That massive Danny O'Brien fiasco was a blast, right? Blogger's gold. And all indications are that it isn't about to stop anytime soon.

We already passed along the Washington Post update from last night, saying that Danny will wait it out through the weekend and talk it over with his family. While there isn't anything new on the matter, Jeff Barker at the Sun has published a trademark unspectacular-but-steady note on DOB, updating where his mind has been for the past several months. Barker claims he's been in constant contact with O'Brien's family, and has an interesting take on his upcoming decision, emphasis mine:

O'Brien is not the sort to commit to spring football under a new offensive coordinator without being prepared to follow through into the season. If he stays at Maryland, spring football would be an important time in the development of Mike Locksley's offense. That's why this is such an important period now for O'Brien, even though his participation in spring football would be limited because he is not yet 100 percent healthy. On Wednesday, he tweeted "Contrary to rumor, I am still a Terp," but he didn't address the future. Maryland has said it has no reason to believe he won't be back.

That's interesting - it had always seemed likely, at least to me, that if O'Brien was going to transfer it wouldn't happen until after spring ball, at which point he'd know where he stands on the depth chart and how well-suited he is to the offense. But if he's under the impression that committing to spring ball is committing to the 2012-13 season, that means a decision has to come now - and that's obviously what we're seeing. It also makes a transfer much more likely, given that he doesn't have a starting spot locked down.

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Psych!

Contrary to rumor, I am still a Terp.

— Danny O'Brien (@DannyOBrien5) February 8, 2012

That'll teach you to believe the Twitters. First Mike Leach, then Sean Miller, now this. Only this one has a happy ending.

No idea what this means about Garcia, though. Anyway, I don't think this saga is over. There will still be plenty of time for things to change once spring ball rolls around. There's been smoke regarding this for months - today was so believable because a lot of people already believed it was happening anyway. That doesn't just go away. If he loses his job to CJB, or if he doesn't like the offense, or doesn't click with Edsall, there's still plenty of time for stuff to happen.

(And if you're really a conspiracy theorist: maybe he just realized it was awful timing to do it now and he should hold off for a few weeks. Walking around campus as "the hated guy who cost Maryland Stefon Diggs" for the next few months while working toward his degree would probably suck.)

Anyway: HUZZAH! Also, here come the pitchforks at Dan Hellie.

Update, 5:00: The WaPo has published a new story claiming that, indeed, Danny's mind isn't yet made up. As expected:

Danny O'Brien, who earned ACC rookie of the year honors after a breakout 2010 season, is seriously considering whether to leave Maryland's football program and transfer to another school, individuals with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday. ... According to one individual with knowledge of the situation, O'Brien will spend the weekend deciding with his family whether to leave Maryland.

Thank God nothing's happening until after Diggs is decided, but your worries shouldn't yet be gone.

Dan Hellie isn't exactly the traditional investigative reporter to break these sorts of things, but when he goes public with this sort of bombshell, there's a good chance he's right:

Garcia was Maryland's starting left tackle. O'Brien needs no introduction.

That crashing sound you hear? It's Maryland fans' morale.

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No blaming Randy Edsall for these two, and no change the Transfer Counter. But, still, Maryland football just opened up two more scholarships through attrition: first, linebacker/safety Desmond Kearse was dismissed from the team for academics, while Pete DeSouza - who, you may remember, broke both legs in 2010 in a motor scooter accident - is giving up football and will be a student assistant.

I was always unsure if DeSouza would ever get back to playing form, and thought this was always going to be a little likely. Kearse is more disappointing; while he wasn't a true linebacker, he was a monster rushing the passer and super-athletic. Disappointing to see him leave, but tough to blame anyone for it. (Except, well, maybe him.)

Anyway, if you're keeping track, Maryland's scholarship count now stands at 82 by my count, leaving plenty of room to add a certain Mr. Diggs or any transfers that want to join up. Looking at the depth chart, I'm not sure either absence will have a huge impact; Maryland's bringing in a half-dozen linebackers in this class, and have plenty of depth at offensive line as well. There should be another full class for recruiting next year, which is good news.

Side note: the football team is holding tryouts Feb. 8 at Gossett. Someone, please, go undercover.

We're closing on National Signing Day, the Egg McMuffin of all football recruiting days. It's a huge event all across the country; for Maryland, we'll be keeping a close eye on guys like D.J. Reader, Korren Kirven, and Stefon Diggs, all of whom are considering Maryland and would provide a huge late boost to the class. But there's already quite a sizable and, in all honesty, not entirely unimpressive base in place for Maryland. Over the next three days, we'll be overviewing that base in a series of three posts. Today, the skill position players.

