Maryland Buying out Friedgen; Leach Leading Candidate

#76
#76
VolunteerHillbilly said:
Tracking the Terps: Leach: "I would talk to Maryland" - Maryland Terps: Basketball, football schedule, news and games from reporter Jeff Barker - baltimoresun.com I'm starting to think that this will actually happen.
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It is happening.

Press Conference now announcing Friedgen buyout. AD Mike Anderson has a huge **** eating grin on his face every time a reporter asks about Mike Leach as a candidate.

This has been as good as done for several days now. The UnderArmour guy (UMD grad) has had everything lined up with Leach.

If UMD can get thier DC Don Brown to stick around with Leach...they have a nice combo. Leach is hard to work with though I imagine.
 
#77
#77
Maryland AD indicating that a new Coach will be in place by Jan 4th and that one could be in place before their bowl game.

Leach is the only logical conclusion. Edsall is the onlyother name that has been mentioned and he cannot fit this time frame.

Reporter asked the AD if Mike Leach is the next and if UnderArmor Exec Kevin Plank has anything to do with it. Just a huge **** eating grin from the AD and "I have a list. Mike Leach on that list."

Leach is a good fit for MD. If he and the media maintain a positive relationship. He should be able to become a fairly regular participant in the ACCCG. MD has a very nice recruiting pool as far as skill players go too. It will be much easier to get talent to Maryland than at Texas Tech.
 
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#78
#78
problem with friedgen is the stands weren't full... that will get you fired... ask phil fulmer... when we had 85,000 showing up his last few games i knew it was coming... the air raid will have the fan base jacked up for sure
 
#79
#79
StoVol said:
problem with friedgen is the stands weren't full... that will get you fired... ask phil fulmer... when we had 85,000 showing up his last few games i knew it was coming... the air raid will have the fan base jacked up for sure
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I think the problem lies with unrealistic expectations.

The Terps have been to a bowl 5 of the last 6 years, including a 9-win season in 2006. I'm not sure how long Friedgen's been at the helm, but that's a pretty decent streak for an ACC non-power.

ACC = basketball, not football.
There are already three powerhouses in the ACC (historically speaking), FSU, Miami, and VT.
I hope the AD winds up kicking himself for dumping on something good.
 
#80
#80
ChismsHeadband said:
I think the problem lies with unrealistic expectations.

The Terps have been to a bowl 5 of the last 6 years, including a 9-win season in 2006. I'm not sure how long Friedgen's been at the helm, but that's a pretty decent streak for an ACC non-power.

ACC = basketball, not football.
There are already three powerhouses in the ACC (historically speaking), FSU, Miami, and VT.
I hope the AD winds up kicking himself for dumping on something good.
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Nah. Attendance was dreadful and as a result the AD is running a deficit. Kevin Plank gave the AD the chance to buyout the current staff and replace them on his dime....to good to turn down. FSU and Miami are shadows of their former selves. Anyone with a decent coach and a solid recruiting base (which Maryland does have) can take control of this conference pretty quickly.

The biggest reason was Friedgen lost his OC, 3 other coaches, and everyone knew he was done after next season. Would you want a lame duck coach sitting around for an entire year? Who was going to come work as an assistant for him? How the hell would he have recruited? The program would have been set back by 3-4 years.

The man had also burned A LOT of bridges. He made agressive requests for a raise through the media his entire tenure which pissed people off. He also stopped fulfilling many of his off the field jobs. He also dared the new AD to "give him a raise or go find a better coach"...he actually said this to the media. Well the AD called his bluff.

The guy won ACC COY because he was so awful last year. This guy was a solid head coach but he had Fulmeresque moments....the team he had with SHAWNE MERRIMAN AND VERNON DAVIS went 6-7. After his first 2 seasons, where he was coaching talent recruited by Ron Vanderlinden, his record was sub .500

More to the situation than meets the eye and the media is, as expected, only looking at surface level.
 
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#81
#81
Im not sold on your concept that recruiting to Maryland will be easier than recruiting to Texas Tech.
 
#82
#82
MarylandVolunteer said:
Nah. Attendance was dreadful and as a result the AD is running a deficit. Kevin Plank gave the AD the chance to buyout the current staff and replace them on his dime....to good to turn down. FSU and Miami are shadows of their former selves. Anyone with a decent coach and a solid recruiting base (which Maryland does have) can take control of this conference pretty quickly.

The biggest reason was Friedgen lost his OC, 3 other coaches, and everyone knew he was done after next season. Would you want a lame duck coach sitting around for an entire year? Who was going to come work as an assistant for him? How the hell would he have recruited? The program would have been set back by 3-4 years.

The man had also burned A LOT of bridges. He made agressive requests for a raise through the media his entire tenure which pissed people off. He also stopped fulfilling many of his off the field jobs. He also dared the new AD to "give him a raise or go find a better coach"...he actually said this to the media. Well the AD called his bluff.

