Friday, February 18, 2011

A List

Kevin Durant, Josh Selby, Thomas Robinson, Michael Beasley, Wally Judge, Rodney McGruder, Naji Hibbert, Uche Echefu, Jason Clark, Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, Henry Sims, Tyler Thornton, Quin Cook, Nolan Smith, Tywon Lawson, Marcus Ginyard, Isiah Armwood, Tristan Spurlock, Terrell Vinson, Josh Hariston, Rudy Gay, Josh Boone, Carmelo Anthony, Kris Joseph, CJ Fair, Mike Sweetney, Melvin Scott, Marshall Strickland, Linas Kleiza, Gerald Brown, Dante Taylor, Patrick Ewing, Dajuan Summers, Malcolm Delaney, Jeff Allen, Scottie Reynolds, Eric Atkins, Roscoe Smith, Chris Braswell, Roy Hibbert, Eddie Basden, Anthony McClain, Markel Starks, Jarrett Jack, Nigel Munson

How does the old saying go? Fool me once, shame on you; fool me times two through fifth shame on me? Indeed.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

A Series of Unfortunate Events

When we think of failures we think of New Coke, the Magic Hour and the Carter administration. We think of those because they're highly publicized, highly visible examples of failure. They crashed and burned in a spectacular manner. What we don't think of are the lesser failures, those that peter out with nary a reverberation felt my most humanoids out there. Were we to chronicle these events in the annals of history, Maryland football would be deserving of at least a footnote in the chronicles. This post intends to examine the recent failures of the aforementioned program. To wit:

-Naming James Franklin as Head Coach in Waiting: Naming a head coach before firing the old one (or having him announce his retirement) is an odd proposition to begin with. It may make sense when you're FSU and you hire a Jimbo Fisher and everyone knows that Bobby Bowden is going dadgum stop coaching soon enough. It makes sense when you have an assistant so coveted (Will Muschamp) that he was good enough to be named the coach at Florida to succeed Urban Meyer. But for Maryland, with James Franklin? That makes less sense. I was never as down on Franklin as others. I thought he would have been a perfectly viable candidate during an open search. But that's the key - during an open search. For all the negatives that Debbie Yow had during her tenure as Athletic Director, locking the football program into this situation may well have been the most egregious. Even worse was the $1M guaranteed to Franklin were he to have stayed and not been named head coach for the 2012 season. Yikes. I've never run a business admittedly, but I simply can't imagine many good reasons for saying "hey, you've never done this job before, but I'm guaranteeing you a position doing just that, even though it isn't currently open. And for doing me the favor of taking this extremely well-compensated position, I'm going to give you seven figures if someone else gets the job. Cheers!" The scrilla strip mall will NOT be run like that.

-Bringing back Fridge following a 2-10 season: Sure, there were reasons for this, ranging from the capital Fridge had earned over his first eight seasons to (much more importantly) the ostensible lack of money to cover a buyout and hire a new coach at a competitive salary. But coming off a season where the program only wins once in eleven tries against I-A opponents, significant changes needed to be made. Instead, essentially the entire coaching staff, from the head man on down to the coordinators and assistants, were brought back. Does this sound like a program that wants to win? I remember a quote about doing the same things over and expecting different results, but we all know how that one goes.

-Guaranteeing Fridge's return in 2011: Now we get into the Kevin Anderson era. An era that once seemed so wildly promising in its salad days. Giving Fridge a positive vote of confidence that included his return for 2011 seemed like the right thing to do at the time, I'll admit. And it's certainly understandable that decisions change based on the facts on the ground themselves changing. Despite that, it's imperative that when such a declaration is made, the Athletic Director shouldn't be going back on his word a mere month later. But when Anderson said what he did about the future, the dismal attendance and the lack of a long-term, post-2011 succession plan were both well known. Yet by the end of December, with Franklin's departure, it seemed as if plans had been thrown into disarray, even though Anderson had made some less-than-subtle comments that called into question the idea of Franklin succeeding Fridge. Just what was the plan or did it not exist at all? Clearly a Fridge extension was not on the table, nor was Franklin getting the job. A lame duck coach in 2011 may have been the only thing worse than what actually transpired (excluded the parallel universe where Chuck Amato was extended an offer).

-The Press Conference: Kevin Anderson made his decision. Whether or not it was the right one is besides the point. He made a bold move and now it was his turn to sell it. To his credit, he and Dr. Loh did so by rallying the fanbase talking about the need for "transformative excellence" in the words of Loh. That was awesome, no doubt. The idea was that Maryland had slid into mediocrity under Fridge. Love or hate the big man, it was a true statement irrespective of a top 25 ranking this season. Given the stature (or lack thereof) accorded to Maryland football, the candidates weren't exactly lining up to take the post. There was one man, and only one man, who represented anything approaching proven excellence, and that was Mike Leach. Hiring him was the easy move. But instead, we...

