Randy Edsall: Maryland Names UConn Leader New Head Football Coach

Update 2: As of January 2, 2011 at 6:26pm EST, ESPN's Joe Schad is confirming reports that Edsall IS the new head coach at Maryland. At first, Maryland football players were claiming through Twitter that nothing was official. Since then, cornerback Cameron Chism has stated, "Randy Edsall IS our New head coach". Looks like this thing won't be official until Edsall is shaking hands in front of snapping cameras.

Update: As of January 2, 2011 at 5:45pm EST, the Maryland head coaching job has not yet been filled. According to local sources like Comcast SportsNet and national sources like Sports Illustrated, the interview of Randy Edsall is ongoing. With that being said, Mike Leach is not considered "out" at this point. 

Original Story: After so much talk of former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach being the favorite to take over the head football job at Maryland, the university has announced today that Randy Edsall will the be the school’s next head coach.

Just hours after losing to Oklahoma in the BCS Fiesta Bowl by 28 points, Edsall was visiting and discussing with the search committee in College Park. Rumors quickly began to spread that Edsall was the leading candidate and the hiring was reported by ESPN’s Joe Schad  soon there after.

Edsall's Background

Edsall served as a graduate assistant with Syracuse from 1980-1982. Upon graduation, Edsall was hired by the Syracuse coaching staff and he served as a full-time assistant coaching running backs, tight ends, and defensive backs from 1983-1990.

He then went on to become the defensive backs coach at Boston College from 1991-1993 before trying the NFL as a defensive backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 1998, Edsall returned to the collegiate ranks and became the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech.

Edsall was hired as the head coach of the Connecticut Huskies at the end of 2008. In his first season with a Division I-AA team, Edsall posted a 4-7 record. He then led his UConn team into the Division I-A ranks and would remain an independent for the next four years.

In 2004, the Connecticut Huskies joined the Big East and Edsall’s name quickly became a popular one. In their first season as part of a BCS conference, the Huskies went 8-4 and won the Motor City Bowl. The Huskies would go 9-14 over the next two seasons and receive no bowl bids.

In 2007, Connecticut tied for first-place in the Big East with a 9-4 record and lost in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Edsall would lead his team to a pair of 8-5 records in the next two seasons and win the International Bowl in 2008 and the Papa John’s Bowl in 2009.

This past season, Edsall would again share the Big East conference title, his team’s second championship in four years. Edsall helped to earn his team a bid to play the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl, the first BCS bowl in school history. The Huskies lost 48-20.

Opinion

Maryland’s new athletic director Kevin Anderson abruptly forced out former coach Ralph Friedgen and implied that he was looking for a big name as the school’s next head coach. Names like Mike Leach, Gus Malzahn, and even Rich Rodriguez were mentioned as potential suitors.

In an attempt to sell more tickets, fill more suites, and create more buzz, the Maryland fans expected nothing less than a high-powered offensive mind like Leach or Malzahn. Although Edsall’s name had been mentioned, fans understood that his leadership skills wouldn’t make nearly the same splash as, say, Leach’s “Air Raid” offensive scheme.

Please don’t get me wrong, the Edsall hire is solid. However, it’s not accomplishing the underlying goals of Anderson or the boosters. As great of a coach as Freidgen was, even his supporters didn’t dismiss the idea of change. But with the introduction of Edsall, people will quickly realize that the upgrade effect is minimal.

Edsall is a pro-style guy that stems from the Tom Coughlin coaching tree. He is a Pennsylvania guy that believes in running backs and strong trenches, none of which are bad styles. His ability to lead and motivate his players is commendable as well, just realize that the look of Maryland football won’t change all that much.