The guy won ACC COY because he was so awful last year. This guy was a solid head coach but he had Fulmeresque moments....the team he had with SHAWNE MERRIMAN AND VERNON DAVIS went 6-7. After his first 2 seasons, where he was coaching talent recruited by Ron Vanderlinden, his record was sub .500

More to the situation than meets the eye and the media is, as expected, only looking at surface level.
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Wow, you proved my ignorance. I'm taking your word based on your user name alone.
I was just giving an outsider's pov, but all that info is good to know.
 
#83
#83
Friedgen always struck me as the type of guy that didn't care to play the political game very much. I got to speak with him several years ago and the guy was hilarious. At the time he was lamenting the fact that he had to schedule practices strategically because he shared the field with the women's lacrosse team.
 
#84
#84
TXVOL07 said:
Im not sold on your concept that recruiting to Maryland will be easier than recruiting to Texas Tech.
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Really? DC metro vs Lubbock? The former UMD staff was never been known for its recruiting prowess either but it has always landed higher rated classes than TTU....2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010.

The talent pool, especially for skill guys, is very good in the DC/NoVa/Baltimore corridor. Penn State has been making a living for years off of the area. Is it Texas? Obviously not even close...but there also aren't half a dozen 1-A teams to compete against recruiting wise and UMD is situated right in the middle of the prime recruiting real estate in the state....whereas Lubbock was not. Per capita wise Maryland is a very good state for football recruiting. All the Terps need is enough talent to win the ACC...luckily they don't need the guns to compete with Oklahoma and Texas every year.

The main issue is getting recruiters on staff who can convince kids to stay home. If you're able to do that then there is no one else in the state to compete with you. It's just about keeping PSU and WVU out of your backyard.

Vernon Davis, Shawne Merriman, EJ Henderson, Randy Starks, Dom Foxworth, Jared Gaither, Moises Fokou, Darrius Heyward-Bey, LaMont Jordan, Madieu Williams are all entrenched NFL former Terps that went to high school within a 45 minute drive from campus.


The only drawback is not having annual matchups against Oklahoma/Texas to sell kids. FSU/Miama doesn't carry the same weight these days.
 
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#85
#85
I'd rather roll the dice and taking the leftovers in Texas than have the task at hand to get kids to come to a basketball school.

I think everyone knows my opinion on Leach though, I hope it works out for him. Best sound byte ever.
 
#86
#86
GAVol said:
Friedgen always struck me as the type of guy that didn't care to play the political game very much. I got to speak with him several years ago and the guy was hilarious. At the time he was lamenting the fact that he had to schedule practices strategically because he shared the field with the women's lacrosse team.
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He didn't play the game. That didn't really bother folks though...the booster at UMD aren't nearly as demanding as they ar ein the SEC or Big 12 as you can imagine.

Publicly demanding more money, threatening to leave for NFL jobs (that never existed), putting losses on kids, and insufferable excuse making really started to wear thin on a lot of fans though. The media talks about showing respect to an alum...but that is a two way street,
 
#87
#87
TXVOL07 said:
I'd rather roll the dice and taking the leftovers in Texas than have the task at hand to get kids to come to a basketball school.

I think everyone knows my opinion on Leach though, I hope it works out for him. Best sound byte ever.
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Point taken. UMD is a basketball school in a basketball conference though. It doesn't take as much to convince kids in this area....especially with the situation as PSU becoming less and less attractive. Virginia Tech is a near-by football school and a threat...but they don't throw around the type of weight here that and Oklahoma or Texas do regionally...or nationally for that matter.

UMD had no problem reeling in its best football classes ever between 1998-2005....during the height of the schools basketball fever.

Maryland is traditionally the 3rd best football school in the conference. Expansion obviously changed that. But UMD does own 1 National Championship to Virginia Tech's 0...haha.
 
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#89
#89
VolGirl81 said:
MarylandVolunteer said:
Maryland AD indicating that a new Coach will be in place by Jan 4th and that one could be in place before their bowl game.

Friedgen is coaching in the bowl game.
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Yes. But as of that date Friedgen had gone AWOL and AD Kevin Anderson was open to the idea of hiring someone....as he said in his presser.

The two were supposed to meet last Friday but Firedgen didn't show and didn't tell anyone where to find him.
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#90
#90
MarylandVolunteer said:
Point taken. UMD is a basketball school in a basketball conference though. It doesn't take as much to convince kids in this area....especially with the situation as PSU becoming less and less attractive. Virginia Tech is a near-by football school and a threat...but they don't throw around the type of weight here that and Oklahoma or Texas do regionally...or nationally for that matter.

UMD had no problem reeling in its best football classes ever between 1998-2005....during the height of the schools basketball fever.

