Coaching Perspective – Maryland

Randy Edsall has the difficult task of filling the shoes of one of Maryland’s greatest coaches of all time…but is Ralph Friedgen the goat (greatest of all time) for the Terps football program.  In theory the namesake of the stadium, should hold that honor – no?  Let’s take a look!

Not In Consideration (Chronological Order)

• William W. Skinner: 1892, 0-3
• Samuel Harding: 1893, 6-0
• J.G. Bannon: 1894, 4-3-0
• Grenville Lewis: 1896, 6-2-2
• John Lillibridge: 1897, 2-4
• Frank Kenly: 1898, 2-5-1
• S.S. Cooke: 1899, 1-4
• F.H. Peters: 1900, 3-4-1
• Emmons Dunbar: 1901, 1-7
• D. John Markey: 1902-1904, 12-13-4
• Fred K. Nielsen: 1905-1906, 11-7

Nielsen became the first Maryland coach to not spend at least part of his time as a player-coach.

• Charles W. Melick: 1907, 3-6
• William Lang: 1908-1909, 5-13
• Edward Larkin: 1909, 2-5

Lang and Larkin co-coached the 1909 squad to the 2-5 record.  Too many cooks?

• Royal Alston: 1910, 4-3-1
• Jack Faber: 1935, 1940-1941, 12-13-4 (4-4-2)

Faber was much more important to UM athletics as the lacrosse coach.  During his 35 year tenure he won 8 national titles and 9 league titles and compiled a 249-57 mark.

• Frank Dobson: 1936-1939, 18-21 (8-5)

Did lead the school to their first league title in 1937.

• Clark Shaughnessy: 1942, 1946, 10-8 (3-7)

The famous Minnesota do-it all athlete had much better stretches as a coach at Tulane (2 league titles) and with the LA Rams than he did in College Park.

• Clarence Spears: 1943-1944, 5-12-1 (3-1)
• Paul “Bear” Bryant: 1945, 6-2-1 (3-2)
• Tommy Mont: 1956-1958, 11-18-1 (9-8-1)
• Tom Nugent: 1959-1965, 36-34 (26-20)
• Lou Saban: 1966, 4-6 (3-3)
• Bob Ward: 1967-1968, 2-17 (2-11)
• Roy Lester: 1969-1971, 7-25 (6-12)
• Joe Krivak: 1987-1991, 20-34-2 (15-19)
• Mark Duffner: 1992-1996, 20-35 (13-27)

Duffner, along with some other coaches in that era, was a part of a wave of miserable failures coming from the D1-aa (now FCS) level to the highest level.  While at Holy Cross he went 60-5-1 (25-1) and won the league 5 times in his six year tenure.  Never came close to that level at UM.

• Ron Vanderlinden: 1997-2000, 15-29 (7-25)
• Randy Edsall: 2011-present, 21-30 (10-22)

Edsall’s mark includes Saturday’s win over Richmond.

Did Not Place (5th to 4th)

• Ralph Friedgen: 2001-2010, 75-50 (43-37)

Ah yes, the lovable Friedgen.  This offensive-minded coach had some very fun teams, including 5 that would win 9 or more games.  He went 5-2 in bowl games, ended the year in the polls 4 times and won the ACC in 2001.  Possibly a victim of his own success as he won 31 of his 75 games and 20 of his 43 league games in his first 3 years.  Despite a bounce back season in 2010, sagging ticket sales and loss of interest stemming from the 2-10 debacle in 2009 cost him his job.  Dumb firing that Maryland still has not come back from.

• Bobby Ross: 1982-1986, 39-19-1 (24-5-1)

Oh the great what if game with coach Ross.  3 ACC titles, including a 12-0 stretch in 84-85,  a 2-2 bowl and 3 finishes in the polls had this program on a great upward trajectory.  Unfortunately politics at the school as well as lack of funding for promised improvements to Byrd stadium caused Ross to walk away.  He was quickly snatched up by Georgia Tech where he would the 1990 national title.

Bronze Medal

Curley Byrd: 1911-1934, 119-82-15 (37-38-7)

This is a tough one because he never won a league, never finished in the polls, only had one 8-win season but compiled so many seasons that he is the all-time winningest coach at the school.  To me the tie breaker was longevity and the fact that he only had 5 seasons under .500 despite a 23 year career.  He also laid the foundation as a school administrator for developing the campus, the stadium and leading to the successes of the two coaches placed above him.  I think it is fair to point out that had Friedgen not been so unceremoniously canned or if Ross had been given the promised facilities, both could have easily passed Byrd.  Another unfortunate aspect of Byrd’s up-and-down tenure is his year-long struggle for power with Bear Bryant that led to him jumping to Kentucky after just one season…another what could have been for the Terps if the famous Bryant had stayed.

Silver Medal

Jerry Claiborne: 1972-1981, 77-37-3 (46-11-1)

Claiborne guided the Terps to three ACC titles in 74-76 going a combined 16-0 over those three years.  5 times were his teams ranked in the final polls and he made 7 bowl games, winning two of them.  His 1976 team had an outside shot at a national title after going 11-0 (5-0) before a Cotton Bowl loss to a high flying Houston team.  Regrettably, he decided to head to his alma mater, Kentucky, following the 1981 season.

Gold Medal

Jim Tatum: 1947-1955, 73-15-4 (31-5-3)

Not only did Tatum see the transition from the Southern Conference to founding member of the ACC, he led the program to three titles (2 ACC) and the school’s only national title in 1953.  He went 3-2 in bowls and saw his club ranked 6 times in final polls, cracking the top 5 three of those occasions.  His team also claims the 1951 title because as #3 they beat the number one ranked Vols in the Sugar Bowl; however, the AP didn’t include bowl games (incredibly dumb, I know).  That Sugar Bowl win came with a funny result.  Due to conference rules banning bowls, the league did not let Maryland play a conference game in 1952 resulting in an unusual 7-2 (0-0) mark despite being members of a league.  After Byrd’s retirement as president, the school made a push to de-emphasize athletics and the friction led to Tatum heading to his alma mater and taking the North Carolina job.  Tragically he died just 3 years later due to a typhus like disease before he could mount any sort of turn around in Chapel Hill.