Friedgen deserves a shot at redemption

The fundamental mistake Terrapin football coach Ralph Friedgen has made during his nine-year tenure wasn’t hiring James Franklin as offensive coordinator, allowing a high-profile local recruit to sign out of town or choosing Morgan Green over Steve Slaton.

Friedgen simply started too well, too fast. After winning the ACC title in 2001, he won 11 games in 2002 and 10 more in 2003.

Suddenly, there were outrageous expectations for a previously expectation-less program. Friedgen outgrew his modest surroundings, not gradually, but at such a feverish pace that after a 2-10 season the Athletics Department is reportedly considering firing him and buying out the remaining $4 million and two years on his contract.

That move would be a bigger mistake than any error Friedgen has ever made.

Besides the obvious injustice of firing Friedgen for not meeting the very standards he created and buying him out because the season ticket revenue he made possible has fallen off, there are just too many other unfeasible factors.

After you fire Friedgen, who do you hire? Franklin is an affable guy, but he certainly hasn’t done enough with his current gig to validate a promotion. Brian Kelly of Cincinnati, Gary Patterson of TCU or even Skip Holtz of ECU aren’t coming here. They are looking for more prestigious jobs with bigger paydays in better conferences. There’s a good chance they wouldn’t perform better.

That leaves the Terps with a well-regarded assistant coach. Let’s say he comes in next season, and magically makes the Terps a nine- or 10-win team, just as Friedgen did when he arrived after serving as the offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech.

If that’s how it plays out, that new coach would have just done the same thing Friedgen did nine seasons ago.

The best job in sports is the first-year head coach who takes over a losing team. You can harness the new energy and excitement around the program. All you have to do is win more games than the last guy to be labeled a success. If you win a lot more, you’re a miracle worker.

That’s partially what Friedgen did, but there’s a difference.

People forget that Friedgen proved he could coach in the meantime, even if it also became apparent that making the Terps a truly elite program is a near impossible task.

In 2006, with a limited quarterback and a mediocre defense, Friedgen carefully guided the Terps to a 9-4 record with a number of close wins over more talented teams.

In 2007, Friedgen must have been doing something right because the Terps exposed two top-10 teams amid some frustrating narrow losses.

Last season was uneven and ended poorly, but Friedgen probably still had the team’s attention if he could get them to beat three ranked teams the week after morale-crippling losses.

This year, it undeniably fell apart. A rare combination of inexperience, injuries to key players and, yes, poor coaching decisions, did Friedgen in. But there should be little doubt next season’s Terps will be better, perhaps a lot better if sophomore quarterback Jamarr Robinson can build on his late-season showing and Friedgen and Franklin can make the right changes to the offense.

The Terps’ 2010 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 36 by Rivals.com. That’s one spot ahead of Florida State, and two ahead of Ole Miss, though questions about Friedgen’s job status won’t help matters down the stretch. (Contrary to popular belief, Friedgen’s recruiting classes have consistently been rated in the top-25 to top-40 range, right where a program like Maryland’s should be.)

The Athletics Department shouldn’t let the dramatic contrast in Friedgen’s great start and awful 2009 influence its decision.

Let Friedgen’s whole body of work — a 66-46 record with six bowl appearances in nine seasons — be the measurement. At this school, that’s about as good as it gets.

Don’t fire Friedgen because of that, even if for three seasons he somehow made it seem like better things were possible.

akraut@umdbk.com