After a few weeks of speculation about who would replace coach Ralph Friedgen at Maryland, it’s official: now-former UConn coach Randy Edsall’s the guy.
Less than 24 hours after losing to Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, he traveled to College Park, interviewed, and landed the job.
Until this morning, his name wasn’t really mentioned as a candidate to replace Friedgen (perhaps by design since he was preparing for UConn’s first BCS bowl game), the discussion instead dominated by coaches ranging from frontrunner Mike Leach to Gus Malzahn to thank-goodness-we-didn’t-get-them Rich Rodriguez and Mike Locksley.
Before today, my knowledge of Edsall and his career was limited to: losing to Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, holding the UConn team together in the wake of Jasper Howard’s tragic murder, and acting really, really ridiculous on the sidelines.
I did a little research and learned that he played under Tom Coughlin at Syracuse (well…he was the backup qb anyway) and took the UConn job as it was on the cusp of becoming the first school to make the leap from I-AA to I-A. His record at UConn was 74-70, although his record after moving to the FBS level is actually better (for comparison, Friedgen was 75-50 at Maryland).
Edsall did a lot (shephered UConn from I-AA to a BCS bowl berth) in a short period of time (the Huskies moved to I-A in 2000 and joined the Big East in ‘04) with very little (UConn’s football offices were in trailers outside the stadium as recently as five years ago).
But what will he do for Maryland that Ralph Friedgen couldn’t have done?
I think he’s probably a very good coach who will at least keep the Terps on the same path they were on this year, but I’m not sold that Randy Edsall is the guy who’ll get us in the Orange Bowl every year (partly because I’m not sold that such a guy exists).
As far as I can tell, he’s a solid, well-liked guy, pretty even-keeled with a good reputation. (Sounds like the Fridge, huh?) He doesn’t have the spark of someone like Mike Leach - who can be more of a dangerously live wire - but he doesn’t have the controversial baggage either.
Still, if what Maryland’s looking for is someone to fill seats and keep top in-state recruits at Maryland, I’m not sure Edsall’s going to have any more success than Friedgen. As ESPN analyst and Maryland alum Scott Van Pelt pointed out, Maryland’s fan base is tricky, and it’s going to be a challenge for any coach to hold their interest.
Maryland’s in a basketball conference (the ACC) right between two major NFL markets (Baltimore and Washington). The fanbase isn’t as large and as passionate as that of someplace like Penn State or Florida, because the football team isn’t the team. Maryland’s fans are also Redskins fans or Ravens fans, and they’re more likely to spend their disposable income at NFL games than at Byrd Stadium.
Winning big, and doing it consistently, will only change that so much. And if Randy Edsall wins big, and does it consistently, bigger schools will come calling. And unlike Ralph Friedgen, a Maryland alum who was more than happy to stay at Maryland, Edsall will likely answer the calls. He was in the mix for the Notre Dame job last season and talked with Miami about that opening earlier this year; if he’s a smashing success in College Park, an even bigger program will offer him even more to coach somewhere else, and Maryland will again be looking for a new hire.
Ralph Friedgen took the Terps from 2-10 to third in the ACC in one season. There’s a lot of young talent on the roster, beginning with ACC Rookie of the Year quarterback Danny O’Brien. If Fridge stays for the final year of his contract, and maybe a one-year extension, maybe they win the conference again. Then if he retires, the Terps are in a bit better position to attract a slightly bigger name, maybe one who’d see Maryland as a long-term deal.
Right now, up-and-coming coaches see the program as a steppingstone, a strategic career move that will put them on a bigger stage and in a better position to get one of the prime jobs down the road.
The only person who’d enjoy great success at Maryland and not consider moving on was Friedgen. And Maryland fired him.
Here’s hoping Randy Edsall is able to pick up where Friedgen left off and accomplish great things with this great group of players. And here’s hoping Maryland treats him a little better than they treated his predecessor.
