Ralph Friedgen was fired as Maryland's football coach Monday, effective after the Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman on Dec. 29. Friedgen received $2 million to cover the final year of his contract in 2011. Athletic director Kevin Anderson intended to immediately form a search committee to find Friedgen's replacement, and acknowledged that former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is on his preliminary list. "Right now there is no leading candidate," Anderson said, adding that no one had been contacted by late Monday afternoon. But Anderson intends to have the position filled by Jan. 4. During his 10 years at his alma mater, Friedgen went 74-50. After the Terrapins slipped to 2-10 last year, Friedgen guided the team to an 8-4 record, was named Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year for a second time and earned his seventh postseason appearance. Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5938838
I don't think it's necessarily what Maryland wants so much as it is what Kevin Plank wants. I don't blame him for wanting change when the head coach won't show their biggest booster his due deference, but AD's need to show more fortitude than this. A coach without an AD is like a fish without a bicycle, to steal a phrase.
