The team has been in decline. I agree Ralph deserved another shot, but its now or never.

Why did every other school not worry about economic times when considering whether to fire there coach except md. Debbie yow folded under pressure not to fire him and she didn't do her job. You stated that he took md football to a new level, yes back in 2001 and 2002 what about the last 6 years pete , have you been sleeping or don't those years count in your eyes. Accoding to you he should only be judged on this current year's 2 and 10 record because you say it was a injuried riddled team and a very young team Well what about last years team that was a senior dominated team that under achieved and still lost to middle tenn st and had to go to the NORTH PLOE to play nevada in front of 820 fans. You can't always have it both ways pete you can't give him the benefit of the doubt for this year's team and ignore the last 6 year's. And besides only great coaches get free passes because they have a long tenured and successful history with the school that theu coach at. Please tell me how ralph fits in to that senerio.

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Pete's reply: To answer your initial question, because the state is in the red and other state employees are getting furloughed to close the gap. That's why it would have looked bad to spend that $4 million (plus the new guy's contract) to buy him out. It's not even money that would come out of the state coffers, but it's about appearances.

What new level did Fridge take the program to when he got here? UM won the national championship in the 50's, Jerry Caliborne won the ACC in the 70's, and Booby Ross won the ACC. The Terps were even ranked preseaon No. 1 under Ross. Tell me Fridge is the best UM can attract right now but don't infer that he's been the best UM coach. He won early with VanderLinden's players and hasn't produced with his own recruits. They have been going downhill since Fridge forced out Blakeny (sip) and Taafe.

Ralph Friedgen has been a continuing let down. I think the fact that they are retaining him reflects poorly on Debbie Yow. She should never have been trapped into the bad contract they lavished on Friedgen in the first place.

Among his cardinal failings is the fact that he seems to be a poor recruiter of talent. Maryland produces a lot of first caliber players. Friedgen does not snare many of them. But unlike Gary Williams, who seems to be able to overcome his failures as a recruiter through superior coaching, Friedgen can't.

I would also add a point you won't agree with, judging by your many jokes about bad diet. Friedgen is a fat slob who sets a poor example for young athletes, especially linemen who may tend to be overweight. It is an embarrassment to the University of Maryland to have a mordidly obese man in such a prominent role in the athletic department.

The sooner he is fired, the better.

I think Ralph is a good coach but the problem in college football of having a coach with a very short lease on life is recruiting. The best kids aren't going to sign up if they aren't sure that the coach that brought them there isn't going to be around for 4 years.

I think it is accurate to say Friedgen took the program to a different level upon his arrival. Certainly, Maryland football has experienced historic success at times, but the program was clearly at a very low level when Friedgen took it over. The Terps hadn't been to a bowl game in a decade, and compiled a 55-88 record between 1987-2000.

So what has happened since Friedgen took over? The Terps have been to a bowl six times, as many bowls as the team went to in the 70s and more than in any other decade. They've only missed a bowl twice, in 2004 and 2005, and Friedgen's overall winning percentage is a full .100 better than the program's overall record (which I think qualifies as "a different level").

He has an exceptionally young team this year (something like 80% of the scholarship players have at least 3 years of eligibility left) and was beset by a number of critical injuries. The Terps have some talent coming in, combined with the natural progression of the people they already have, so why not play it out? Friedgen loves Maryland and is committed to the team and school, and he's proven at several schools (and at the NFL level) that he can put together a winner. Would we really rather have an unknown quantity, bought on the cheap by a budget-conscious school? We've seen that before, and ended up with Krivak, Duffner, and Vanderlinden.

I know everyone likes to use the excuse, "well look where this program was before Ralph" but you can't keep falling back on that forever. The program got off to a great start when he came but it's been pretty hit-or-miss the last six seasons, four of which have been losing seasons and three where they did not qualify for a bowl game. He had solid teams in 06 and 08 that could've been in the ACC Championship but they underachieved and the 08 team got embarrassed at home against FSU, which killed their chances and also lost to a Middle Tennessee State, who they lost to again this year.

I don't think Friedgen has been a bad coach at all but how much of a leash does he really deserve? He certainly doesn't deserve to have a coach in-waiting. If they want stability that's fine but I hope they made the right decision and there is a winning product on the field next year.

When the governor of the state makes public threats concerning the rumored use of state funds by a state school to buy out the coach's contract, no intelligent fan who pays even half a**ed attention would wonder why finances are a consideration . . . and then there is bullying Bob.

Retaining Fridge was the only business decision possible. Unlike Gary, Fridge at least acknowledged that recruiting was a problem and brought in one of the top recruiters of Baltimore/DC talent around. Of the two better, one is entrenched at PSU and the other should now be somewhat neutered by being geographically undesirable in the wilds of New Mexico. I guess that offers some hope.

