coaching staff COACHING STAFF

In This Section ...... 28 Charlie Taaffe ...... 33 Gary Blackney ...... 34 Tom Brattan ...... 35 James Franklin...... 36 ...... 37 Ray Rychleski ...... 38 Consensus National Coach of the Year Al Seamonson...... 39 Ralph Friedgen collected 12 such honors Rod Sharpless...... 40 Dave Sollazzo ...... 41 including the ESPN/Home Depot Coach Tom Deahn...... 42 of the Year honor at the ESPN College Dwight Galt...... 42 Graduate Assistant Coaches...... 43 Awards Football Show in Orlando. Football Support Staff...... 44 27

DEFENDING ACC CHAMPIONS • 2002 MARYLAND FOOTBALL coaching staff coaching staff RALPH FRIEDGEN Robinson and Associated Press coach of the year trophies. Friedgen was named the Terps’ 33rd head coach on Nov. 29, 2000 after a Head Coach highly successful 32-year stint as an assistant coach, (Maryland ‘70) including the previous five Second Season at Georgia Tech, where he orchestrated one of the They say you can’t go home again, but for the Uni- most potent offensive versity of Maryland, no choice made more sense than units in the land. From to make sure that Ralph Friedgen did, indeed, return to 1998-2000, the Yellow College Park. Jackets averaged nearly And what a return it has been. 37 points and more than Last year, in his first season as a head coach, all 444 yards of total offense Friedgen did was lead his alma mater to an outright ACC per game while posting a championship, a top 10 national ranking, and a berth in cumulative record of 27- the Bowl Championship Series. 8-1 (.771). The ’99 Yellow In short, “the Fridge” awakened a sleeping giant. Jackets, let by Heisman before heading off to a number of college coaching jobs Oh yes, and after 32 seasons as a highly successful runner-up Joe Hamilton, finished No. 1 nationally in total including stints at The Citadel (1973-79), William & Mary assistant, he also was ’s national Coach offense (a school-record 509 yards per game) and ranked (1980) and Murray State (1981). In ‘82, he returned to of the Year. second nationally in scoring (40.7 points per game). Maryland as and offensive line In what truly was a whirlwind year for Friedgen, The 55-year-old Friedgen (pronounced FREE-jun) coach under , with Friedgen’s tenure lasting who took over as the Terrapins’ 33rd field general in late owns the rare distinction of coordinating the offense for until 1986. During that stretch, the Terps captured three November 2000, the Terps were the story of the season both a collegiate national champion and a Super Bowl consecutive ACC championships (1983-85) and played in in college football in 2001. team. A 1970 graduate of the University of Maryland four bowl games. All told, the Terrapins were 39-15-1 from Undeterred by a preseason media poll which where he earned a degree in physical education, Fried- 1982-86 and won two bowl games (the Sun Bowl in 1984 tabbed the Terps to finish no higher than seventh in gen launched his coaching career as a graduate assistant and the Cherry Bowl in 1985). It is the type of the nine-team ACC, Friedgen and his troops stam- success Friedgen intended to re-instill in peded their way to the national stage with seven the current group of Terrapins. consecutive wins to open the season, including a “I think the football expe- never-say-die comeback victory over 15th-ranked rience should be fun and what Georgia Tech on national television which stood is fun to me is winning,” said as the Terps’ signature win of the 2001 campaign. Friedgen. “Our goals will be The Terps wrapped up their first ACC title since to be a Top 20 team, year in 1985 with late-season victories over Clemson and and year out. I am looking NC State, and were selected to play in the FedEx forward to a lot of success Orange Bowl. here at Maryland.” It was truly a landmark season for the Terps, During his five- who became the first ACC team other than Florida year stay at Maryland State to win an outright league title since under Ross, Friedgen the Seminoles joined the league in 1992. was, along with quarter- Maryland’s 10-victory season marked backs coach , the first time a Terrapin team won as instrumental in the many games in a single season development of since 1976. future pro quar- Named the winner of the terbacks Boomer Frank as the Esiason, Frank top assistant coach in the Reich and Stan country in 1999, Fried- Gelbaugh, all of gen won no less than whom spent at 13 national coaching least 10 seasons citations in 2001, in the National capturing such Football League. coveted awards Esiason played as the Bobby professionally Dodd, Walter from 1984-97, Camp, Eddie 28 Reich from 29

2002 MARYLAND FOOTBALL • DEFENDING ACC CHAMPIONS DEFENDING ACC CHAMPIONS • 2002 MARYLAND FOOTBALL coaching staff coaching staff

