Ralph Friedgen

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Ralph Harry Friedgen (born April 4, 1947) is an American football coach.

After serving as Rutgers' special assistant coach in the 2014 season, he was most recently named as Rutgers' special assistant coach.

From 2000 to 2010, he was the head coach at the University of Maryland, College Park.

It was announced that Friedgen would not be back for the 2011 season after the 2010 regular season, an end to his ten-year tenure as head coach.

Friedgen spent time as an offensive coordinator at Maryland, Georgia Tech, and with the San Diego Chargers in the National Football League (NFL).

Early life and education

Friedgen was born in Harrison, New York, on April 4, 1947. His father, "Big Ralph" Friedgen, played for Fordham University from 1938 to 1939, and taught high school football for 30 years. The younger Friedgen starred as a water boy and boss under his father's leadership, and the two children loved New York Giants and Jets games together. He played quarterback on his father's team at Harrison High School. The head coach of Harrison's rival Rye High School, John Nugent, recommended that Friedgen be recruited by Maryland head coach Tom Nugent. Lee Corso, then an assistant coach at the academy, was in charge of his recruiting. Nugent was fired as head coach after his first season at Maryland, but his replacement Lou Saban followed Friedgen to fullback to fill in for an injured teammate. Maryland welcomed a new coach and Bob Ward changed Friedgen's position, this time to offensive guard, although he had never been blocked before. Friedgen, who is upset over the constant turnover in head coach and position changes, received a favorable recommendation to transfer from coach Ward, but his father said, "You can move, but the key you need isn't going to fit the door because we're changing the lock." Quitters don't live here." He remained at Maryland as a guard, but later said the experience taught him a lesson in perseverance. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity as an undergraduate. Friedgen started as a graduate assistant at his alma mater before moving to The Citadel, William and Mary, and Murray State after graduating with bachelor's degrees in physical education in 1970. Frank Beamer, who later served as the head coach at Virginia Tech, joined him on several of these coaching stops.

Personal life

Since 1973, Friedgen has been married to his wife Gloria (née Spina) of Malta. They have three children.

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Assistant coaching career

Friedgen returned to the University of Maryland in 1982 to serve as offensive coordinator under head coach Bobby Ross, who was his mentor during his time at The Citadel. During this time period, he was involved in the growth of quarterbacks Stan Gelbaugh and Frank Reich, as well as Boomer Esiason. The University of Maryland football program was also a perennial top-20 team during this period, winning three straight Atlantic Coast Conference championships from 1983 to 1985 and appearing in famous bowl games. Friedgen followed Ross to Georgia Tech after a subpar 1986 season and amidement of an athletic department quagmire due in large part to the Len Bias incident. Georgia Tech went from being unranked in the preseason to winning an 11-0-1 record and a slice of the national championship with Colorado in 1990. Friedgen followed Ross in 1992, this time to the San Diego Chargers, where he orchestrated an offense that led to the franchise's appearance in Super Bowl XXIX. Friedgen returned to Georgia Tech in 1997, where he crafted the balanced offensive attack (200 yards on the ground, 200 yards through the air) that would become his trademark. The Yellow Jackets were co-champions of the ACC, stunned Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, and finished the season ranked among the top ten teams in the country's top ten teams during his second year as co-champions of the ACC, defeated Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, and finished the season ranked among the top ten teams in the country. In 1999, he was the king and winner of the Frank Broyles Award, which was given to the country's top assistant coach. On his return to College Park, Friedgen brought 32 years of assistant coaching experience (including 21 years as an offensive coordinator in college or the NFL).

Head coaching career

Friedgen was named head coach of the University of Maryland football team in November 2000. He was charged with rebuilding a struggling program that had only one winning season and no bowl game appearances since 1990.

Friedgen's career began against North Carolina, and running back Willie Parker ran 77 yards for a touchdown early in the first quarter. Maryland came back to win, 23-7, making Friedgen the first Terrapins coach to win his opener since Tom Nugent in 1959. Friedgen led Maryland to a surprising 10–2 record, the first outright Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title for a team other than Florida State since the Seminoles, the first major bowl championship in more than two decades, as well as an appearance in the 2002 Orange Bowl. Friedgen has received numerous "Coach of the Year" awards, including the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year, the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, the Home Depot Coach of the Year Award, and the Walter Camp Coach of the Year.

Friedgen had questioned his players with the question, "Are you in or out?" throughout the year. He was a high-profile candidate for an NFL job after his dramatic first-year recovery, and his players repeated his query. "The kids made a promise to me last year, and I knew it was my turn," he said at Maryland. We have a lot to do. This service has yet to roll out.

Friedgen's second season saw him set a 1–2 record and the club's ferocious to consider it a "new season" in anticipation. Maryland then won nine of its remaining ten regular season games, including a come-from-behind homecoming victory over the Philip Rivers-led 15th-ranked NC State team. Despite the loss of leading rusher Bruce Perry to injury, Sports Illustrated praised a "stifling defense," vivacious special teams, and an offense that flourished under quarterback Scott McBrien's leadership and a streamlined playbook. Maryland won by 30-3 over Tennessee in the 2002 Peach Bowl, the school's first bowl victory since the Cherry Bowl in 1985. The team set a new school record for victories in a season first set by the 1976 team.

The Terrapins won by 41–7 over West Virginia in the 2004 Gator Bowl, defeating them in 2003. The University of Maryland football team was one of five programs nationally to win ten or more games in his first three seasons as a head coach.