Maryland is traditionally the 3rd best football school in the conference. Expansion obviously changed that. But UMD does own 1 National Championship to Virginia Tech's 0...haha.
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The players Maryland is taking in now are not in the top ten in the state that I can see. They have their work cut out for them to even be competitive with recruiting in Maryland. A good reason for firing the HC even if his UA commercials were awesome....

to be specific, i read where Hendy(?) a 3 star pulled his commit and they have one other kid who is rated 18th in the state. So they recruit where exactly, Philly, Baltimore, New Jersey? PSU, Rutgers, VT and god forbid if Virginia ever gets its act together again, right?
 
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#91
#91
Tampavolz said:
The players Maryland is taking in now are not in the top ten in the state that I can see. They have their work cut out for them to even be competitive with recruiting in Maryland. A good reason for firing the HC even if his UA commercials were awesome....

to be specific, i read where Hendy(?) a 3 star pulled his commit and they have one other kid who is rated 18th in the state. So they recruit where exactly, Philly, Baltimore, New Jersey? PSU, Rutgers, VT and god forbid if Virginia ever gets its act together again, right?
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I pointed out that PSU has historically taken the best players from MD. This does not detract from the fact that Maryland produces a nice amount of D1 players per capita and produces one the highest amounts of NFL players per capita in the country.....therefore giving them potential.

UMD recruits MD, PA, NJ, VA, NC, GA, and FL the heaviest as of late. Yes of course they recruit Baltimore...Baltimore is in Maryland. They have had a few big contributors from TX as well. Basically the same situation as any 2nd tier football school....puling recruits from all over.

Mike Leach was on the radio today and described Maryland as a "sleeping giant" in the ACC (not nationally so don't get defensive SEC homers..no one believes UMD could be FL or AL) and commented on the curiously high number of NFL players the state produces.

Not sure why any coach at Maryland would be scared of Virginia or Rutgers?? Maryland has 4x as much football history than either of those schools....

Virginia has won 2 ACC Championships all time.

Rutgers has been to 6 bowls in 140 years.

Maryland has been to 24 bowls, won the ACC 9 times, and a National Championship.

PSU, WVU, and VT are the regional competition.
 
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#92
#92
Schiano is still running a good program and what is intended is that Maryland will have to compete for players with him in additon ot the others around the area. whoever is coach. The point still is that the 'sleeping giant' has a long way to go to get to where it appears you are wanting them to be.

By the way, FSU is having a GINORMOUS recruiting year this year after a top five year last year, and we see that the Canes hired a very excellent coach as well, so earlier comments about those two schools are highly inaccurate.

I have no animosity towards any school with a nickname like 'fear the terps'. I am sure the facilities are better than they are at Texas Tech should Leach get this job. But I do think you are counting ACC Championships before they hatch as N Carolina, FSU, VT are getting stronger it seems. and Miami is always only a year or two away from being a top ranked school again.
 
#93
#93
Tampavolz said:
Schiano is still running a good program and what is intended is that Maryland will have to compete for players with him in additon ot the others around the area. whoever is coach. The point still is that the 'sleeping giant' has a long way to go to get to where it appears you are wanting them to be.

By the way, FSU is having a GINORMOUS recruiting year this year after a top five year last year, and we see that the Canes hired a very excellent coach as well, so earlier comments about those two schools are highly inaccurate.

I have no animosity towards any school with a nickname like 'fear the terps'. I am sure the facilities are better than they are at Texas Tech should Leach get this job. But I do think you are counting ACC Championships before they hatch as N Carolina, FSU, VT are getting stronger it seems. and Miami is always only a year or two away from being a top ranked school again.
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Hey Tampavolz...thanks for talking ACC football with me...it's interesting to get opinions from non-ACC fans...here's some more of my thoughts.

I haven't counted any ACC championships and im not under the impression that UMD will turn into the ACC's top team over night (although Ralph Friedgen had no problem doing that in 2000).
But you may be a little out of touch about the realities of ACC and mid-atlantic football over the last decade...the coaches and programs you are singing the praises of have failed to take flight as many predicted a 2-3 years ago...

Anyone saying Miami is only year away from being a top 10 type team again is counting eggs before they've hatched. People have been saying this for 6 years.

UNC is middling...as always. Butch has been there for 4 seasons now and is 15-17 in the conference...showing no discernable upwards trend. The admin there is not giving him the slack in his leash that he once had either. Talk about a basketball school trying to do football! I'm not intimidated by a couple of top 15 recruiting classes in the last 4 years....Maryland had those themselves early in Friedgen's tenure.

If Schiano is building anything it is a mediocre program. They were 4-8 this year. Thats nice considering they were terrible for a century but they're barely on equal footing with UMD these days. Maryland has out recruited Rutgers in 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003 and so on through history.