-Hired Randy Edsall: Just like any of the above items, I'm willing to accept this in isolation. Edsall is a fine coach. His team finished playing in a Fiesta Bowl not a week earlier. He built a program from a I-AA also-ran to the champion of a BCS conference. Kudos to him, but his overall record is worse than that of Friedgen. While the comparisons may not be exactly analogous, it's hard to sell the new coach as an upgrade when the most fundamental comparison and indicator of quality, wins and losses, does not tilt in his favor. Perhaps Leach wasn't the right guy. I'm willing to take a chance on a loose cannon, but by many emerging accounts, Leach's interview went poorly and took him from the presumptive favorite to out of the running. Speculation about the powers-that-be and their motives and preferences aside, there have been enough questions raised about Leach to help understand the rationale, but even then, it's a bitter pill for the fans to swallow.

-The first 90 days: The real impetus for this post was the latest indignity for the program - losing fantastic DC Don Brown. As if losing him weren't enough, he made a lateral move to "go home" to be take the same position at ... UCONN! Again, perhaps the stated reasons for Brown's departure (desire to go back to New England, where he had coached all his life) are legitimate. Maybe this is explainable. But Brown was the most respected coach on last year's staff by fans but seemingly players as well. Just two weeks ago it was announced the Brown would be back, but somehow he never quite got around to signing a new contract before the expiry of his previous one on February 1. And what makes this all look even worse is that it went down just two days after National Signing Day. Had it happened last week, it would be a safe bet that at least a couple of Maryland's newly signed recruits would have been looking elsewhere. Not good, at all.

The next step is obviously to fill Brown's shoes, and that needs to be done with a big hire from outside the program, preferably one with local ties as Edsall's staff has only its two holdovers - OL coach Tom Brattan and WR coach Lee Hull, the newly minted local recruiter - who can claim any sort of local ties. Will Edsall make the right hire here? I'm not exactly sure what that is, but after the past two years, here's hoping the Maryland football program can do something to show us that the people in charge have a clear idea how to move from mediocrity to something a little better.

At least there's everybody's All-American, Danny O'Brien.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Hopeful

"It could happen." - Kid from Angels in the Outfield

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Luck, #340 Maryland, -0.131

So it goes that despite being number 1 in the country in defensive efficiency, Maryland is just 11-6 with a one point win over College of Charleston being by far the best accomplishment of the not-so-young season. Either that or a 23 point rout of Penn State on the road. I'm really not sure which of those is more depressing to have as a signature win.

To be sure, luck only accounts for some of the team's struggles. It's going to be hard to convince anyone that missing free throw after free throw has anything to do with luck, and aside from that, the team's five backcourt regulars all seemingly range from average (on a good day) to downright bad as long distance shooters. Eric Hayes, they are not.

The latest loss was the toughest, and there doesn't need to be much said about it at this point other than that the Terps blew a 12 point lead on the road because they allowed a staggering 19-0 run. After playing so well for the first 30 minutes - hitting jumpers, getting the ball to Jordan Williams, playing outstanding man to man and pressure defense - the team absolutely crumbled in the final minutes, not for the first time in recent years. It wasn't quite the collapse that we saw against Clemson in 2008, but it wasn't that far off either.

The team's outlook is grim, but with a an All-American in the middle and a suffocating defense most nights combined with a soft league schedule and three extra tournament berths available, the team should still expect to be in the position to have its name called by Greg Gumbel on Selection Sunday.

Perhaps my optimism is misplaced. After all, Midseason Wooden Award Candidate Jordan Fucking Williams is only one man, even if he is an 18-12 kind of man. Up next for the Terps leading into the rematch with Duke (and their only other chance this season for a marquee win) will be home games against Virginia Tech and Clemson followed next week by road dates with Georgia Tech and Virginia. The Terps, even despite their struggles, ought to be favored in each game. If they could manage to hold serve, it would give them quite a bit of breathing room and potential to make noise in the ACC race, one which Duke still controls but not nearly as handily as if Kyrie Irving were still healthy.

The most interesting thing in the past month has been the what is happening in the frontcourt. Dino Gregory has stepped up huge this season. Given his increased propensity to knock down the open mid-range jumper he might be called a poor man's Landon Milbourne. Never having had a ton of love for Landon's game, I'd disagree and go as far as saying that he's about as good as Milbourne. Not as reliable on the offensive end, perhaps, but probably much better on the defensive side. Dino blocks shots, takes charges, and generally doesn't allow many big games for the guy he is assigned to guard.

