The Dream Is Over For Randy Edsall At Maryland
By Ty Duffy
Multiple outlets are confirming reports Randy Edsall is out at Maryland, most likely when the team enters its bye week after the Ohio State game. The decision comes after consecutive losses to Michigan and West Virginia, by a combined score of 73-6. With Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan State on deck. It was bound to get ugly.
The firing comes months after Edsall signed a contract extension, albeit one with a school friendly buyout.
Edsall, 57, found this the opportune moment to reveal his Wiz Khalifa fandom.
"Worrying is stupid. It's like walking around with an umbrella waiting for it to rain."- Wiz Khalifa
— Randy Edsall (@RandyEdsall) October 9, 2015
Maryland has ranged from disaster to mild disappointment under Edsall. In his fifth season, he has compiled a 17-33 record vs. FBS teams. He failed to produce a better than .500 conference season.
Edsall’s hire was a head scratcher at the time. It looks worse in retrospect.
Maryland fired Ralph Friedgen after a nine-win, Top 25 season (a feat Edsall has not equaled). They let then offensive coordinator (and presumed heir apparent) James Franklin walk. They turned down Mike Leach. They would not wait another week to hire Rich Rodriguez.
Desperate to attract fans and trying to become Under Armour’s marketing platform, hiring the lunch pail coach from UConn seemed like a weird fit. The skill-set required to build a program from scratch is not the same as the one required to raise a team from mediocrity.
It’s uncertain where Maryland goes from here. It is a Big Ten job. The Terps have a solid local recruiting base. Kids, we’re told, love the #UNIFORMZ. But, the uphill slog with Meyer, Harbaugh, and Dantonio in the B1G East is not a selling point.
Whatever happens, uncertainty is preferable to stagnancy. It’s time for Maryland to choose again.