1985-98 and Gelbaugh from 1986-95. These players flourished under Friedgen largely because they strode to meet his expectations, the same as those he works to instill today. “I can show the players how to win and how to win is knowing how not to lose,” said Friedgen. “If they put forth the effort and will work, they will win. There is a very fine line between winning and losing; it is a perception. If you look at the places where I have been — whether it is at Georgia Tech the first time when we were 2-9 and 3-8 and then end up winning the national championship, or the San Diego Chargers when we went 2-14 and then end going 11-5 and making the playoffs and going to the Super Bowl — you have to learn how to win and I think I know how to do that. It is going to be hard work, though. [Student-athletes] have to work hard, practice hard, and be disciplined. They are going to have to do things that are right, not only on the field but off the field as well.” The Ross-Friedgen connection began in 1973, when Ross hired the former Maryland offensive lineman as de- fensive line coach at The Citadel. Friedgen spent seven seasons at The Citadel, the last three as offensive coor- dinator and offensive line coach. Friedgen then worked one season (1980) as offensive coordinator at William & Mary and one season (1981) as assistant head coach at Murray State before Ross tapped him to be his offensive The Friedgen family (from left): Ralph, Gloria, Katharine, Kristina and Kelley. coordinator at Maryland in 1982. Friedgen followed Ross to Georgia Tech in 1987, 1990 campaign when Tech, unranked in the preseason, record. The national title came just two years after the becoming the Yellow Jackets’ offensive coordinator and captured the national championship with an 11-0-1 Jackets had posted back-to-back seasons of three wins coach for the next five seasons, including the or less. When Ross was named head coach of the San Diego Chargers in 1992, he tapped Friedgen to serve as The Friedgen File running game coordinator for two seasons (1992-93) Fast Facts before elevating him to offensive coordinator in 1994, Full Name ...... Ralph Harry Friedgen when the Chargers advanced to Super Bowl XXIX for the Pronunciation ...... FREE-jun first time in franchise history. During his time with the Date of Birth ...... April 4, 1947 Chargers, Friedgen helped a club that had not made the Hometown ...... Harrison, N.Y. playoffs in a decade reach postseason play three times Alma Mater ...... Maryland, ’70 in five seasons. Family ...... Wife, Gloria; daughters, Kelley (24), Kristina (15), Katharine (13) Friedgen spent 20 seasons with Ross in coaching Playing Experience ...... Guard, two letters at Maryland (1966, ‘68) stops at The Citadel, Maryland, Georgia Tech and the San Years in Coaching (College) ...... 33 (28) Diego Chargers. Friedgen returned to Tech in 1997, where he served another successful stint as offensive coordinator Coaching Experience and quarterbacks coach, this time under then-head coach Maryland George O’Leary. 2001-...... Head Coach Known for developing balanced offensive attacks Georgia Tech with multiple looks, Tech was one of only two teams in 1997-2000 ...... Assistant Coach - Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line the country in 1999 to average at least 200 yards rushing San Diego Chargers and 200 yards passing. Tech also accomplished the feat 1994-96...... Assistant Coach - Offensive Coordinator under Friedgen’s guidance in 1990, ‘91 and ‘98. The 1999 1992-93...... Assistant Coach - Running Game Coordinator/H-Backs/Tight Ends team, with the diminutive Hamilton calling the signals Georgia Tech at , set 59 school records, rewriting many 1987-91...... Assistant Coach - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks marks established by the 1990 national championship Maryland team, which was led by another Friedgen pupil, signal- 1982-86...... Assistant Coach - Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Murray State caller Shawn Jones (1989-92). Friedgen was a finalist for 1981...... Assistant Head Coach the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach in William & Mary 1998 when the Rambling Wreck set a then-school record 1980...... Assistant Coach - Offensive Coordinator with 50 touchdowns. The Citadel Friedgen, who also earned his master’s degree from 1977-79...... Assistant Coach - Offensive Coordinator the University of Maryland, is the first Maryland alum 1973-76...... Assistant Coach - Defensive Line since Bob Ward (1967-68) to serve as the Terps’ head Maryland football coach. Friedgen originally came to Maryland 1969-72...... Graduate Assistant as a quarterback in the mid-‘60s and spent most of his 28 career as an offensive lineman, lettering in 1966 and 1968 29

2002 MARYLAND FOOTBALL • DEFENDING ACC CHAMPIONS DEFENDING ACC CHAMPIONS • 2002 MARYLAND FOOTBALL coaching staff coaching staff

and capturing Academic All-ACC honors in ‘68. He was a two-time winner of the George C. Cook Memorial Award (1968-69) for having the highest academic average on the football team. “Coach Friedgen is an experienced and consis- tently successful football coach who also has a passion for Maryland,” said Maryland athletics director Deborah A. Yow. “He understands the ACC, embraces Maryland’s philosophy of the student-athlete and has a clear and compelling vision for returning Maryland to national prominence.” Because of his obvious ties to Maryland as a uni- versity and a state, Friedgen has stated implicitly that he wants to keep the area’s best players at home. to stay in state.” “I think that has to be the main focus of our re- Friedgen’s coaching roots run deep. His father, Ralph cruiting,” said Friedgen. “We have to get the better players Sr., was a high school coach for more than 30 years and from the state. Not every player is meant to come to the masterminded, among other teams, the 1964 Westchester University of Maryland, but a large portion of them should. County (N.Y.) High School team that went undefeated I know a lot of coaches in this and averaged 44 points per game running what was area and they know then an unusual multiple offense. It was an offense run me from the last by a 190-pound quarterback later recruited by Maryland time I was here, named Ralph Friedgen Jr. a lot of the coaches Friedgen and his wife, the former Gloria Spina, have are former Maryland players three daughters: Kelley, 24; Kristina, 15, and Katharine, 13. and I think it is time the Maryland Gloria is currently serving as an adjunct professor at the community unites. We have a Terrapin University of Maryland. now as the head coach. The alumni, the fans, the former players; we all have to become a strong force. Part of that is going to be recruiting in the state and I am going to rely on those former players to get the better prep players

