Babers to Maryland?

[Flipper]

That "active in the community, loves it here, never wants to leave' stuff never really matters in the end. These guys are competitors...that's why jobs like Purdue get a kagillion applications. They want the challenge...that's what matters. Along with securing the future for their family. Matt Campbell would get fired after three years of sucking at Maryland...he'd also get fired if he sucked for three years at Toledo. The real difference there is that Campbell would have abut 8-9 million dollars more if he sucked at Maryland.

[Schadenfreude]

I do not blame the Maryland AD for thinking that a high-powered (some would say gimmicky) offense could rejuvenate the football program. That would seem to make Babers an obvious person for Maryland to target.

For Babers, the question is: Can he actually succeed at Maryland? Maybe he can picture being able to do that, maybe he can't.

I would offer this: The crowd for the Bowling Green game seemed much smaller than the 35,000 figure announced. Maryland has a great football stadium, good stadium staff, and a great campus. But the impression I got was that the program seems to have a long way to go in order to catch the traditional Big Ten powers, or even a place like Iowa. It has a lot of competition for attention in the DC area.

Babers' offense does seem to lend itself to a "project" program. Baylor was a disaster before Briles got there. Eastern Illinois was nothing special before Babers arrived. Is a Maryland (or an Illinois) something Babers would want to take on? Maybe, but maybe not.

Also, while Matt Johnson is (presumably) leaving, a lot of talent will be returning next year. Morgan or Knapke will have what they need to succeed. Babers could stay and continue to build something special here, I think.

I don't think it is at all obvious what will happen. Maybe it is best to focus on the football.

[vwfalcon]

I'm not trying to dog our boys at all, but, until Babers proves he can put a good defense on the field as well, I would be hesitant as an AD to hire him. At EIU his defense was pretty stout if I recall correctly. In the two years here, the defense has been a project. Clawson put a strong defense on the field to go with his game managing offense. Once that happened, he finally was able to get an offer from a P5.

[Schadenfreude]

I'm not trying to dog our boys at all, but, until Babers proves he can put a good defense on the field as well, I would be hesitant as an AD to hire him.

Indeed, if you want to argue against him, you can point to his decision to place someone with very little defensive experience in charge of the Falcon defense in 2014. He's basically acknowledged that didn't work. Perhaps he has a good reason for playing it the way he did in 2014, but if you are paying attention, it requires some explaining.

I'm in Babers' corner. He has done a lot right here, and he is improving. But he isn't perfect. That's the leading example for me.

[chandler101]

Hello my friends. If you don't recall, I'm a Terp who stopped by a few weeks back. Thought it appropriate to swing back through and offer my 2 cents. President Loh made a commitment 2 years ago, we are moving to the BIG to be competitive in football. From the game earlier this year, many of you would know our fans have not been committed for 61 years simply as the admin never made a strong commitment to football, so there is a huge trust issue. Now, fast forward to this year. Edsall was not the answer and fans again turned away. I'm very proud of this admin for making a mid season change as for the first time, it suggest they get it. Now, will they truly get it and hire the right coach? Is Babers the guy? From my seat, he's not. I love Babers from a distance but right now Maryland needs to make a splash hire with name substance. We need to pay in the 4 million range and truly make this happen. If you watch the Dr. Loh interviw in the Baltimore Sun, he gets it. Too much is on the line this time around. Loh made the move to the BIG for many reasons and fan base growth was one of them. 155 million facillity being launched in December, Plank making Maryland the flagship school of UA, DMV recruiting, etc. etc.

The names I've heard start with Bill O'Brien from the Texans. Was an assistant on the 2003 Fridge staff, has family in MoCo, his S&C coach is a former Terp, Locks loves him, and he recruited Baltimore back in those days + it would really fuel the PSU rivalry.

From BOB, you start to get a wide range. I do know Matt Campbell is well thought of, primarily due to his current UA relationship.

It will be interesting to say the least.

[mscarn]

Bill O'Brien would be a perfect fit and should be available.

Interestingly enough, the son of the Maryland AD was a GA at BG last season under Babers. He's also Kingston's former boss at Army.

[chandler101]

Bill O'Brien would be a perfect fit and should be available.

Interestingly enough, the son of the Maryland AD was a GA at BG last season under Babers. He's also Kingston's former boss at Army.

Did not know that. Interesting. don't get me wrong, I would kill for Babers over Edsall today. We also have the former AD from Georgia on staff as the CFO, Damon Evans. He knows how to build a true program. In the past 6 months, we've also hired some very critical "operations" guys which help build the DMV bridges. Bottom line, Maryland wants to become a bigger player in football. Dr. Loh said in the interview. Can we ever get to UM or OSU, maybe not but Oregon is very possible. We have today resources.

[factman]

I think Babers has to prove himself yet, as he is still winning with Clawson recruits. He has to prove he can recruit, and he is a west coast guy, not an east coast guy.

[falcon83]

If Babers goes to Maryland, will they be Terrapin fast?

[thewebboy]

If Babers goes to Maryland, will they be Terrapin fast?

I can see it now...

#TortoiseToHare

[zete]

I wonder who our next coach will be? Wonder what the recruits will be told when they bring it up?

[mscarn]

I think Babers has to prove himself yet, as he is still winning with Clawson recruits. He has to prove he can recruit, and he is a west coast guy, not an east coast guy.

Completely agree. This is far from a done deal and UT, WMU and NIU are all in the exact same boat with their head coaches.

I'm hoping Babers follows the trend of Butch Jones, Turner Gill, Dave Doeren and Rod Carey who all won championships and chose to stay the next year rather than taking the failed Hazell and Beckman route.

[Flipper]

Beckman didn't even win a divisional title...that's how desperate Illinois was . IIRC...random people selected from the Chicago phonebook turned the job down before they decided to go outside of the 312 area code.

[Flipper]

I think Babers has to prove himself yet, as he is still winning with Clawson recruits. He has to prove he can recruit, and he is a west coast guy, not an east coast guy.

The days of schools waiting five years for a coach to win with their guys are looong gone. Babers has done a good job of working Clawson's guys into his system while snagging some quality recruits. Being able to win with what you have on hand is a pretty attractive skill.

[jpfalcon09]

I think Babers has to prove himself yet, as he is still winning with Clawson recruits. He has to prove he can recruit, and he is a west coast guy, not an east coast guy.

The days of schools waiting five years for a coach to win with their guys are looong gone. Babers has done a good job of working Clawson's guys into his system while snagging some quality recruits. Being able to win with what you have on hand is a pretty attractive skill.

+1.

If anything, schools are looking for coaches who can bring an immediate impact and not be subjected to the 2-3 year window of futility until said coach can establish his recruits.