Ralph Friedgen will return for 10th season at Maryland

Ralph Friedgen will return for a 10th season as Maryland’s football coach. Friedgen received the news that he was being retained in a phone call this morning from athletic director Deborah Yow. He planned to spend much of the day calling recruits and telling them he was returning. “Coach Friedgen and I are in complete agreement on the expectation to return the football program to its competitive stature,” Yow said in a statement. “He has assured the university and fans of his intentions to do whatever is necessary to become a top 25 program again. … He continues to have my full support.” – Baltimore Sun

Can Ralph Friedgen save his job?

Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen began discussions Sunday with athletic director Deborah Yow that will determine whether he returns for his 10th season at his alma mater. Those discussions were expected to continue as soon as today. Friedgen has indicated he might want to run a new offense - perhaps a variation of the option - that relies on a mobile quarterback. He said such a style wasn’t a good fit this season because senior quarterback Chris Turner is a pocket passer. – Baltimore Sun

Ralph Friedgen’s last game at Maryland?

After coaching his alma mater in 111 games, Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen is preparing to lead his team Saturday under most unfamiliar circumstances: The final game of his ninth season may be his last as head coach of the Terrapins. Never before has Friedgen faced questions about his job security during what has been the only head coaching job of his four-decade-long career. An emotional Friedgen choked up several times during his news conference this week, declined to address his future and said he would tell disgruntled fans that “we took our lumps this year, but we won’t be taking our lumps next year.” – Washington Post

Maryland may not be be able to buyout Ralph Friedgen

Two prominent officials in the state university system said Monday that the economy has placed the University of Maryland on sensitive ground as it decides whether to retain football coach Ralph Friedgen or buy out the remaining $4 million of his contract while others endure budget cuts and furloughs. Friedgen, 62, in his ninth season, is expected to meet with athletic director Deborah Yow as early as Sunday to discuss his job status. Yow has publicly expressed her disappointment with the season so far - the Terrapins are 2-9 (1-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference). Her options include retaining him for the final two years of his contract or buying it out. Maryland’s season, the worst in Friedgen’s tenure, ends Saturday at Byrd Stadium against Boston College. He has a 66-45 record that includes six bowl appearances but also four losing seasons in the past six years. A buyout of any sort - even in the form of a loan from the school’s endowment - would raise questions in the current economic climate, said former U.S. Rep. Tom McMillen, a member of the Board of Regents, which governs the University System of Maryland. – Baltimore Sun

Ralph Friedgen’s future uncertain

Mired in the worst of his nine seasons as Terrapin football head coach, Ralph Friedgen has declined to speak on his clouded future. Several reports indicate the Athletics Department may be looking into the possibility of buying out the two years and reportedly $4 million remaining of Friedgen’s contract. “I don’t want to get into that,” Friedgen said. “I want to keep the focus on Boston College right now.” Citing anonymous sources, The Washington Post reported Friedgen’s buyout would not be a financial issue Sunday. But Friedgen’s lawyer, Jack Reale, told The Post neither he nor his client have been in discussion with the Athletics Department about a buyout. Numerous Athletics Department officials declined to comment on the situation. Reale was not reached by phone yesterday. Athletics Director Debbie Yow has repeatedly stated throughout the season she will evaluate Friedgen and the team after the season, as is the process with all sports. She will not comment until then… This past offseason, Friedgen and Yow named offensive coordinator James Franklin as the program’s “coach-in-waiting,” set to succeed Friedgen as head coach. Franklin’s contract stipulates he will receive $1 million if he is not promoted by 2011. Still, at the time, Friedgen said he was uncertain of when he would retire. The possibility of being fired was not in the discussion. – The Diamondback

Big Weekend Ahead for Dabo Swinney, James Franklin

It’s a very, very big weekend for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, whose Tigers can clinch the ACC’s Atlantic Division with a victory over Virginia. Swinney’s in his first full year, and he signed an incentive-laden deal upon his full-time hire last December. But as Paul Strelow of The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., points out, simply winning the division would more than double his annual compensation from $800,000 to roughly $1.75 million. If the Tigers with the ACC title, Strelow writes “the sum will push above $2 million.” So why bring it up here? Because one of the trickle-down winners of Swinney’s success is one James Franklin. Everyone knows about the $1 million the Maryland coach-in-waiting is guaranteed if he doesn’t get the full-time job after the 2011 season. But how about if he does get the job?… In any case, just focusing on Swinney’s deal and assuming the numbers are dead on, the Clemson coach will get $950,000 more annually if the Tigers win this weekend. And since Clemson presumably accounts for 1/11th of the average of the ACC coaches (the contract language isn’t clear, but Ralph Friedgen’s salary will probably have nothing to do with Franklin’s as a head coach), then the annual value of Franklin’s deal will go up $1 for every $11 extra dollars any other coach in the ACC makes. Which means the annual value of the contract Maryland is obligated to eventually offer Franklin if it doesn’t want to cut a $1 million check to send him on his merry way will go by up by roughly $86,000 if Clemson beats Virginia on Saturday. Over five years, that’s approximately $430,000. – Washington Times

Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen one of three ACC coaches feeling heat

Three ACC schools employ embattled coaches. Ralph Friedgen is Maryland’s embattled boss. It said so right there in The Washington Post last week. Maryland, which had lost to Middle Tennessee for the second straight year, Cal and Rutgers, somehow upset Clemson. Friedgen lashed out at his media needlers and booing fans. Al Groh is the embattled captain of the mounted Virginia brigade. He has been embattled so long that beating North Carolina again might not mollify the booster buyout squad. In the most curious case of all, 79-year-old patriarch Bobby Bowden has become the embattled figurehead of Florida State football. – Winston-Salem Journal

Ralph Friedgen’s Maryland job safe - for now

The Terrapins are stumbling as they prepare for the annual meeting with Clemson on Saturday. But Maryland indicates there is no thought to replacing coach Ralph Friedgen during the season. Maryland plans to assess Friedgen’s performance - as it does all its coaches - when the season is over and a thorough examination of the program can be made. – Baltimore Sun

Maryland AD “will evaluate” Ralph Friedgen

In February, when Maryland Athletic Director Debbie Yow named offensive coordinator James Franklin the eventual successor to Coach Ralph Friedgen, the vision was for Friedgen to finish out his contract after the 2011 season before handing the keys to the program to the well-regarded Franklin, who had spurned lucrative NFL and college football coaching offers. But now, with the Terrapins (1-3) off to their worst start since 1997, Yow’s plan now faces significant challenges. Maryland will enter Saturday’s ACC opener against Clemson having not beaten a power-conference team since Nov. 15. Friedgen is in danger of having his fourth losing season in the past six years. And the Terrapins have not finished a season ranked in the top 25 since 2003… At least equally troublesome for school officials is that the fan base is responding, using its wallet. Season ticket sales have steadily declined the past five seasons. The first three home crowds this season rank among the smallest since 2002, Friedgen’s second season. And Maryland has yet to secure long-term commitments for 23 of the 64 luxury suites at refurbished Byrd Stadium… But what is Maryland — and more specifically Yow — to do? Friedgen is owed about $4.5 million for the two remaining years on his contract. Regardless of how this season unfolds, buying Friedgen out of his remaining two years is considered unlikely, particularly given economic conditions. When asked Tuesday if Friedgen would return as coach next season, Yow said: “I will evaluate the status of the program after we play the entire season, not now, with eight games remaining. My focus is on supporting the team and our coaching staff. That focus will continue [until] season’s end.”… But Friedgen is facing significant scrutiny and questions about job security for the first time in his nine-year tenure. When asked Tuesday to assess his own performance this season, he said: “Obviously when you are 1-3, you are not going to say you did a great job. I have no problem looking myself in the mirror. I put everything I have into this. I didn’t work any less. I really don’t think I am any less of a coach than what I have always been… Jack Reale, Friedgen’s Atlanta-based attorney, said he did not anticipate Friedgen’s buyout being an issue because “I don’t see him going anywhere. I know there’s some question about how things are going.” Another wrinkle to Yow’s plan for the program’s future is an obligation to pay $1 million to Franklin if he does not become head coach following the 2011 season. With depth at wide receiver and running back, much was expected of Franklin’s West Coast offense. But the offensive line has been a glaring weakness, and Maryland ranks 84th nationally in scoring offense at 23.8 points per game. – Washington Post

Ralph Friedgen’s family performs intervention

Gloria, Ralph Friedgen’s wife, and Kristina, the second of his three daughters, actually performed their own intervention for the man they love. They became concerned about him dying before his time. He was 62 years of age. His family had a history of diabetes. And, yes, he weighed an unmanageable 401 pounds a year ago. The Fridge is down 105 pounds since the end of last season, fighting the battle of the bulge as hard and as consistently as he’s ever fought it. – Washington Post

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