According to our source, Head Coach Ralph Friedgen is going to let AD Deborah Yow know if he is going to fire Offensive Coordinator this afternoon. On November 30, we were the first to report that if Head Coach Ralph Friedgen wants to come back as Head Coach he must fire Offensive Coordinator James Franklin. If not, Friedgen will be dismissed, according to our source. The school will than have to pay over a $4 million buyout. All of the seven assistant coaches are out on the road recruiting.
Let's just say that these guys don't look like the most reputable source in the world. I get a feeling that no one knows what's going on, but maybe they have a source that knows something.
I recognize that keeping Fridge and firing Frank is the most feasible economic decision, but it doesn't do anything to help this team now or in the long run.
David will post a full story on it pretty soon.
3 months ago
Ben Broman
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Fire Franklin?
Oh sure, fire the head coach in waiting, like it is all his fault. Should Franklin have blocked better for those QBs trying to stumble away from other teams’ defensive linemen? Is it Franklin’s fault that the RBs could not get the yardage anymore? Chances are, the program did not give him the offensive line to work with.
Oh, by the way, I know just about everyone wants to believe that race is entirely irrelevant at Maryland. We believe this because we are Terps and see the good. But if they fire Franklin, then how long will it be before they have their first black head coach in Maryland’s long history? Yeah, the racial thing is just a coincidence and should not be mentioned in our enlightened university, but still you have to wonder what has been going on all these many years and how much of it was really a coincidence decade after decade?
I would like to see the Terps keep both the Fridge and Franklin. Next year will be much better as OLs make their way through the pipeline, and as other young guys on this team mature.
by EdDC on Nov 30, 2009 3:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Firing Franklin is 100% the right move.
1. Best economic decision.
2. Franklin’s play-calling was HORRENDOUS.
3. Fridge had a young team this year. Give him another year to see if he can win with the guys next year.
by kckb8 on Nov 30, 2009 3:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Race?
EdDC, what makes you think any decision has anything to do with race? This story, as Ben said, is unsubstantiated at best, and to conclude there is some sort of sinister racist plot to oust Franklin strikes me as totally out of left field.
by GoTerpsBaby on Nov 30, 2009 4:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Race?
Fridge would be fired if his buy-out was not so high. The new head coach, Franklin or someone new, would make the decisions on the rest of the coaching staff. But since $4 million is a bit of a problem to dig up in this recession, another scapegoat is needed. And that scapegoat supposedly, according to this source, is Franklin.
Truthfully, I do not think race is a factor this time around. And people always say that—it was racism way back when but not this time—and that goes on and on and on, well into the 21st century. It’s never “this time.” However, a too-convenient solution of firing Franklin does look suspicious when viewed in perspective of Maryland’s history of hiring decisions for the head coach. I realize most people feel race is irrelevant except among some politicians or activists or whatever.
by EdDC on Nov 30, 2009 4:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: Race
I don’t think it has anything to do w/ race, but that will be the perception from a lot of people, including some influential local leaders and – who knows – a local HS football coach or two.
by Ben Broman on Nov 30, 2009 4:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Firing Franklin would be a recruiting disaster and wreck ties with local schools.
by mariolucasforthree on Nov 30, 2009 5:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It's not like we're tearing it up on the recruiting trail...
I don’t think it would be that bad. It would depend on who we hired as a replacement as well. And although we’ve got some good local ties, they’re clearly don’t carry too much weight with the big name recruits…
by Dave Tucker on Nov 30, 2009 5:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
If we fire Frank + Fridge for a big name that can really tear up the trail, then I’m ok, even if he’s white. That guy has either proven he can recruit (or is named Billick or Leach, in which case he will be able to recruit if he puts any effort into it), so I’m not as concerned with it. He can go elsewhere or (if he’s black and our HC [or named Billick]) patch up our local relations pretty quickly.
We have a rough enough time of it as it is w/ Ralph, who seems to handicap us. We’d be fighting against an even bigger challenge w/ screwed up race relations.
Just because you’re bleeding in your arm doesn’t mean you should shoot yourself in the head to boot.
by Ben Broman on Nov 30, 2009 7:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
We should honor our word, but not because of perceptions
I really don’t care that much about the race relations thing, and how many big recruits do we pull from, say, PG County schools not named Dematha anyway?
But I have a BIG problem with the head of the athletic department making promises that we decide we don’t need to keep. It would be a terrible indictment of the school for them to promise Franklin something (through Yow’s ineptitude IMO) and then renege on it less than a year later. Give Franklin his chance (probably after next season) and let him assemble a staff that hopefully includes a highly competent pro-style offensive coordinator. Regardless, Yow should be fired for putting us in this mess in the first place.
And I’ve said before that I am no big fan of Franklin. Any OC who runs the same play a dozen times per game despite the fact that it has never worked throughout two seasons isn’t good at that job. And it’s great fun to dream about all the shiny new coaches, and I would love to bring in a Leach or Billick or Charlie Strong, but I think it’d be a black eye on the program and school if we canned Franklin after promising the HC gig, especially so soon after doing so.
by JC1 on Nov 30, 2009 7:56 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Mike Leach
Out of curiosity, what has led people to think we can pry Leach away from Texas Tech? I’d love for UMD to get him, but it would be a step down for him. Are there reports out there that I don’t know about?
by Terpfan622 on Nov 30, 2009 9:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
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