30 Ralph Friedgen and his wife, Gloria, meet President George W. Bush at the 2002 White House Correspondent’s Dinner. 31

2002 MARYLAND FOOTBALL • DEFENDING ACC CHAMPIONS DEFENDING ACC CHAMPIONS • 2002 MARYLAND FOOTBALL coaching staff coaching staff FRIEDGEN THROUGH THE YEARS

Friedgen as a student at Maryland in 1968. Friedgen returned to Maryland as an assistant coach in 1982, where he served through 1986.

During his football career at Maryland, Friedgen played quarterback and on the offensive line.

Friedgen, winner of the 1999 Frank Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach, with 2000 winner Mark After stints at Georgia Tech and with the NFL’s Mangino of Oklahoma. San Diego Chargers, Friedgen returned to his alma mater, as he was named head coach on Friedgen with the “Voice of the Nov. 29, 2000. Terps,” Johnny Holliday.

Former Terp Jess Atkinson interviewing Friedgen 30 after he was hired as Maryland’s new coach. 31

2002 MARYLAND FOOTBALL • DEFENDING ACC CHAMPIONS DEFENDING ACC CHAMPIONS • 2002 MARYLAND FOOTBALL

coaching staff QUOTE, UNQUOTE “I’ve been in obscurity for 32 years. Now, no matter where I go, I’m recognized. People want autographs, people want pictures.” – Ralph Friedgen, December 2001

“Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen may be an offensive whiz, a meticulous organizer and a tireless workaholic. But for all those attributes, his mastery of motivation has been the most critical factor in transforming a losing team full of self-doubt into a confident ACC champion headed to the Orange Bowl.” – Washington Times, December 2001 “The main thing about Coach Friedgen is, I don’t think he tries to say the right things. “ He just says what he feels in his heart. That’s why it means so much. You can see in his face he means it. I’ll play all my life for a guy like that.” – Former Aaron Thompson

“I’m a competitor and I don’t like to lose. I like winning more than anything else in life.” – Friedgen, December 2001

“I was thinking to myself, ‘32 years and nobody knew me. Now they are stopping me at red lights.’” – Friedgen, December 2001

“One of his best moves was hiring two former [head] coaches as his coordinators. Charlie Taaffe (The Citadel) runs the offense and Gary Blackney (Bowling Green) handles the defense. He reasoned: ‘I can’t wait around to be making rookie head coaching mistakes at 54.’” – The Associated Press, December 2001

“Ralph Friedgen lifted the Maryland football program to national prominence this season. Yesterday, the first-year coach was rewarded with a new [10-year] contract that should keep him in College Park until 2012. ‘I’m making the commitment,’ Friedgen said. ‘I said from Day One if I can get this program back to consistently be- ing in the top 20, then I would consider my life’s work done…I’m here, this is where I want to be.’” – Washington Times, December 2001

“Before the year I told the kids if they took it one game at a time, we’d probably be going to a bowl and probably be complaining about what bowl we’re going to. We’re not complaining [now].” – Friedgen after accepting an Orange Bowl invitation, December 2001 “One radio station interviewer asked me the other day, ‘In your wildest dreams, did you ever think you could be 8-1?’ And I said,’‘Yes, in my wildest dreams.’ I always “And I still think we’re just scratching the surface here. You don’t make a program in dream wild.” one year. It is going to take time…we need to use this as a foundation so we can get – Friedgen, November 2001 better for a long, long time.” – Friedgen, November 2001 “This is a special bunch, maybe one of the best teams ever at the University of Maryland. They have done so much.” “Coach Friedgen made us believe stuff we never thought was possible. He made – Friedgen, November 2001 “dreams become reality.” – Linebacker E.J. Henderson, November 2001 “[Coach Friedgen] has extraordinary leadership skills. He’s smart, he has technical knowledge of the game, he has the ability to communicate with players. He is an “When Friedgen checked in, he was told the goal was to win six games, good for effective recruiter, and he leads well. He stays calm in the midst of the swirl.” about fifth in the conference. He told them, ‘I never played for fifth place in my life. – Debbie Yow, November 2001 I’m going to show you how not to lose.’” – Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 2001 “I spent four years studying Coach Friedgen. I watched his games on satellite TV when- ever I could, I read everything about him on the Internet…When I met him for the “What’s most vivid about Friedgen’s team is the way it has internalized the personality first time, he had a whole outline of what he was going to say, how he was going to of its coach: passionate but poised, smart but sassy.” build the program. Halfway through it I said to him,“You’re the guy I want.” – Washington Post, November 2001 – Debbie Yow, November 2001 32

2002 MARYLAND FOOTBALL • DEFENDING ACC CHAMPIONS