COLLEGE PARK - -When a Division I college football team struggles, the most vocal portion of the fan base tends to make itself heard.
That's the case at Maryland, where coach Ralph Friedgen and his staff have been a target of criticism in blogs and on message boards as the Terrapins have slipped to 2-6 overall (1-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) - his fewest victories this late in a season since taking over the program in 2001. While Friedgen has the support of a number of prominent boosters, his critics say Maryland's football program, which had a bye this weekend before playing Saturday at North Carolina State, needs new leadership.
But the situation in College Park is different from that at most schools. That's because the university signed an agreement Feb. 6 promising to pay $1 million to offensive coordinator James Franklin if he is not elevated to head coach by Jan. 2, 2012.
As much as the loudest Terps fans might clamor for wholesale change, what they likely will get is Franklin - a protege of Friedgen's once wooed by the NFL who defends his mentor and says the two share many coaching philosophies.
Franklin, 37, is as closely linked to Friedgen, 62, as a vice president is to a president. Like Friedgen, Franklin has endured criticism this season from fans who are frustrated with losing and said they wished Maryland hadn't committed to Franklin.
Franklin said Terps fans should not forget what Friedgen, 66-42 at Maryland, has accomplished for the university. Franklin said there is "no doubt" that the school can be a Top 25 program again given its location in a recruiting hotbed and its academic reputation. "You've got enough things going for you," he said.
Franklin returned to Maryland - where he had been an assistant - in December 2007 after two seasons as offensive coordinator at Kansas State. He said Friedgen "has definitely been a mentor to me."
"From a philosophical standpoint, we're very similar. Obviously there is a generational-gap difference in terms of just certain things he would handle compared with me. But general philosophy, things like that, we're very similar."
Like a presidential running mate, Franklin defers to Friedgen. But he is no Friedgen clone. While both are emotional men, Franklin, known for recruiting and his West Coast offense, is particularly animated. At halftime of last season's California game, Franklin punched an erasable board used to diagram plays, sending it tumbling to the floor. "He's a maniac sometimes," quarterback Chris Turner said with a smile.
