This is what I don’t get about the art of being an athletic director. You get rid of a guy after realizing that the program has plateaued and the fan base has grown financially apathetic… and you replace him with basically the same kind of coach?
… Edsall ran a Connecticut program progressing from the F.C.S. to the F.B.S., from Independent status to the Big East; Friedgen didn’t inherit a powerhouse, but one could say that Friedgen had it easier at Maryland than Edsall did with the Huskies.
Of course, Edsall didn’t have to play in the A.C.C., which helps the bottom line. Yes, Maryland was more talented, but Connecticut played the likes of Rhode Island, Colgate and Northeastern over Edsall’s first handful of seasons. The bottom line: over a dozen years at Connecticut, Edsall posted a 74-40 mark; Friedgen went 75-50 over 10 years with Maryland.
Each went to one B.C.S. bowl — Edsall to this past weekend’s Fiesta Bowl, Friedgen to the 2002 Orange Bowl. This is how things work: much like it pays to suffer a loss in September than in December, Maryland looked at what happened yesterday, not nearly a decade ago.
Well, maybe Maryland didn’t take a close enough look: can you say that Connecticut’s 2010 season, B.C.S. bowl or no, was more impressive than what Friedgen’s team achieved this past season? Nine wins for Maryland — in the A.C.C. — and eight for the Huskies — in the Big East.
I have a blogger’s rooting interest in Mike Leach being a head coach again, but taking that out of the equation, how is this move supposed to inspire the Maryland fan base?
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UPDATE: Edsall told his (former) UConn players about his departure by conference call… a day after he made Jordan Todman get up and tell his teammates in person that he was leaving early for the NFL draft. Real class, there.
Get The Picture 
I just wish some would do their homework. Maryland played the likes of Morgan State, Delaware, Middle Tenn, James Madison, Villanova and Florida International. And that is just since 2006. Yet he is comparing UCONN’s schedule to Maryland’s.
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well those are some really tough FCS schools, at least.
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Well, sometimes you just have to make a change. I get that Leach may have been an inspired choice here, but I guess I’m equating this situation to the one Mark Richt may be in at the end of next year. When the hot seat was getting all that media attention earlier this year, Herbstreit shot that down and said something to the effect of “who else is Georgia going to get that’s better than Mark Richt’?. While I understand that, sometimes you just have to move on, even if its a lateral move on paper. We all know Richt is a good coach, but if he can’t bring the team back, he’s no longer effective and has to go. (It will suck that he’ll probably learn a lesson that will benefit him at some other school, but his effectiveness at UGA may be over). I guess Friedgen was sort of in the same boat – he was winning but the fanbase had had enough. But, the point is – who else could Maryland afford that was any better than Friedgen? That’s why they had to settle for Edsall. Am I crazy for wondering why everyone is out of whack over this hire? Seems about right for Maryland, to me. I fear we’ll be in the same boat next year.
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Did they even consider Malzahn or is he making more money on the plains than Maryland can pay?
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I question your assumption that Maryland has a fanbase.
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Say what!?!
You know we’re football nuts up here in the two-four-oh!
The Terps aint no derp!
Did I mention I played hoops with Len Bias?
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I never thought Chizik would pan out at Auburn judging by his previous record. You just never know. Maybe they see something in Edsel that makes them believe he can push them to the next level whereas he has hit a limit at UCon.
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Excellent point.
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I’m still waiting to see how much Chizik really has “panned out”. Once Cam is gone, we’ll see. I could’ve coached that team this year.
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If he wins a MNC, does it really matter?
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Mike Leach as OC is the only rational response to Fat Charlie at Fl. Hire the Pirate!
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That unfortunately will be exactly what happens at UGA when and if we go looking for a new HC. We will have to settle, flame away but it has happened to us 3 times in the past and I’m sure we will be settling for the 3rd or 4th choice.
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Third or fourth choice can be fine, as long as it’s the right third or fourth choice. But I agree, get ready for the “Georgia can’t find a coach with a better record than Richt” if McGarity decides to let him go in 11 months.
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I’m resigned to the fact that CMR will resign or be fired come December. The “C” stands for complacent.
We’ll interview Malzahn, Kirby and maybe Urban and Mullen. I’m sure some fans will clamor for Mullen but it is rare (in my recollection) to voluntarily jump directly from school to school within the conference (Tuberville ’99 was the last).
Your guess is as good as mine as to who we’ll hire but any will bring a new approach. Butts-Mehre has started to smell like moth balls.
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Don’t forget Houston Nutt, even if Ole Miss would like to.
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The Nutt referefence was about coaches jumping in conference, not about a person that Georgia could hire.
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I thought Arky hinted he ought to leave or they’d fire him?
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Someone call Glenn Mason
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Thanks for giving me a laugh today. Much appreciated.
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Give Elmer Fudd, Cam Newton and Gus Malzahn, and he’ll win some. Let’s see what magic Chizik works next year.
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