Short of hiring another TERP alum, this appears to be an excellent choice.  Also, the fact that Edsall has been a head coach sets him far apart from an OC such as Malzahn.  Edsall comes in knowing how to delegate…. as a head coach should.  His leadership skills should serve us all very well…..only time will tell.

All of that being said, the fan base needs to step back and judge this hire several years from now.  Edsall comes in following a 9-4 season….expectations (in the near term) could be unrealistic.  Let’s see who comes on board to round out the coaching staff….let’s see who Edsall (& his staff) recruit as players.  As long as Edsall is still “playing with Fridge’s players,” it will be difficult to determine how well he and his staff are actually doing.

Blog from Irv Beitler University of Maryland Class of 1972

1) It is clear Leach is the #1 choice of Terrapin nation. This makes it a safe pick for the AD.

2) The program needs excitement and a belief that it could go all the way.

3) Leach will sell tickets ASAP.

4) Leach’s brand of football is a upbeat, daring, Brand. Watching Texas Tech under Leach was a pure pleasure.

5) Leach though controversial, was loved at Texas Tech. Leach will also upgrade our schedule.

Bottom line Leach has big time head coaching experience. He has beaten great teams as Texas, Nebraska. He has been on top of the stage. He has the wherewithal to turn the program . Check him out , make the deal, and lets get it on.

This virtually was never a game. ECU was overmatched everywhere. Like I predicted Md  played with a chip on it’s shoulder. Throughout the game chants of Ralph have echoed through RFK.

Maryland opened up with a bomb to Dorsey that was intercepted. But that has been about the only mistake on offense.

ECU must have thrown 15 short 5yard passes in the 1st half none of which worked.

David Mackall had an int that led to 1 of 3 DJ Adams TDs.

The kicking game was way off as Baltz missed a PAT and a 27 yard missed FG’. Ferrara’s kickoffs were noticebly short.

As I predicted DaRel had a big day with TD runs of 61 and 91 yards and he easily won the MVP Award.

38062 were in attendance, a record for this Noel. There had to be at least 15000 Terp fans at RFK today.

After the game, Torrey Smith announce that he will be foregoimg his Senior year and entering the NFL draft. This comes as no surprise after the incredible year he had.

Ralph never took his foot off the pedal today and who  could blame him after the tremendous snub the University received from the ACC.

All in all it was a great way to end Ralph’s career. Picture Courtesy of terrapintimes.com

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4tC4UU6ils

Sports Maven Saturday Morning 12-18-2010

It was odd to see Ralph’s “friend” Frank Beamer stand up for him. I do believe the humiliating loss at Virginia Tech was one of the low moments of Ralph’s tenure at Maryland. For that reason I have never liked Beamer and only hope that if Leach comes to College Park –one day he will lay a 60 on the Hokies.

Despite 1 million rumors to the contrary, no one has yet to be contacted or offerered the position. This much I will say the replacement better be someone high profile, someone we all know of, someone who can help sell tix, someone ingenious enough to take us back to where we were  over 5 decades ago.

Friedgen has a 74-50 record in nine-plus years, including the only three straight 10-win seasons in school history (10-2 in 2001, 11-3 in 2002 and 10-3 in 2003). His 74 overall victories rank 10th on the ACC’s all-time list .

• The consensus national coach of the year in 2001 when he led Maryland to its first ACC title in 16 years, Friedgen has guided the Terrapins to seven bowl game appearances, including a school-record four postseason wins. He is one of seven coaches in ACC history with four or more bowl wins and one of eight with seven or more bowl game appearances. He became the 13th coach in ACC history to amass 70 wins with the victory over Duke (10/2).

• Friedgen’s 74 wins are more than the Terps had (60) in the 15 years prior to his arrival. The victory total ranks tied for third in school history and his winning percentage is fourth (.597). He has twice been voted ACC Coach of the Year (2001, 2010).

• Four of the school’s 13 nine-win seasons have come in Friedgen’s first nine years as head coach.

• Under Friedgen, Maryland has posted the second-best turnaround in the nation in 2010 (six-game improvement).

It’s obvious that James Franklin is on his way to Vanderbilt. Done deal!

It’s apparent according to terrapintimes.com that 4,5 or 6 assistants are following Franklin to Vandy.

Kevin Anderson has stated that NO decision has been made on Ralph’s return for 2011. ACC ‘s Coach of the Year?

Will Ralph be bought out?

Speculation on replacements should Ralph be bought out of his last year—Mike Leech, Brian Billick, Jim Harbaugh (the best coach in the nation)

Tune in to The Sports Maven tomorrow morning at 8AM as Craig Heist joins me to discuss the situation.