500 replies to this topic

[You Play to Win the Game]

This is from an article which was linked in the Fox Sports piece about Kiffin that Stoner linked...

 

But the praise for Anderson's decision should end there. His ham-handed handling of Edsall's departure may end up backfiring on him. When 247Sports.com reported last Thursday afternoon that Edsall would likely be fired this weekend, Anderson went dark. The school released a weak statement that said that Edsall would coach against Ohio State on Saturday, essentially confirming the report and leaving Edsall twisting in the wind.

 

Anderson bungled every angle--letting the news leak out, not communicating and then hiding when the lights got bright. His lack of communication with Edsall included not calling him for nearly eight hours after the news was released.

 

This irked uberbooster Kevin Plank, a former Maryland football player and founder of Under Armour. Plank found it disrespectful that Anderson didn't communicate with Edsall after the story broke. Edsall was a solid coach for the Terps (a 22-34 record in 4 1/2 seasons) and acted with class throughout his tenure. Hanging him out to try is poor form, no matter whether the ultimate decision came from Anderson or somebody above him.

 

Anderson's clunky moves achieved a brutal daily double. He managed to look like an athletic director for whom no big-time coach would ever want to work, while also irritating his top booster. (Anderson declined to comment, but in another report apologized to Edsall for the story leaking out. "That wasn't the way it was supposed to happen," Anderson told The Washington Post.)

 

http://www.campusrus...1401199263.html

 

KA is a total buffoon. Good for Plank for calling him out. Bush league, and the writer makes a great point about the message that sends to other big time coaches considering working for him.

[Mackus]

First I've heard about Plank being upset with the way it was handled.  Not surprising that he was upset it leaked, that was bad PR, and not calling Edsall immediately afterwards was kind of shitty.  But if you're in Edsall's position, do you want to be lied to that "everything is ok" or be told "yeah, we're canning you after the game"?  And if you're Anderson, how do you know which route to go with in your conversation with Edsall?

 

Awkward position for everybody to be involved in when you know you want to move on but you have a particular target date you have in mind for making the move.

[You Play to Win the Game]

Once the decision was made, he needed to make the move. It's not rocket science. You then would've had an actual game + the bye under the interim to move forward with. And given where we are, it doesn't remotely matter anyway. We weren't winning that game, and you weren't doing Randy Edsall any favors having the camera's on him every 2 minutes on Saturday, which I found to be incredibly awkward. Despite the result on Saturday, and his overall ineptness, I felt bad looking at him throughout that broadcast on Saturday. Anderson is incompetent when it comes to big-time AD'ing and he absolutely needs to go. I think Plank probably realizes that too.

[Mackus]

I think it made sense to wait until after the OSU game.  Even if you have no intentions of hiring the interim fulltime, I'm not sure you wanna have them get pasted 70-0 by the #1 team in their 3rd or 4th day on the job.

 

The leak and the lack of communication were the problems, I think.  I don't have a major problem with the timing (well, as far as it relates to a matter of days, they should've fired him multiple years ago IMO).

[You Play to Win the Game]

It definitely made sense to wait until after the OSU game, but once it leaked, they should've pulled the trigger. That just isn't right.

 

And this is a pattern with KA, who can't seem to do much right with the only two programs that matter.

[DJ MC]

But if you're in Edsall's position, do you want to be lied to that "everything is ok" or be told "yeah, we're canning you after the game"?  And if you're Anderson, how do you know which route to go with in your conversation with Edsall?

 

It doesn't sound like he was told anything either way.

[Chris B]

Never was impressed with KA (mind you, in extremely limited "interactions") when I was at UMD.

[bnickle]

First I've heard about Plank being upset with the way it was handled. Not surprising that he was upset it leaked, that was bad PR, and not calling Edsall immediately afterwards was kind of shitty. But if you're in Edsall's position, do you want to be lied to that "everything is ok" or be told "yeah, we're canning you after the game"? And if you're Anderson, how do you know which route to go with in your conversation with Edsall?

Awkward position for everybody to be involved in when you know you want to move on but you have a particular target date you have in mind for making the move.

Yup. So Anderson is supposed to call up Edsall and tell him hey we want you to coach this week and then we're gonna let you go. The problem was the leak, but it was already out there. IMS sat on it as long as they could before going with it.

I guess after it leaks you just can him but if they didn't want the interim guy to coach against OhSt you have to let him twist in the wind. Or straight up lie to him. I know it wasn't Anderson's call alone, if at all, to have him coach against Ohio St.

[You Play to Win the Game]

My hunch is that if KA had his way, he wouldn't have even fired Edsall, and when his hand was forced, he didn't want to have to be the one to have the awkward conversation 3/4 days before Ohio State.

 

What does that say about your Athletic Director?

[bnickle]

My hunch is that if KA had his way, he wouldn't have even fired Edsall, and when his hand was forced, he didn't want to have to be the one to have the awkward conversation 3/4 days before Ohio State.

What does that say about your Athletic Director?

How is that conversation supposed to go when you haven't been told how to proceed.

I have no problem if they want to go when in a seperate direction at AD but that's going to slow your search down even further. Anderson is essentially on the sideline for this hire so you don't have to worry about him messing anything up.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Meh, I think the decision to fire Edsall was mostly made after the loss to Bowling Green.  In the sense that was the final straw with the boosters. With no financial support, KA's hand was forced.

He held out, hoping that between the road trip to WVU, and the home game vs. Michigan... there would be a 'quality' win which would kick the can down the road.

 

They lost both games, and that was officially it for Edsall.

Jeremy had the same info IMS did, and posted it here on the board 2 days prior to the IMS report. It made sense. Anticipation was getting destroyed at Ohio State (no reason for anyone but Edsall to take that beating), followed by a bye week.

