Following the University of Maryland’s 48-27 loss to Bowling Green, one of the most relevant questions for the program is what would happen with Dwayne Haskins (and the rest of the 2016 Class) if the Terps parted ways with Coach Edsall in the immediate future?

Given the extension Edsall signed this Summer, maybe the bigger question is not would the current verbals in the Class of ’16 stay committed; but is it worth it to MD as a program to part ways with Edsall prior to January 16th, 2017?

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Maryland is in the Big Ten East. That is the same division as defending National Champion (and current #1) Ohio State. The same division as Michigan State, who is hosting Oregon tonight in a battle of Top 7 overall teams. The same division as Michigan, a blue blood glamour program who is only going to improve going forward under Coach Jim Harbaugh. The same division as Penn State. The Nittany Lions were embarrassed themselves last week vs. Temple, but Coach Franklin is having plenty of recruiting success.

An awful lot of things have to go right, for MD to build to a point where they will be able to annually compete with those programs.

It starts with controlling the things you can control. Maryland has begun that process with the New Cole Field House, and making a more concerted effort to keep local talent home.

Based on the existing talent on the roster, and current verbals – the 2017 roster could look like this (if Logan gets a Medical RS):

Offense (Multiple)

QB – 1. Dwayne Haskins, 2. Gage Shaffer
RB – 1. Ty Johnson, 2. Lorenzo Harrison
FB – 1. Shane Cockerille
WR (SE) – 1. D.J. Moore, 2. Parnell Motley
WR (FL) – 1. Taivon Jacobs, 2. Tino Ellis
WR (SL) – 1. Will Ulmer, 2. Jahrvis Davenport
TE – 1. Avery Edwards, 2. Derrick Hayward
LT – 1. Derwin Gray, 2. Sean Christie
LG – 1. E.J. Donahue, 2. Mike Minter
C – 1. Brendan Moore, 2. Mason Zimmerman
RG – 1. Quarvez Boulware, 2. Ellis McKennie
RT – 1. Damian Prince, 2. Will McClain

Defense (4-3)

SDE – 1. Jesse Aniebonam, 2. Malik Jones
NT – 1. Adam McLean, 2. David Shaw
DT – 1. Kingsley Opara, 2. Keiron Howard
WDE – 1. Melvin Keihn, 2. Chandler Burkett
SLB – 1. Jalen Brooks, 2. Mbi Tanyi
MLB – 1. Jermaine Carter, Jr., 2. Tyler Burke
WLB – 1. Abner Logan, 2. Keandre Jones
CB – 1. Daniel Ezeagwu, 2. Travon Stott
FS – 1. Milan Collins, 2. J.T. Ventura
SS – 1. Elvis Dennah, 2. Antwaine Carter
CB – 1. Josh Woods, 2. Tyrone Hill

Special Teams

K – 1. Adam Greene, 2. Daniel Sutton
P – 1. Nicolas Pritchard, 2. Lee Shrader
KR – 1. Taivon Jacobs. 2. Will Ulmer
PR – 1. D.J. Turner, 2. Jahrvis Davenport
LS – 1. Nate Adams, 2. Matt Oliviera
H – 1. Lee Shrader, 2. Nicolas Pritchard

There is a lot of talent listed above. Coach Edsall and his staff deserve credit for that. While the depth (and Secondary) would still need some additional help, the starting talent there looks Top 20 capable mainly due to the quality on both lines. That’s two years away though, and that’s going with the assumption that the current 2016 verbals stay committed.

Based on the year-to-year transition we have seen, the expectation has to be that even if the ’16 verbals stay committed, there will be plenty of turnover vs. what is shown above.

So we get back to the original questions, will the verbals in the Class of ’16 stay committed to Maryland if the Terps parted ways with Coach Edsall?

Is it worth it to part ways with Edsall prior to January, 2017?

If MD comes up with the funds necessary to part with Edsall prior to January, ’17; that’s another indication that the University’s leadership cares about football. The leadership didn’t move to the Big Ten without caring about football. The University is only renovating CFH, because there is a desire to improve.

The question is not does MD’s leadership care about football, it’s how much does MD care? If you fire Edsall, and go looking for a replacement – you can’t be looking to hit a solid single up the middle. You have to be thinking about swinging for the fences.

So you would be talking about not only finding the funds to buy out Edsall (and at-least some of his Assistants); but to also obtain a high quality replacement (and that replacement’s Assistants).

Those are significant questions, and significant dollars that have to be accounted for prior to making this type decision. Surely such a decision can’t be made out of emotion.

The ultimate bottom-line to me is that it’s clear that Coach Edsall is not going to be the guy that elevates the MD program. Maybe he will be seen as the guy that helped deliver a base for the next guy. That helped build the structure, but I can’t see a scenario where Edsall is going to be the guy that finishes the renovation.

If you don’t pull the plug on Edsall in the immediate, what you are hoping for is that the verbals become full commits at Signing Day – and that a couple of the remaining targets also join. Based on where Signing Day is on the calendar, you would probably go ahead and let Edsall coach the ’16 season. So you would be giving him another season to see if there was significant improvement.

In January ’17, the change would likely be made, and MD would be advertising to potential new Coaches the Phase 1 opening of CFH later that year.

Everyone can see that writing on the wall. As everyone includes those Class of ’16 verbals, do you gain anything as a program by kicking this can down the road?

Some names that interest me as potential replacements:

Scott Frost
Oregon Offensive Coordinator

John Henson
Missouri Offensive Coordinator

Sonny Cumbie
TCU Offensive Coordinator

Kirby Smart
Alabama Defensive Coordinator

Luke Fickell
Ohio State Defensive Coordinator

Jason Jones
Ole Miss Defensive Coordinator

Phillip Montgomery
Tulsa Head Coach

Jeff Tedford
BC Lions Head Coach (CFL)

Jim Schwartz
Baltimore native, former NFL HC

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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