Ralph Friedgen out at Maryland

are lying. That would be like someone saying the Fridge was out the door and Leach was walking in. Balderdash. I don't buy it. Not unless someone said it three times. Like Candyman...and they would have to spin while saying it.

I live in DC area.  This came out of nowhere, but ultimately, it was the fiasco in landing the 8th of the ACC's bowls that shows the root problem.  UM (Not Our UM) has NO support in the DC area -- Va Tech is way more popular and that's like 3 1/2 hrs away.  UM plays in a dudsville conference, you can't even sell FSU or Miami (YTM) tickets.  There is nooo buzz over this team, really hasn't been for years and years.  That's why, when the bowls picked from the wreckage that is the ACC this year, UM fell to the 8th bowl game -- no bowl wanted to risk UM (NOUM) not selling tickets.

So Fridge maxed out, even though it meant a bowl game at least every other year, and the new AD thinks his program can be better.  Hmm. Now, what AD thought that a few years ago... oh yeah, the idiot who fired Glen Mason.  How'd that turn out for them?

Although... I bet I'm not the only one who thought this.  Shouldn't they have waited until, I dunno, early January... because besides Leach, isn't there some iota of a chance another offensive genious might be on the market for a new team?  Don't neg me to death, I'm not sayin', I'm jus' sayin'... UM (NOUM) didn't play its cards entirely right here.

I'm not sure that Leach can be too choosy given the way he exited from TTU.  I doubt that many schools are too excited about a coach that some believed abused a player with a concussion.  

And TTU is probably less able to attract recruits and fans than UMD.  My understanding of TTU is that it is a little bit of a commuter school, and it has to live in the shadows of UT and TAMU.

Ultimately, I don't care who hires LEach as long as he is coaching somewhere (and if he gets to do the weather on the local evening news from time to time, and give dating advice), we would all be better for that. 

I hope Leach locks them all in closets until they win!

He lost out to Michigan for Blake Countess. Not true but trying to rationalize why this isn't OT.

there is any truth to the absolute BS acusations of Leach at TTU didn't bother to find out what really happened. They wanted to save money, fire him, and they found a way to do it with "cause." Shady as it gets, if you ask me.

Ralph was asked to bow out of his role in eclipsing the moon tomorrow as it violated NCAA rules. He told the AD to ,"FFFFFUUUUUU!!!!", as what happens tomorrow only comes around about every 320 years or so.

Seriously though, any thoughts on how Leach will tear up ACC defenses?

I was really hoping no one would take a shot on Leach and he would be hired at Eastern. Unleash your inner Huron!

double post

Would totally root for Leach wherever he goes but can't bring myself to root for Maryland. :(

oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please....

He was named ACC Coach of the Year....and gets fired???, SCREWED!

Friedgen is just like, and thus worse, than Stewart's at WVU.  UM thinks that they will never compete at a high level with him as coach.  Like it or not, this is what big time CFB is becoming.  Look at all of our/UofM coaching speculation this offseason.  Our stitation probably is more legit, but nonetheless still some what comparable. 

Interesting tidbits from the Baltimore Sun, reflecting how an AD's unwillingness to offer an extension can result in a "lame duck" status for a coach, effectively undermining the school's ability to recruit.  It can also preclude the coach's ability to hire any new assistants.  Anderson is the AD at Maryland.

"...[Friedgen] talked about a contract extension," Anderson said. "He told me at that time that he didn't want to be a lame duck. I told him I wasn't prepared to talk about or to offer him an extension."

Keeping Friedgen, Anderson said, would have created a huge recruiting hole because its top recruiter — Franklin — was leaving and the school would then have had a lame-duck head coach who couldn't commit to potential star players for more than one season.

Anderson also said Maryland could not have hired top assistant coaches.

"Nobody would come here and work for a year under those circumstances," he said. "What good coach would come in here just knowing he was only going to be here a year?" (emphasis added)

IMO, if DB decides to keep RR, he almost has to offer an extension.  RR has 2 years left on his contract.  Unfortunately, I think DB is in a similar position to Anderson - he may be unwilling to commit to an extension without seeing more improvement.  Maybe they could work out an incentive-based extension, where UofM would have the "option" to pick up additional year(s), and that option would kick in automatically based on certain performance benchmarks (ie beating OSU, winning Big 10 championship, going to BCS bowl, etc.).