BLOG: Terps Reality Check
I don't get it. I've been hearing some Maryland Terp football fans scream foul at how the program did Ralph Friedgen so wrong. Fans are afraid Randy Edsall will lead the Terps down the path of mediocrity. Again, I don't get it.
Randy Edsall is in his first year as the Head Coach in College Park. It's not "His Program" yet. He's playing with someone else's hand and he's trying to do the best he can. If he has to bench a player because the player isn't buying into his way, then bench him. You have to look at the big picture over what's going on now. Edsall's not trying to lose games, he's trying to build a solid program.
Mediocrity? Randy Edsall inherited a program that was the epitome of mediocrity. I know, I know. You're going to point out Friedgen's 75-50 record during his tenure as Top Terp but I'll apply the same logic to Friedgen's record that I apply in saying give Edsall a chance.
Friedgen won 31 of those 75 games in his first three seasons. Yes, I give him credit because that was more than they'd won the three previous years combined, but it wasn't "His Program" yet. Once things settled down, his teams were not that good. The Terps went 19-14 over the next three seasons. He followed the next three years up with a 16-22 record, yet so many are upset over Kevin Anderson getting rid of a coach who was 9-4. Look at the track record. Anderson got rid of a coach whose record was in decline, not a coach who had two nine win seasons over a seven year span. Not so impressive huh?
Rob Long
