Ralph Friedgen

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Ralph Friedgen
Title	Head Coach
College	Maryland
Sport	Football
Team Record	50-24
Born	April 4, 1947
Place of birth	Harrison, New York
Career Highlights
Overall	50-24
Coaching Stats
College Football DataWarehouse
School as a player
1966, 68	Maryland
Position	Offensive guard
Coaching positions
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 has long been regarded as one of the largest offensive-minded coaches at any level of the game. "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 would later become a highly successful coach at Virginia Tech.

He 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 ACC titles 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, 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. 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, chewed up and spit out 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, he 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. In his first season, he surprisingly led the Terps to a 10-2 record, a top 10 national ranking, the first outright Atlantic Coast Conference title by a team other than Florida State since the Seminoles entered the league, and an appearance in the 2002 Orange Bowl. He went on to receive numerous "Coach of the Year" plaudits from various organizations. The proceeding two seasons would provide more of the same. In 2002, Maryland would finish the season with an 11-3 record, culminating with a 30-3 victory over Tennessee in the 2002 Peach Bowl. 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 3 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.

The 2004 season would be the first disappointment of Friedgen's tenure. While the team did fail 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.

The 2005 season again saw the Terps fail to qualify for a bowl game. Friedgen's team started out well with a 4-2 start in mid-October, but a lack of offensive efficiency and a propensity for unforced turnovers -- both of which can 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 at 5 wins, 6 losses for a second consecutive season.

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 Champ 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.

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 a very 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 the university. He is also the long-lost twin brother of former college basketball coach Rick Majerus.

Preceded by Ron Vanderlinden	University of Maryland Head Football Coaches 2001-	Succeeded by current

[edit] External links

Preceded by Bob Stoops	Walter Camp Coach of the Year 2001	Succeeded by Kirk Ferentz

Current Head Football Coaches of the Atlantic Coast Conference
Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech) \| Bobby Bowden (FSU) \| Tommy Bowden (Clemson) \| Butch Davis (UNC) \| Chan Gailey (Georgia Tech) \| Jim Grobe (Wake Forest) \| Al Groh (Virginia) \| Jeff Jagodzinski (Boston College) \| Ralph Friedgen (Maryland) \| Tom O'Brien (NC State) \| Ted Roof (Duke) \| Randy Shannon (Miami)