The backup spot is increasingly going to Hawk Palsson. In the first three conference games plus the Nova game, the Hawk has logged 47 minutes compared to just 19 for Inspector Padgett (who got his first DNP of the season on Saturday). The Flying Dutchman Berend Weijs also didn't see minutes against Villanova and played just five combined in three conference games. As big as the rotation seemed a few weeks back, it looks like Gary is paring it back to his traditional eight man core plus optional ninth man (in this case Padgett).

Of course the game tonight against Virginia Tech is huge. A loss, at home, against a team thought to be about as good as Maryland means it's almost officially time to think about the NIT. Given that the ACC will probably get three or four at-large/non-Duke bids, it's imperative to win games like the next two at home against fellow contenders VT and Clemson. Plus who wouldn't love to see us beat that loud mouthed, whiny POS Seth Greenberg again after losing to him all too often when the Hokies first joined the league. Plus it would also be nice to send out one of Bmore's finest, Malcolm Delaney, with a loss in his last game at the Comcast Center. Hopefully we can make them pay for talking shit about our fans leading up to the game.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

In all likelihood, the BETTER military bowl...

Congratulations college football. You have made me resort to hours minutes on Microsoft Paint. I'd say I'm getting pretty good.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

The Title of this is NOT "Unplugging the Fridge"

It's been a big week in Maryland football. By the looks of it, the biggest in at least a decade. Yesterday OC James Franklin, the teams contractual Head Coach in Waiting, left the program to become the Head Coach at Vanderbilt. While it had looked very unlikely that he would actually succeed Ralph Friedgen ever since Kevin Anderson became the school's new AD, he was still the man who the coaching staff could point to for continuity given that the Fridge's coaching days were coming to a close irrespective of his success.

Apparently that was just the tip of the iceberg as I came home today to the news that not only was Franklin officially gone after a week of back and forth, but it looked like the team would have a new head coach as well in the coming weeks. Apparently Franklin's departure, along with the pending departure of several assistant coaches who would go with Franklin, as well as Fridge's lack of contract past next season, has set off a chain of events where the ten year coach is going to be bought out by the school in the coming weeks.

Needless to say, this is shocking, intriguing stuff, especially on the heels of Anderson giving the Big Man an explicit vote of confidence assuring his return next season. It isn't official (although Chick Hernandez has reported it as fact and ESPN has picked up on it as well), but the fallout here will be amazing.

Clearly with Fridge enjoying a resurgence and winning the ACC Coach of the Year award, and a young team that will likely start next season inside the top 20 as possible Atlantic Division favorites, Anderson and, let's face it, Kevin Plank, need to have a plan. Early indications are that former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach may go from message board fantasy and blog banter to reality in the coming weeks. Leach and Maryland are a match that has made sense given Plank (and TT's) Under Armour ties (not of the neckwear kind), but we will know for sure. For now there are two emotional sides to this: the Fridge side and the Leach side.

Say what you want about Fridge, but the man ressurrected football at this school. The team finished above .500 just once in the 15 years before Fridge, and even that was a 6-5-1 season that ended in an Independence Bowl tie. Fridge one from day one, and while he would never match the success of his first three seasons that included 31 wins, a National Coach of the Year award, and an ACC title, the team won much more than it had in its recent past. His current record is 74-40, and he's an alumni coming off a season where the team nearly stole a share of the Atlantic Division. It simply doesn't feel right for him to be forced out, at least not now. Not this year.

On the other hand, there is more than a little bit of excitement in a possible move. It's certainly clear even to the those with the most severe cases of Fridge Fever that the program had plateaued (at best). Football will always likely be second best at Maryland, but there is no reason that the program should have as little buzz as it does right now. Hiring Leach, a guy who has succeeded in the Big XII and excited fans with his preposterous Air Raid Offense, signals not only a commitment to winning by the school, but perhaps more importanly by Kevin Plank. We got that UA money now, bitches. Oregon and their second rate sweatshop using clothier can GTFOOH.

But of course there's some apprehension. Kevin Anderson, by making a move, damn well had better do it right. Anything less than Mike Leach as the replacement, if it happens this month, is an utter failure. Other names being bandied about (Ty Willingham and Mike Locksley) are probably just idle speculation, but they are scary idle speculation. Even Leach is far from teflon as a candidate. He won 10 games just once at Texas Tech and went a combined 5-15 against Texas and Oklahoma during his tenure there. Tech was good, but they were clearly second tier in their conference. And, oh yeah, he got fired for unapologetically locking the concussive son of Craig James is a dark shed after a practice. Not that I particularly care about players getting locked in sheds as long as he wins 9 games a year here, but it probably warrants mentioning.

So stay tuned. This is bittersweet. Farewell Fridge...maybe.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Beating Mumpkins to a Fridge Post

Luckily, I'm just Owl, the art director for this here web-log.

(Click photo for full image.)

I mean, I'm excited, but altogether shocked. I guess that's what we get for turning a two win season (lest we forget) into this year.

Congrats Fridge. Kudos Danny.