensive linemen are back, except one, with a full year of experience under their belts. We had a very young team this season. We took our lumps this year, but we won’t be taking our lumps next year.”
I’m glad Friedgen sees signs for optimism, and perhaps Maryland can win 6-7 wins next season. But is that good enough? For Debbie Yow, it appears to be. She doesn’t mind going to the Emerald Bowl and Champs Sports Bowl every other year. Maryland fans, however, expect better.
For the near future, it does not appear that Maryland will be very relevant nationally. What if Ralph does win 6-7 games during each of his next 2 years? Does James Franklin still take over in 2 years? What exactly is Friedgen building for?
The program is in a state of flux right now, and while the team certainly may rebound and have a solid season next year, the program will likely continue to be mediocre and average.
Maryland had a chance to wipe the slate clean and to come out with a new name coach with higher expectations in an attempt to rise the program up from the ashes of mediocrity. By bringing Ralph Friedgen back, they failed at this chance, and they have proven to everyone that they accept mediocrity so much that they will not pay 5 million dollars to inject new life into their program. This 5 million is a sunk cost. Riding it out is only going to make things worse.
Ralph is a solid coach but it is time for a change. As soon as James Franklin was named coach in waiting, things started to go downhill. Things are just too messy and complicated in College Park for this program to gain back their national relevance.
Ironically, the one move that Yow make that emulated a major, successful college program was naming a head coach in waiting. Unfortunately, Yow did not realize that James Franklin was not Jimbo Fisher or Will Muschamp. He is not on that level and it is highly unlikely that he will ever be. It was completely unnecessary to base decisions regarding the future of the program around James Franklin, yet that is what Maryland fans are witnessing.
For Terps fans, be ready for more close games against Middle Tennessee and James Madison. Be ready for a night game blowout against Virginia Tech. Prepare yourselves for the empty suites that will be sitting half-empty at an expanding Byrd Stadium. And oh yeah, save some money up for an ESPNU subscription, as by my count, only 2 out of 12 games were televised locally this season.
With all the talk about the current economic crisis, keeping Friedgen and Franklin on board is a very poor business decision, made by a woman in Debbie Yow who perhaps is neither qualified to make business nor sports decisions. The sooner she realizes her mistakes, and makes it a point to fix them, as opposed to riding them out, the sooner Maryland will be a legitimate program in the college football world.
Charm City Sports Talk 
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