I'd like to see the Fridge stay too. I would also like to see what the graduation rates have been under Ralph. It seems that they have been improving since he's been here and that should be taken into account as well. I don't have the numbers so maybe someone else can speak on this. Not only do I think he deserves another year, I can't see MD paying him $4 million to leave. FEAR THE TURTLE

Pete what i am about to post doesn't have one thing to do with me wanting to fire every coach that is associated with sports in Md.Debbie yow has one thing and only one thing to do and that is fire ralph fridge.I am sick and tired of fans defending him based on what he did in 2001 and 2002.4 out of the last 6 years he has had below 500 records, this year as you well know the program has hit rock bottom. All of this is the direct responsibility of the coach. There have been many better coaches fired in the last couple of years from prominent schools way better then md. Bowden from clemson, fuller, from tenn, the coach from mich ,the long time coach from auburn, al groh s from va, now bobby bowden from fla st these were all better coaches then the fridge, but the expectations at those schools were not being met so hard choices had to be made.Where on earth after only 10 years does ralph deserve and get the loyalty that he is getting.Why gary williams was being critized to pieces the last couple of years , but he at least won a national championship, and went to the final 4 twice. Debbie yow has a responsibility to the school to do the right thing regardless of the buyout money. Firing coaches should be on merit not because of a struggling economy.If she hires him back she should resign her postion at the school because she is telling everybody that the expectations of winning at md aren't very high anymore. Ralph has let this program hit rock bottom and doesn't deserve another year period. Only legendary coaches deserve to go out on there own terms and he doesn't even beging to fit anyware on that list.

Debbie yow shame on you for caving into the pressure associated with buying out ralphs contract. You should resign your position down at md because you can't do your job.Bring back a coach that has turned this school into the laughing stock of the Acc. Why Duke is more competive in football now that md. Md has lost to middle tennn st twice in 2 years and should have lost to james madison. The program is in complete shambles and you decided to bring back a lame duck coach who . had trouble recruiting when he had job security now what do you think is going to happens with a coach on a very short rope.VERY SAID DAY AT MD>

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Pete's reply: Bob, you do love firing people. I don't think having one bad season makes Maryland the laughingstock of the ACC. But I have to ask, are you going to cancel your season tickets and stop posting anything about the Terps here forever?

Pete I honestly don't know what to think about the old Alma Mater and the state of the football program under Ralph Friedgen. I'm not sure if firing Ralph at this time would turn the program around quickly no matter who they bring in. It certainly is a disappointment for all of us, but I don't know if there are any good answers at this time.

On another matter, the timing of Wayne Krivsky's resignation and lateral move to the Mets is a little unsettling, especially with the GM meetings coming up. I don't know whether we should read anything in to it, but it doesn't appear to be a helpful sign of stability in the organization. It could be ann innocuous move, but with the history of this organization it makes me wonder.

Pete why do you always focus on 1 segment of what i say. For instance you only mentioned this current year going 2 and 10 instead of going back 6 years and seeing that 4 of the 6 were under 500 and that it was a overall sign that the program was starting to decline.Why do you always give the benefit of the doubt to any manager or coach when you as a sportswriter for over 30 years know that you are hired to get fired and if you don't get the job done then it's time to go. i truly like you pete but you never and i mean never give me any credit for anything.If this year was a aboration going 2 and 10 because of injuries and being a young team we wouldn't be having this conversation but if you can truly say that you don't think this program is going down hill then something is seriously wrong.

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Pete's reply: Bob, I like you too, but your solution is always the nuclear option because you get your anger up about this stuff. There are only two instances where there has been a coaching change possible that I have chosen to advocate for no change. In both cases, you were advocating for the guy to be fired. So, I could throw the same question back at you.

Pete, You respond to a reader above by saying that one losing season doesn't make the Terps the laughingstock of the ACC. True, but for the record in the nine years Ralph Friedgen's been the head coach Maryland football has had four losing seasons, including four of the last six.

Under him the Terps have had an overall winning record (66-46), won an ACC title, made the national Top Ten, gone to six bowl games (including a BCS game) and won four of them. That certainly doesn't qualify them as laughingstocks either, though only in his first year did the team go to a major bowl game (Orange Bowl) and some of the bowls have been for also rans, so the record doesn't exactly qualify them as a powerhouse.

Fridge's best three seasons were the first three, which were the only ones where the Terps have finished with double digit wins during his tenure. Significantly, those years were ones where UM fielded players recruited mostly by Ron Vanderlinden.

Therein, I believe is a large part of the problem. Although Ralph and his staff have managed to get a few blue chippers, such as Vernon Davis and Darrius Heyward-Bey, by and large they've never been able to get as many as Vamdelinden (Nick Novak, E.J. Henderson, Lamont Jordan, Shaun Hill, Guilian Gary, etc.), to whom I believe he largely owes his 2001 National Coach
of the Year awards.

For that reason, I think that the improvement the Terps made in the early part of the decade, which led to the eventual $50M+ expansion project at Byrd Stadium, should be listed unofficially as the Vamdelinden/Friedgen years.

Can the Terps succeed now that Debbie Yow has okayed Friedgen's return next season. Yes, but unfortunately "succeed" as used here is a relative term. If by it we mean get the team back to .500 or even to a 7-5 season, that may be possible, but is that what the school ultimately wants from its football program?

Again, "succeed" is relative. What's success for one school doesn't equate to success at another. Charlie Weis just got fired at Notre Dame despite having led the team to two BSC games and an overall 35-27 record in his five years there. (Weis actually had the Irish playing good offense down the stretch, so I'm thinking maybe they should have gotten rid of the defensive coordinator, which is the side of the ball where they had their biggest problems. UND is a school that's clearly lost it's way, first signing him to an eleven year deal and then dumping him with six years left on it. They're flushing an obscene amount of money down the toilet for what, spend another obscene amount to sign someone else? Insanity!)

While expectations aren't high at Maryland, which hasn't been a real football powerhouse since briefly in the early 1950s, still mediocrity shouldn't be acceptable to a school that wants to be cracking the Top 25 every year.

So, I guess I agree with you to give Ralph another year, but I think that Yow and her assistants must already be looking for a replacement, as James Franklin doesn't seem to fit in their plans.

As for you saying Bobby Bowden is making the right decision by stepping down at 80, all I can say, Pete, is don't let Joe Paterno hear you say that. LOL (Under JoePa this season Penn State went 10-2 and has what ESPN is calling the Big Ten's best recruiting class for 2010.)

Fridge deserves a pass simply because he IS a terp.

I was flipping through the local jabberwonkies in the car, and someone (wish I knew who to give credit to as giving credit in this market is a rare option) said perhaps the biggest indictment against Ralph Friedgen isn't the 2-10, but how ho-hum everyone is in general about Terp football.

Gary Williams is a polarizing commodity in a somewhat similar vein as Brian Billick was with the Ravens. Whether you love Williams are want him gone, it was he who brought UMCP basketball back to the point people cared, really cared.

I don't understand all of the in's and out's that goes into the financial implications, the coach in waiting, the unspectacular fascilities and field, having a mere 35k in the stands against Boston College, or recruiting in general. It does seem ironic, though, part of the reason Fridge is staying is the bottom line he has contributed to -- not enough somebody's care.

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Pete's reply: I don't know if I totally agree, but an interesting take on the situation.