Friedgen to return as Maryland football coach
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP)—A grateful Ralph Friedgen will return in 2010, eager to rebound from his worst season as Maryland’s head football coach.
Friedgen’s job status appeared shaky after the Terrapins lost a school-record 10 games this season. But after meeting for two consecutive days with athletic director Debbie Yow, Friedgen was given the go-ahead to make plans for a 10th season as coach at his alma mater.
“I’m very thankful for the opportunity,” Friedgen said. “I hope I wasn’t just judged on this year. But this shows the confidence the administration has in me and our program. I’m willing to repay that with everything I have to make this the team we expect it to be.”
The 62-year-old Friedgen has two years left on a contract that pays him $2 million annually. He is 66-46 at Maryland and has gone to six bowl games, but the Terrapins have endured four losing seasons over the past six years.
After Maryland’s final game Saturday, a 19-17 defeat to Boston College that extended the team’s losing streak to seven games, Friedgen made it clear he intended to retain his job.
He got his wish.
“Coach Friedgen and I are in complete agreement on the expectation to return the football program to its competitive stature,” Yow said. “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.”
Although Maryland went to bowl games in each of the three seasons before this one, Friedgen wasn’t surprised that his performance this year came under scrutiny by Yow.
“Obviously, when you’re 2-10 you’re going to evaluated,” he said. “She’s my supervisor. We sat and we talked, and she decided to stay the course.”
Friedgen acknowledged that he entered the discussions with more than a small measure of angst.
“It was a concern to me,” he said.
Maryland began the season had only 14 seniors and 58 players with at least three years of eligibility remaining. The hope is that the experienced the underclassmen gained this season will translate into victories in 2010 and beyond.
“We have three impressive young quarterbacks that are pretty good. We have all our running backs returning, as well as our wide receivers,” Friedgen said. “All of our offensive linemen are back, except one, with a full year of experience under their belts. We had a very young team this season. We took our lumps this year, but we won’t be taking our lumps next year.”
Friedgen, a former player at Maryland, took the Terrapins to the 2001 Atlantic Coast Conference title in his first season as a head coach. But Maryland had the worst overall record of any ACC team this year and won only one league game.
In February, offensive coordinator James Franklin signed a contract that would enable him to take over for Friedgen after the 2011 season or receive a $1 million buyout. Franklin is sure to return; however, Friedgen said he will evaluate the rest of his staff in the weeks ahead before deciding whether to make any changes.
