Ralph Friedgen

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Ralph Friedgen
Title	Head Coach
College	Maryland
Sport	Football
Team record	6-7
Born	April 4, 1947 (1947-04-04) (age 61)
Place of birth	Harrison, New York
Career highlights
Overall	56-31
Coaching stats
College Football DataWarehouse
Playing career
1966, 68	Maryland
Position	Offensive guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2001-Present	Maryland

Ralph Harry Friedgen (b. April 4, 1947 in Harrison, New York) has been the head coach of the University of Maryland Terrapins football team since the 2001 season.

[edit] Early history

Friedgen is regarded as one of the game's most offensive-minded coaches; "The Fridge", as he's affectionately known around College Park, matriculated at the University of Maryland in the mid-1960s, where he played the position of offensive guard. After completion of his Bachelor's in Physical education in 1970, Friedgen served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, before later accepting positions on the staffs of The Citadel, William and Mary, and Murray State. Joining him on many of these coaching stops was Frank Beamer, who is the current coach at Virginia Tech.

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 stop at The Citadel. During this time period, he had a hand in the development of quarterbacks Stan Gelbaugh and Frank Reich, and most notably Boomer Esiason. It was also during this time that the University of Maryland football program was a perennial top-20 team, winning consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships from 1983 to 1985 and appearing in prominent bowl games. Following a sub-par 1986 season, and amidst an athletic department quagmire due in large part to the Len Bias incident, Friedgen followed Ross to Georgia Tech, a stint lasting four years. In 1990, Georgia Tech went from being unranked in the preseason to achieving an 11-0-1 record and a share of the national championship with Colorado. In 1992, Friedgen followed Ross once again, this time to the NFL's San Diego Chargers, where he orchestrated an offense that led the franchise to an appearance in Super Bowl XXIX.^[1] In 1997, Friedgen returned to Georgia Tech, where, as offensive coordinator, he developed the balanced offensive attack (200 yards on the ground, 200 yards through the air) that would become his trademark. During his second year, the Yellow Jackets were co-champions of the ACC, defeated Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, and ended the season ranked among the nation's top 10 teams. In 1999, he was awarded the Frank Broyles Award, given to the nation's best assistant coach.

[edit] University of Maryland Coach

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

[edit] 2001 season, top 10, ACC Title, and Orange Bowl appearance

In Friedgen's first season, he surprisingly led the Terps to a 10-2 record, a top 10 national ranking, the first outright Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title by a team other than Florida State since the Seminoles entered the league, and an appearance in the 2002 Orange Bowl. The proceeding two seasons would provide more of the same.

In 2001, Friedgen went on to receive numerous "Coach of the Year" plaudits from various organizations (the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, the The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award, and the Walter Camp Coach of the Year being four).

[edit] 2002 season and Peach Bowl win

Friedgen's second year saw his team overcome a 1-2 start to the season and won 9 of 10 regular season games, including a come-from-behind homecoming victory against a top-15 Phillip Rivers-led NC State team. Maryland ended the season with a 30-3 victory over Tennessee in the 2002 Peach Bowl, the school's first bowl victory since the Cherry Bowl in 1985. The team achieved a final record of 11-3, matching the school record for wins in a season first set by the 1976 team.

[edit] 2003 season and Gator Bowl win

In 2003, the Terps would finish with a 10-3 record, including a 41-7 victory over rival West Virginia in the 2004 Gator Bowl. The University of Maryland football team became one of five programs nationally to reach the 10-win plateau from 2001 to 2003, and Friedgen became the first coach in ACC history to win 10 or more games in his first three seasons as a head coach. He struggled with his weight all of his life but decided to motive his players by losing weight in the offseason.

[edit] 2004 season and upset of Florida State

The 2004 season would be the first disappointment of Friedgen's tenure. While the team failed to qualify for a bowl game, there were some highlights. On October 30, his relatively young team upset fifth-ranked Florida State to earn the first Maryland win in that series, as well as the first win over a top-5 team since 1982. On November 27, a 13-7 win over Wake Forest gave Friedgen his 36th win as head coach, making him the winningest fourth-year coach in conference history.

[edit] 2005 season

The 2005 season again saw the Terps fail to qualify for a bowl game. Friedgen's team started out with a 4-2 start, but a lack of offensive efficiency and a propensity for unforced turnovers -- both of which may be attributed in part to an injury sustained by quarterback Sam Hollenbach -- caused the team to win only one of its last five games to finish with a 5-6 record for a second consecutive season.

[edit] 2006 season and Champ Sport Bowl win

The 2006 season saw the Terps qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 2003. Despite being outgained by every one of its 11 Division I-A opponents, the Terps started the season 8-2, highlighted by a 28-26 victory over Virginia in which the team stormed back from a 20-0 halftime deficit to defeat the Cavaliers. The Terps also became the first team since 1985 to defeat both Florida State and Miami in the same year. The Terps defeated Purdue 24-7 in the Champs Sports Bowl to give Friedgen his 50th win as Maryland's head coach. Friedgen's 50 wins in six seasons ties him with former North Carolina head coach Dick Crum for the second most wins by a sixth-year coach in the ACC (former Clemson head coach Danny Ford holds the record with 52 wins in his first six seasons.) The team has outscored its last three opponents 95-17 in bowl games.

[edit] 2007 season

The 2007 season saw the Terps defeat #10 Rutgers on the road, as well as #8 Boston College in the regular-season home finale. This marked the first time in history that the school had beaten two top-10 teams in the same season. Maryland joined Kentucky, LSU, and Illinois as the only teams to accomplish this feat in 2007. A 37-0 shutout of NC State allowed the Terps to qualify for postseason play for the fifth time in Friedgen's seven seasons.

On December 28, Maryland played Oregon State in the Emerald Bowl and scored on the first drive. Unfortunately for Friedgen and the Terps, they lost 21 to 14.

[edit] Other

Friedgen's efforts in rebuilding the University of Maryland program are far from over. His success has seen a substantial increase in ticket sales (Terrapin Ticket Sales), which has initiated discussions into the renovation of Byrd Stadium. His recruiting efforts have also seen the University of Maryland team compete head-to-head with many of the elite programs for blue-chip recruits. In an innovative move, Friedgen and former Maryland placekicker Jess Atkinson launched FridgeTV in 2003, an interactive experience that provides the viewer with an "inside the locker room" look at the personalities behind the program. In 2004, he appeared prominently in TV commercials promoting former Terrapin football player Kevin Plank's Under Armour brand of athletic wear Under Armour promotion.

Friedgen has been married to the former Gloria Spina since 1973. They have three daughters, one of whom, Kristina, is a Theatre major at Maryland.

[edit] Head Coaching Record

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Maryland Biography
• FridgeTV