Fridge was 74-49 at Maryland in 10 season....coming off 8-4.
Schiano is 59-63 at Rutgers in 9 seasons...coming off 4-8.

Schiano was 11-2 in 2006 but Maryland duplicated that effort for 3 consecutive years in 2000, 2001, 2002.

Beamer is getting older every year...I am not at all convinced they are about to take their success to a whole new level. They've been the same team for a decade. BCS quality but a notch below the big Dawgs. VT has never won a natty and I don't think they're about to.

FSU and VT are obviously out of Marylands league right now. FSU and Miami are serious wild cards. Their returning to top 10 form is not at all a given. Miami has many limiting factors that weren't there in the 90's and FSU has Jimbo Fisher who hasn't proven much of anything other than recruiting prowess.

The ACC is a complete mess right now. VT is the only consistent power left. No one in the ACC is scared of anyone else in the ACC outside of VT these days quite frankly (and the ACC is obviously a joke on the national scale lol!)

Maryland has no further to go than UNC, NC State, Clemson or any other ACC school not named FSU, Miami, or VT.

My opinion is that they are in the best position to make a run at de-throning the Big 3 if they make a great hire this week. They're returning the only freshman QB in the country that I consider superior to our own Tyler Bray.

Maryland is one of the top 5 places to win football games in the ACC if the coaching is there....history has proven that regardless of public perception.

(If you haven't noticed I support UMD ;)...UT is my team...UMD is my hobby haha )
 
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#94
#94
I have no problem with the move. Obviously the new President and AD want their stamp on the program. It should have been handled better in the presser, as the Fridge was an Alum. Maryland has spent a whole bunch on adding to the stadium and the Fridge wasnt filling those seats.

I dont mind the gambling move of bringing in Mike Leach (if it does pan out) but Leach has to realize that Maryland isnt Lubbock. He is going to have to deal with 10x the amount of press, some of whom wont take/understand his quirky style. It really could blow up in their faces
 
#95
#95
hey marylandvol.... can you tell us more about o'brien... he obviously had a good season... but do you remember anything noteworthy to mention that he did in game situations.... i never got to see him play this year.... and what was his ranking amongst qb's coming out? thanks
 
#96
#96
StoVol said:
hey marylandvol.... can you tell us more about o'brien... he obviously had a good season... but do you remember anything noteworthy to mention that he did in game situations.... i never got to see him play this year.... and what was his ranking amongst qb's coming out? thanks
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Danny had the benefit of throwing to Torrey Smith who is in my opinion going to be one of the top 3 receivers coming out in the draft this year. He was surprisingly efficient at throwing the deep ball. He is a pocket passer but shows an innate ability to avoid the sack. I have to say his poise and ability to read the field were truly sick for a freshman. He picked up James Franklin's offense (an agressive West Coast scheme) like no one has before. I doin't think he'll have a problem in any system.

He was a Rivals 3 star and ranked the 36th Pro Style QB in his class. He had limited offers.

Tyler Bray has more upside as O'Brien was a redshirt. It was really nice getting to watch two of the best young QB's in the game this year.
 
#97
#97
PoochPunt3rdDown said:
He's the Miles Davis of bad moves. I'm sorry. I just think people like this should be the ones in sheds.
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Before you type "shed" for the tenth time....you may want to check the real story on where the kid was put. Pretty sure you are one who doesn't like to be fooled more than once. It's an eye opener. Don't have a link, but there was a good thread on here a couple of weeks ago with video and live explanation of the ESPN lie track.
 
#98
#98
MarylandVolunteer said:
Danny had the benefit of throwing to Torrey Smith who is in my opinion going to be one of the top 3 receivers coming out in the draft this year. He was surprisingly efficient at throwing the deep ball. He is a pocket passer but shows an innate ability to avoid the sack. I have to say his poise and ability to read the field were truly sick for a freshman. He picked up James Franklin's offense (an agressive West Coast scheme) like no one has before. I doin't think he'll have a problem in any system.

He was a Rivals 3 star and ranked the 36th Pro Style QB in his class. He had limited offers.

Tyler Bray has more upside as O'Brien was a redshirt. It was really nice getting to watch two of the best young QB's in the game this year.
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the innate ability to avoid the rush is critical imo... that extra second or two can provide the time for that one or two plays a game that always make the difference
 
#99
#99
#100
#100
MarylandVolunteer said:
Hey Tampavolz...thanks for talking ACC football with me...it's interesting to get opinions from non-ACC fans...here's some more of my thoughts.

(If you haven't noticed I support UMD ;)...UT is my team...UMD is my hobby haha )
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No problems! ACC has great schools, and nothing going on in the SEC this week and with the BB team horrible lately, why not discuss the Fridge's forced ousting. i noticed in recent articles that Tyrone Willingham is a candidate - really?
 
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