The only rationale I can think of for firing Friedgen is the prospect of bringing in a big-name coach who would conceivably conjure enough excitement to sell the 23 remaining luxury suites.

How else are you going to sell to the UM Regents that you need to steal 4 million from the endowment fund to buy out his last two years?

James Franklin is NOT that guy who will move this program forward or inspire the alumni and fan base.

Debbie Yow will do well to tread lightly in the next 24 hours. Otherwise, this could all backfire on her. This money is not coming from the Maryland Gridiron Network or the Terrapin Club. No, it would come out of the University endowment! And she'd be the next person in the unemployment line.

I say keep Ralph.

Where do I sign up for this job. Pay is $2 million a year, requires a sub 500 records over 6 year. Proudly lead team to the first 10 loss in school history. Debbie Yow is the one who should be fired.

i just got back from the md game...it was obvious that the REAL problem is NOT ralph. it is debbie yow and her little buddy j franklin. the mistakes were painfully obvious...offense...and i dont mean the players. i specifically mean the play calling and the personnel (apologies to c turner) selection. chris could have started, played a few downs and then sit out the rest of the game. the two touchdowns were scored when chris was not in the game.

welcome back (hopefully) ralph...goodbye debbie and james.

You guys are idiots.I can't believe that at this late hour you are still blaming everyone but RF for this debacle.Where the hell does the buck stop? with Franklin ??? with Yow?? Give me a break,RF is the guy who broke this program.I hate it,but its true.So if ya'll want him back next year(which is probably whats going to happen) than get set for 2-10 round two.

If they don't take a close look at Yow's status, and, see that she should not be retained, then, it's all pointless. I know that dealing with Title IX is a pain, but she is not the right person to lead this once-proud university.

Sorry I was not at the game today, However, I agree with Pepper that Yow is the biggest problem.

From what I have seen with Florida State and now BC, is that when Robinson was in the game things positive happened.

Hope next year is better and we see a new Athletic Director.

Norman

first 10 loss season in school history speaks volumes...is anyone listening? the D looked lost, again, and franklin couldn't find enough opputunities to run the ball straight into an overwhelming d-line. can the whole lot and hire a graduate student with madden experience on x-box.

My parents and I have become close to Ralph and Gloria over the last nine years and I personally will be CRUSHED if Ralph is not brought back next year. There is nowhere to go but up after this year!!!

I say give Coach Friedgen another season to see how these young players develop. I think we have a good core group of young players that should perform much better next year. If they do not, then think of replacing the coach. These guys played hard for Coach Friedgen and never gave up even if the win-loss record did not reflect it.

Ralph must be fired or forced to make major staff changes. He's failed and his 4 losing seasons in the last 6 years is unacceptable. People should be ashamed he's the coach of that team and he should be fired.

well bobterp....seems like alot of us are "idiots" according to you. yow forced franklin down ralphs throat...she is known for that (ask gary w) ... so what was rf to do ... he did what we all would do...lef jf has his day...and he failed miserably.

once again...welcome back ralph hopefully. if i had a kid that was looking at schools...he has the integrity and honesty i want ....a lost art in the (too) big biz of college fball. way too many egos out there.

from: idiot pepper

Hey pepper,I do apologize for calling you guys idiots.A season of frustration brought that out.However I do think you folks are living in a fantasy world.WHO hired Franklin in the first place? I refuse to believe that he was "forced down RF's throat" by Yow. Another of RF's failings is the asst.coaches.Why did ist class coaches like Blanckney and Taffe leave? Why can he not hire a good D Coord? I am sick of hearing what a nice guy RF is.I am sure thats true but these guys become multi-millionaires courtesy of the money that comes from you and me.They are not paid millions to be nice guys but to put W's on the board and fannies in the seats.When the day comes when we are no longer productive in our profession,we get the ax.If I am an AD and its costing me 1M per win,I am sharpening my ax and letting it fall.That is business and that is life.When you fail in your profession you get fired or you go out of business.Its time to put RF out of business before he takes us down to where we were 15 years ago.Oh,excuse me we're already there.

evening bob, based on your random comments, i really didnt think (nor expect) an apology. however, your random generalizations have not / will not change my thoughts...you have your opinions and i have mine and thats good. the cold, hard fact is bob, you REALLY dont know anymore about the situation then the rest of us "idiots".

nuf said....will be happy to go to the games next year with ralph leading the charge, absent franklin. lets see what debbie does.

go ralph

@ bobterp in nc: Thank you for being a sane voice of reason regarding RF and MD football.

I'm amazed that people on the various threads suddenly proclaim JF as THE problem! I think Franklin is a bad OC and is ONE problem of many, but Ralph is the one who told Yow that he needs JF around, that's he's "critical" to the success of the program. Yow didn't force Franklin onto Ralph, where is this completely false information coming from? Ralph went to Yow and asked her to do whatever needed to be done to keep Franklin! Call and ask the ADs office, read old news reports, listen to old interviews people before you start inventing information that isn't true!

Maryland supporters have got to learn to stop accepting mediocrity. Folks are too comfortable with just being average. RF is a highly paid employee to the tune of $2mill a year whose job is to make MD football a Top 25 program...yearly. He's failed big time at doing that. And like all employees, when you don't perform, you LOSE your job. What he did seven, eight or nine years ago doesn't matter, living in the past doesn't make the present or the future any better. If it does matter, then I strongly encourage everyone to tell that to their employers and to slack off at work every day beginning right now, I'm sure your bosses won't mind one bit.

Using RF's three years of success that he owes to Taaffe and Blackney...who he thanked by running them out of his program...is like using our 1953 National Championship as a basis of saying that we're a great football program.

Hey Tterps95, you're 100% correct. My question, when is Ralph going to man-up and accept responsibility?