Terps need to set realistic goals in coaching search

Not only is it highly unlikely that Chip Kelly would choose to coach at Maryland but he probably is not the right guy for their situation anyway.

By: Corey Johns

Maryland cannot go out looking for a home run with this newest football hire; they simply have to go out looking to get a hit that might possibly turn into a double and if it carries a little farther over the wall, even better.

Names like Chip Kelly and even John Harbaugh have come up as possible replacements for the recently fired Randy Edsall. Not only is it not realistic to think either of those guys would come to Maryland, even despite the connection to Under Armour and the huge endorsement deal that is sure to come with the job, Maryland should not be trying to get them.

Another possible direction brought up that Maryland could go in is with a top young, up-and-comer, like Houston’s Tom Herman, Memphis’ Justin Fuentes, Bowling Green’s Dino Babers or Toledo’s Matt Campbell. Maryland certainly could take that direction and hope their up-and-coming coach grows with their up-and-coming program. But Maryland should not go that route either.

One of the great things about Maryland being very near the bottom in terms of the major programs is that their is no pressure to make that slam dunk hire. Sure, four more years of losing would be terrible but, Maryland is not like Michigan. Michigan absolutely needed to make the right hire because after Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, another miss would have meant 12-years of mediocrity and that would threaten the great prestige of Michigan football when talking to 18-year-olds they are trying to recruit.

Top-flight recruits are not necessarily seeking out Maryland right not anyway and there is no risk of the program losing it’s appeal. So they don’t need to go out and hire Kelly or Harbaugh. Besides, they are not going to attract the elite talent they probably need to run their systems at Maryland. Would the Terps improve with either guy marching up-and-down the sidelines? Absolutely, but their would be potential for a let down too because with those guys comes great expectations that might be a little too out of reach for Maryland.

And while Herman, Fuentes, Babers and Campbell have proven themselves at a lower level, making a jump and recruiting against Big Ten teams might be hard to do. As great as Toledo, Houston, Memphis and Bowling Green have been doing, they are not running the gauntlet of Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa on their schedule like Maryland is going to have to.

Maryland has to understand that this is going to slow build for a program that has not really been a relevant football program outside of their strong but short-lived run from 2001-2003 when they appeared in the Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl and Gator Bowl, respectively.

Their goal simply should be to become competitive and relevant and to make bowl games every year and then go out and find the coach that can take them to the next level. They just need to find a coach that can get them eight wins every years, maybe double-digits every now and again. Once Maryland becomes relevant, they they can go out and make that big splash.

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