Ralph Friedgen Proves Why Head Coach Designates Are a Bad Idea

The Atlantic Coast Constant

Scribe Written on July 03, 2009

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COLLEGE PARK, MD - SEPTEMBER 13: Head coach Ralph Friedgen of the Maryland Terrapins watches player warm-ups prior to the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on September 13, 2007 at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

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By Luis Torres
ACConstant.com Contributor
July 2, 2009 (original publication date)

One of the most common preseason distractions in football is the quarterback controversy.

It affects football at all levels, every year. Will it be Sean Glennon or T-Mobile? Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn?

A coaching controversy could be exponentially worse.

But that’s exactly the situation that the Maryland Terrapins are heading toward in 2012, when they will find themselves with both a reigning head coach and an offensive coordinator who has already been promised the top spot.

Terps head coach Ralph Friedgen, 62, is under contract with the team through the 2011 season, but has hinted that he may decide to keep his title longer if the mood so strikes him.

Offensive coordinator James Franklin has already been promised the head coaching position for the 2012 season after Maryland fended off possible suitors for Franklin that included the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If Friedgen decides to stick around, Franklin can resign and get a cool $1 million before heading anywhere he wants.

The Friedgen-Franklin 2012 situation has the potential to be the biggest Maryland-related disaster since the Oakland Raiders took Darrius Heyward-Bey over Michael Crabtree.

Friedgen has stated that the team’s winning ability will be the key factor in his decision to leave or to stay in 2012. If the team is winning and he decides to stay, then the school will be caught between a rock and a hard place.

They will have to choose between forcing out the incumbent who has led the team to a winning record and tapping the young, hand-picked successor, risking fan base and player estrangement by letting go of a proven winner.

Before the time comes to make a decision, the Terrapins will have to sort through some other prickly situations.

How will players react to a lame-duck coach?

Will they rally under him or brush off his coaching as rants from a guy who’s going to be fired soon anyway?

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Bleacher Report has a featured columnist opening for Maryland Terrapins Football.

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