I have little faith in the current staff's ability to turn the program around but the team's performance is only part of the equation and there was little chance of Fridge being gone at this point in time. He has hardly been given a vote of confidence, merely a reprieve.

If you went to Terp games over the past few years and watched the travesty of play calling and if you talked to players and knew how much they had grown to despise him you would certainly know that this was a purely economic decision and a sad one for the fan base.

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Pete's reply: I understand how you feel, but players always complain about the coaches during a 2-10 season. That's no basis for a change.

I like Friedgen. I thought they should have moved on with a young and exciting coach though. What do you guys think about Charlie Strong? Would he have wanted to take the head job here? He seems like a fiery guy who could recruit

I would disagree with your previous comment about Ralph having one bad year. His record over the last 6 yrs is 35-38 and 4 of the 6 yrs are losing records. It makes you wonder what changed from the first 3 yrs of 31-8. Can't recruit? Lost a key coach? Lost the desire?

While economically the right decision in the short term you have to wonder whether there is much hope. Recruits will know he is on a short lease so why bother coming here. Ticket sales are unlikely to improve with retaining him, especially following a 2-9 season and the economy still bad. Assistant coaches are probably looking around for possible jobs since they know they may not be around long.

Just overall a bad situation that doesn't look like it will improve suddenly. Hopefully one day the big money in college football will go away and coaches will stop making outrageous salaries ($2M+ for Ralph?) and AD's stop promising jobs and money to assistants. It is crazy.

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Pete's reply: The Terps definitely have been in a trough, but the team is so young that I would like to see what Ralph does with it next year. If you bring in a new coach, it's still going to be the same team on the field, just with a coach who is less familiar with the strengths of the young players.

I look at Friedgen as sort of a college Brian Billick (with a few extra pounds of padding).

He stuck to a simple formula--manage the ball and make the other team play on a long field.

He never really found a great QB, but has gone through a series of game managers.

Like Billick, his play calling has been suspect. And like Billick, he has had his share of player controversies.

He never seems to get the best out of great talent, like Darius-Heyward Bay and Steve Suter. And what about Steve Slaton? Why was he recruited, signed, and eventually let go by the Terps? In other words, the talent has come to College Park, but Friedgen never has quite tapped the potential.

Overall, I like Ralph's everyman demeanor, and like Ralph, I have lost BIG weight this fall (from 325 down to the 280 range).

I wish him well . . .

I look at Friedgen as sort of a college Brian Billick (with a few extra pounds of padding).

He stuck to a simple formula--manage the ball and make the other team play on a long field.

He never really found a great QB, but has gone through a series of game managers.

Like Billick, his play calling has been suspect. And like Billick, he has had his share of player controversies.

He never seems to get the best out of great talent, like Darius-Heyward Bay and Steve Suter. And what about Steve Slaton? Why was he recruited, signed, and eventually let go by the Terps? In other words, the talent has come to College Park, but Friedgen never has quite tapped the potential.

Overall, I like Ralph's everyman demeanor, and like Ralph, I have lost BIG weight this fall (from 325 down to the 280 range).

I wish him well . . .

Pete,
The finacial consideration had to be the decising factor, but ultimately the wrong choice.

The season ticket base, booster contributions, no bowl revenue, etc. has cost the team more than the buyout would have.

UVA did what MD should have, and though UVA is pricier school than MD (unless you are a state resident), the Terps have a more revenue generated from their athletic dept.

Aplogize for the gramatical errors.

Wrong decision. Why does Friedgen deserve another shot? It's not just this season. This program has been in decline for some time. Yow caved to the finances, not what is best for the program. Sad.

I see Mr. Lancione is calling for another firing. Let me just ask, is there a single Baltimore/Maryland sports coach/GM that you have not wanted fired?

I have seen your posts over time about Ralph, Gary, Ozzie, Billick, McPhail, Trembley, Yow and I cant remember if you have wanted Harbaugh fired. Honestly, you just seem like a very unhappy person. I wish you would enjoy sports more and not always be demanding someone's head if your expectations aren't met.

Realism over idealism strikes again.

I think Fridge "taking the program to another level" deserves a Barry Bonds like asterisk with it. The big leap came with a core of players he had nothing to do with. Vanderlinden brought them all in and continues to cherry pick the best talent in Maryland to Penn State. On his own recruiting, Fridge is a .500 coach. In recent years he's managed to lose the gimme games and that is a troubling trend. He's also gone from SI's offensive genius to giving up the OC duties and now stuck with a team that hasn't scored effectively in about 7 years.

I think he truly cares about his players and the University, but something just isn't clicking to get the job done. I hope he finds a way to make it work, but it's hard to sell suites and recruits on well wishes in the meantime.