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Terps' Friedgen not going anywhere Posted: Tuesday February 12, 2002 10:37 AMUpdated: Tuesday February 12, 2002 10:15 PM
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - In the end, Ralph Friedgen couldn't leave his Maryland players. Friedgen arrived at his team's complex at 5:30 a.m. EST Tuesday and confronted some anxious and angry players. Knowing that Friedgen had spoken to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Monday about the team's head coaching vacancy, they demanded to know what he would do. "They were pretty upset. They virtually issued me an ultimatum: Are you in or out?" Friedgen said. The answer: In at Maryland, and out as the successor to Tony Dungy at Tampa Bay. "I probably wouldn't have done it anyway, but the players brought it to a head," Friedgen said. "They're special to me." Friedgen is special to the Terrapins, who last season led the team to an Atlantic Coast Conference title and a berth in the Orange Bowl in his first year as a head coach. A lifelong assistant, Friedgen is suddenly hot property. He signed a 10-year contract with Maryland in December after being pursued by Georgia Tech, and the Bucs found him to an intriguing possibility to fill the void left by the firing of Dungy last month.
Curious to hear what Tampa Bay had to offer, Friedgen played host to the sons of Bucs owner Malcolm Glazer for approximately four hours Monday night. "It was something you had to look into from a monetary standpoint ... just to see what the options are," he said. "We exchanged ideas, philosophies and talked about my offensive structure." He said the Glazers never offered him a job or discussed terms of a contract. Friedgen's interview came after Bill Parcells backed away from the job and the Glazer family decided not to hire former Baltimore defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis. Lewis ended up signing a three-year contract to become defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins. Friedgen, figuring he was just getting started at turning around Maryland's long-dormant program, decided to end speculation that he was interested in moving on to the pros. "It's very flattering to be considered after so many years of not being considered," said Friedgen, 54, a longtime assistant before being hired by Maryland. "We have a long way to go here. I know what I have here. Sometimes you don't know what you'll have in other places." Although Friedgen made a name for himself as offensive coordinator of Georgia Tech and at Maryland, his experience has not been limited to the college game. He served with the San Diego Chargers in 1993-96 under Bobby Ross, helping the 1994 team reach the Super Bowl as its offensive coordinator. His success with the Chargers convinced him that his offensive philosophy would work in the NFL. "I know it would. No doubt at all," he said. Friedgen told Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow on Monday morning of his pending meeting with the Glazers, then put her mind at ease Tuesday by telling her of his final decision before a hastily called news conference at the university. "It's very welcome news," Yow said. "The thing that I'm most pleased about is that he's staying at Maryland, where he belongs, continuing the rebuilding of the football program." Given that Friedgen fielded two offers in three months, there's a good chance there will be more such interviews in the future.
"As long as we're going to be successful, there will be people
who want to talk to me," he said. "That doesn't mean I'm looking
to get out of Maryland. I'm very happy at Maryland."
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