Quarterback

When Randy Edsall came aboard at Maryland, the quarterback spot seemed settled for the foreseeable future. Danny O'Brien was the starter for as long as he wanted to be in College Park, and after he left there was Tyler Smith, one of the best-looking Maryland prospects in years. (And, if DOB left early, C.J. Brown was there, too. And we've learned that he's a competent starting QB.)

And now? O'Brien looks exceedingly mortal, having lost his job last year to Brown, who didn't look fantastic in his own right. The two are likely going to be locked in a position battle come spring, and no one knows if the loser will still be on the team in the fall. Oh, and Smith? He transferred to Elon last summer.

So if one of DOB or CJB leaves in the summer, as you'd have to consider likely, Maryland would have only one scholarship quarterback on the roster. Obviously, the quarterback spot was huge for Maryland in this class. In response, they picked up two initially under-the-radar prospects who have since shot up the recruiting rankings and garnered positive reviews. In fact, I think QB is one of the class' stronger units.

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There's a good chance that Brian Stewart, formerly the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Cougars, will be introduced today as Maryland's replacement for Todd Bradford, although I could see it waiting until tomorrow or even longer if there are any negotiation issues. We know how miserly that Kevin Anderson can be with his contract negotiations, after all.

When Stewart is introduced, we'll get our answer to the biggest question surrounding him: will he bring his 3-4 scheme to College Park? He ran it at Dallas. He ran it at Houston, transitioning from a 4-3 in the process. He's a 3-4 lifer. Will the change be coming here, too?

It's a good question, and I'm sure the answer will largely define much of his success in College Park, one way or the other. It's proven controversial for Maryland fans, who rightfully look at the Terrapins' roster and wonder where the fit is. Stewart, of course, has two options here, and they're exactly what you think they are: he could keep with his current 3-4 scheme, or he could adapt to the 4-3 personnel already in place. If he chooses the latter option, this post is basically moot and I just wrote 2000 words for naught.

If he sticks with the 3-4, though ... well, its new to us, is it not? If you're wondering how exactly the Terrapins will transition to the new scheme, what to expect out of a 3-4 compared to a 4-3, who on the current roster does (or doesn't?) fit, or just want to know the basic differences between positional responsibilities, we've got you covered. Let's get to it, post-jump.

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I know that the last few "Meet ________" posts I've done have ended up terribly. This time, though, when the team is tweeting about it, I think we're good to go.

Compared to the offensive coordinator search, this baby moved at light speed: only four days after officially letting Todd Bradford go, it looks like Maryland's tabbed his replacement as Brian Stewart, who occupied the same post for two years with the Houston Cougars and, before that, the Dallas Cowboys.

The hiring of Stewart comes after months of speculation on the defensive coordinator spot in College Park, but only a matter of hours after the official buyout of Bradford. Names like Randy Shannon, Larry Johnson, and even Tom Bradley were bandied about at various times, but the end result is a much more unknown commodity. So, let's introduce the newest member of the Terrapins coaching staff.

Stewart was at Houston for the last two seasons under Kevin Sumlin, where last year he led one of the better units in the country. Sumlin ended up at Texas A&M and went a different direction, leaving Stewart without a job and interviewing for other spots - like West Virginia, whose coaches were telling recruits that Stewart was the new defensive coordinator there. Awk-ward.

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Well, that's a little unexpected.

Terrapins Insider has the confirmation. I'll have more on Stewart when he's officially announced, but until then: he was at Houston the past two seasons as their defensive coordinator, before which he spent two years as the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. Legitimate, high-level NFL experience is a very good thing, both in recruiting and coaching.

Not sure where the connection to Edsall is, if there is, and I certainly don't see any connection to Maryland. It looks like an "identify a good candidate and hire said candidate" type of search, which isn't a bad thing; we saw how the connections game plays when we were saddled with Gary Crowton and Todd Bradford.

Houston was very good defensively last season, especially given that they play in the Conference of A Thousand Spread Offenses. They weren't very good the year before, but that's standard practice with many coordinators. (And not a great short-term sign, but what can you do?) His defenses at Dallas were both in the top-10 in total defense in his two years there, but he got the boot after two years as a scapegoat of sorts.

The really interesting thing here: he runs the 3-4. At first I thought it might just be because he was under Wade Phillips at Dallas, but no: he took it with him to Houston, too. So ... that's interesting, huh?

More on the way, but the best part about this: a few days ago, West Virginia was telling its recruits that Stewart was the new defensive coordinator. He was largely WVU fans' top choice for the DC spot. Trolling hard on WVU fans? I like him already.