 

Had MD pulled off the impossible last Saturday... that might have earned Edsall the rest of the season, but he was still going to be gone imo. 

 

 

In the end...  KA could have handled this slightly better, by telling Edsall prior to the Ohio State game that he was gone, and announcing it immediately after... but w/e.

 

Plank will get over it, and coaches aren't going to be scared away by this. Will still come down to salary, and coaches believing in the vision MD is pitching.

[Mackus]

My hunch is that if KA had his way, he wouldn't have even fired Edsall, and when his hand was forced, he didn't want to have to be the one to have the awkward conversation 3/4 days before Ohio State.

 

What does that say about your Athletic Director?

 

I don't think we should judge the AD on your hunches

[Greg Pappas]

RE: Bob Stitt

Among the few candidates that interest me (at least those mentioned thus far) I thought I'd share my thoughts on Montana HC, Bob Stitt. Not the youngest guy around (51), but Bob Stitt runs what may be THE most exciting and innovative offense in the country. He's so good that other coaches seek his advice and use of plays. Get a big time DC to join him and you accomplish what is needed here in Maryland... igniting the fan base with a high-powered brand of football. Many fans would be like, "Who?" but smart fans, and more importantly, boosters like Plank, would likely endorse and embrace him (naturally they'd NEED to be on board, no matter the hire.) Offensive recruits would salivate, especially the wealth of skill position athletes that populate the DMV. In virtually every new hire scenario, Mike Locksley would be retained to keep the flow of talent coming. 

Stitt's been the HC at Harvard, the Colorado School of Mines, and in his first year at FCS Montana (beating four-time defending champion ND State this season.) Risky? Sure, yet most of the candidates being discussed fall into that category.

 

Here's an insightful piece on Stitt and his offense... http://www.sbnation....offense-montana

[You Play to Win the Game]

There's plenty of other things to judge him on other than my hunches, Mack!

[BSLZackKiesel]

RE: Bob Stitt

Among the few candidates that interest me (at least those mentioned thus far) I thought I'd share my thoughts on Montana HC, Bob Stitt. Not the youngest guy around (51), but Bob Stitt runs what may be THE most exciting and innovative offense in the country. He's so good that other coaches seek his advice and use of plays. Get a big time DC to join him and you accomplish what is needed here in Maryland... igniting the fan base with a high-powered brand of football. Many fans would be like, "Who?" but smart fans, and more importantly, boosters like Plank, would likely endorse and embrace him (naturally they'd NEED to be on board, no matter the hire.) Offensive recruits would salivate, especially the wealth of skill position athletes that populate the DMV. In virtually every new hire scenario, Mike Locksley would be retained to keep the flow of talent coming. 

Stitt's been the HC at Harvard, the Colorado School of Mines, and in his first year at FCS Montana (beating four-time defending champion ND State this season.) Risky? Sure, yet most of the candidates being discussed fall into that category.

 

Here's an insightful piece on Stitt and his offense... http://www.sbnation....offense-montana

I like Stitt, but his offense was "innovative" about 10 years ago. Now that everyone runs it, it's not new. It's kinda like Rich Rodriguez's offense. Innovative at the time, not now. I'd rather get a younger coach who comes from a Power 5 school to run this offense.

[You Play to Win the Game]

My contacts aren't nearly as good as Jeremy's... but someone was adamant yesterday that Gary Williams may be our AD here soon. Not really sure how I feel about that.

[Mackus]

They should change the title to "Sports King" if they hire Gary.

 

He'd be great at it, IMO, at least at several aspects of it.  When he was the coach, he was always phenomenal about giving his time to help coaches from some of the smaller sports, like if a lacrosse recruit wanted to meet the basketball coach or something (Friedgen according to the same person I heard this from was awful in this regard).  And he famously was thrown into coaching soccer when he had his first basketball coaching job.  I think he'd do a really good job of helping the smaller programs while still being a big personality for the two major sports.  He's always seemed to do well with sponsors and chumming with big money donors, making friends with powerful folks like Bisciotti.

 

I have no idea how he'd do from a financial standpoint in terms of knowing how to best divy up funds and all that stuff and ensuring that academic needs are met, but I bet he'd find good help for those type things.

[BSLChrisStoner]

He'd be great at raising funds. He would have people under him to do the actual financial work, and certainly the compliance side. 

 

If he wants it, it will probably happen sooner than later.  It's a bit more work than I would have thought he wanted though.

[Greg Pappas]

I like Stitt, but his offense was "innovative" about 10 years ago. Now that everyone runs it, it's not new. It's kinda like Rich Rodriguez's offense. Innovative at the time, not now. I'd rather get a younger coach who comes from a Power 5 school to run this offense.

 

I disagree. No one runs Stitt's offense, but Stitt. Similar, yes, but not the same. He was an innovator 10 years ago, and still is. Dana Holgorsen of WVU and Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M seem to think he's innovative, utilizing his plays to great success in recent years. I think you're selling Stitt a bit short.

Stitt could be a great coach here for two decades, so I'd hate to pass him up because another candidate is 5 years younger. Who is the best candidate overall? Age, fairly, is one variable, but one that shouldn't count against Stitt. Were he closer to 60, I'd have more reservations. Urban Meyer is 51... Saban is 63. Just saying.

With all of that being said, an ideal candidate would be younger, from a P5 school, and with a proven track record of success. I get that. There are very few realistic ideal candidates out there, though.

 

Note: Seems Dan Mullen's name has popped up in the rumor bin. Interesting.

[bnickle]

Just when I thought I was done with Gary Williams.