Friedgen's tenure began in 2004, and the team did not qualify for a bowl game. Highlights included on October 30, the upset of fifth-ranked Florida State to win for the first time in the series, as well as the first loss of a top-five team since 1982. Friedgen's 36th victory as head coach came on November 27, his first victory in conference history.

Maryland failed to qualify for a bowl game once more during the 2005 season. Friedgen's team got off to a 4–2 start, but the team's lack of offensive speed and a propensity for forced turnovers, both of which may be attributed to quarterback Sam Hollenbach's injury, led to the team's loss of just one of its last five games to a 5–6 record in a second straight season. The first Crab Bowl Classic game since 1965 was played in 2005.

Friedgen led a Maryland revival in 2006 and put an end to rumors over his job security after two losing seasons. Friedgen may have resigned as the year's ACC Coach of the Year if Wake Forest's stellar season under Jim Grobe, according to the Baltimore Sun. For the first time since 2003, Maryland has qualified for a bowl game. Despite being outgained by every one of its eleven Division I FBS opponents, the Terrapins started the season 8–2, led by a 28–26 victory over Virginia, which saw the team bounce back from a 20–0 halftime deficit to defeat the Cavaliers. Maryland defeated both Florida State and Miami in the same year, making it the first team since 1985 to defeat both Florida State and Miami in the same year. In the Champs Sports Bowl, the Terrapins defeated Purdue 24-7 to win Friedgen's 50th game as Maryland's head coach. Friedgen's 50 victories in six seasons tied him with former North Carolina head coach Dick Crum for the second most victories by a sixth-year coach in the ACC (former Clemson head coach Danny Ford has the most victories in his first six seasons).

Maryland defeated the tenth-ranked Rutgers on the road, as well as eighth-ranked Boston College in the regular-season home finale. This was the first time in history that the school had defeated two top-10 teams in the same season. Maryland was one of the only teams to win this championship in 2007 after Kentucky, LSU, and Illinois. For the fifth time in Friedgen's seven seasons, the Terrapins were disqualified for postseason play.

Maryland defeated Oregon State on December 28, scoring on the first drive. The Terrapins eventually lost, 21–14.

Maryland welcomed 30 senior players to the 2008 season, the biggest class since Friedgen took over as head coach in 2001. Despite the veteran team's high hopes, Maryland's preseason poll projected the finish fifth among the six teams in the Atlantic Division. Senior Jordan Steffy was named the starting quarterback over junior Chris Turner, who had finished the 2007 campaign on the top of the depth chart at the end of summer training and amid some controversies.

Maryland defeated Delaware 14-7 in the season's opener, using all three of its quarterbacks. The Terrapins were defeated remarkably by Middle Tennessee State, 24-14, and some analysts guessed Friedgen was on the coaching "hot seat" and that his position was in danger. Maryland won over four of the top-25 ranked opponents for the fourth time. The Terrapins held a 7-3 record in week twelve and were ranked first in the Atlantic Division with two regular season games remaining. Maryland lost both, but the team's standing suffered. The Terrapins were selected by the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, to compete in the Western Athletic Conference's top-two team, Nevada. Maryland defeated the country's top-five offensive team in an offensive shootout, winning by 42–35 in a final result. Friedgen's postseason record was 8–5 (4–4), while Friedgen tally tally to 4–2, with twice as many bowl victories as any other coach in school history.

With narrow victories over the James Madison Dukes and the Clemson Tigers, the Terrapins wrapped up the season 2–10. The poor season was blamed on turnovers, a lack of equipment, injuries, inexperience, and poor offensive line play.

Friedgen's employment was questioned, but there was also some doubt as to whether the University of Maryland would afford to buy out his remaining term. Friedgen was supposed to leave after the 2011 season, and James Franklin would have been the new head coach, according to contracts. Fans of Friedgen, his employees, and Franklin's relationship remained a source of rage.

Anonymous sources told The Washington Post in November 2009 that a buyout of Friedgen's deal worth more than $4 million was likely. Jack Reale, Friedgen's counsel, said that neither he nor Friedgen had been notified of a buyout. Friedgen "inwardly regretted" the athletic department's selection of Franklin as his successor, according to the story, because it impacts other members of the coaching staff. Friedgen was also reported that the Terrapin Club and the Maryland Gridiron Network booster groups all had their help. Len Elmore and Tom McMillen, two former Terp basketball players and key members of the State University system, expressed doubt that public funds could be used to buy Friedgen's job, and program supporters said there were no plans to raise private funds for that purpose.

Friedgen would return to coach Maryland in 2010 on December 1, 2009.

During the regular season, Maryland went 8–4 for the second time. Friedgen was named ACC Coach of the Year by the Atlantic Coast Conference in honor of the year's revival.

After Maryland won seven of its first ten games, concerns about Friedgen's job security have been reduced. Friedgen will be back for the 2011 season, the final year of his contract, according to Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson on November 19, 2010. Despite this news, offensive coordinator James Franklin accepted a job at Vanderbilt and gave four other members of the staff four other positions, Anderson did not have questions about Friedgen's future on December 17. The Washington Post announced on December 18, 2010, that the school was removing him as the head coach and had given him a buyout of his remaining term worth $2,000,000. Friedgen will not be returning for the 2011 season after being named by athletic director Kevin Anderson on December 20, 2010. Friedgen said in an interview with WNST radio in Baltimore that he was so upset about the demise that he burned his Maryland diploma and was "flying a Georgia Tech flag right now," but later claimed he was joking and that he had not burned his diploma and hadn't really burned his diploma.

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