Time wasn't right for Malzahn to Maryland

[Saniflush]

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/01/scarbinsky_time_wasnt_right_fo.html

There are certain questions in college football destined to remain forever unanswered.

Here's a good one.

How close did Gus Malzahn come to becoming the new head coach at Maryland?

That question's intriguing for two reasons. It's immediate, and the Auburn offensive coordinator was very much in the mix.

Unless you're an actual turtle and haven't come out of your shell to greet the new year, you know by now that Maryland hired Randy Edsall away from Connecticut to replace the ousted Ralph Friedgen.

In short, the Terps pushed out the ACC coach of the year for the Big East coach of the year. That might be a college football first.

Edsall was a nice, safe hire, at least compared to the only other candidate that reportedly interviewed on campus, the wild and crazy Mike Leach. But some Maryland fans seem less than thrilled about replacing a coach who averaged seven wins in 10 seasons with the Terps with a coach who averaged six wins in 12 years with the Huskies.

Every single Auburn and Alabama fan might caution them about judging a coach by his career record. See Gene Chizik, who's 60 minutes away from a national title with the Tigers, and Gene Stallings, who won one with the Tide.

Each had a losing record when he arrived at his dream job.

That's the phrase Edsall used Monday at his introductory press conference to describe his feelings toward Maryland. He grew up just across the state line in Pennsylvania.

His personal history, plus his experience as a head coach in taking UConn from I-AA to I-A to a BCS bowl, may have given him the edge over Malzahn had it come down to a choice between the two men.

It's hard to know for sure, but I don't think it did for several reasons. Among them: Malzahn wouldn't let it.

Maryland AD Kevin Anderson said Monday that only two candidates, Edsall and Leach, interviewed on campus. He also said the school wanted a third candidate to come to College Park for an interview, but that candidate declined.

Anderson didn't name that candidate. I'm not certain, but based on my conversations, it may have been Malzahn.

How could he go there now? How could he leave Auburn last week, less than two weeks before the BCS Championship Game, to go to Maryland for an interview? How could he make that trip at that time without an assurance that the job would be his?

In a strange way, Malzahn set the Maryland situation in motion when he turned down the Vanderbilt job three weeks ago. Vandy then hired Maryland's coach-in-waiting, James Franklin.

Maryland then decided it wanted a future without Friedgen and it wanted the future to start now, and the two sides worked out an exit strategy.

During Maryland's search, according to the Baltimore Sun, the school made contact with a strong list of potential replacements: Edsall, Leach, June Jones, Rich Rodriguez, Chris Petersen and Malzahn.

I believe Malzahn was interested in Maryland, and vice versa, and I understand the two sides did talk.

It's hard to imagine many better places to start as a college head coach for a coordinator six years removed from the high school ranks -- or worse timing to make that move.

Malzahn has earned a special place in the Auburn family's heart. Had he taken the Vanderbilt job three weeks ago -- but stayed on to coach the BCS Championship Game -- no one could've blamed him.

Had he taken the Maryland job this close to kickoff against Oregon -- after Auburn opened the vault to raise him to $1.3 million a year -- people would've blamed him. Never mind that he still would've been on the Auburn sideline next Monday night. Or that, despite Malzahn's popularity in December, opportunity doesn't knock every week.

So Maryland gets a good head coach and Auburn keeps a great coordinator. At least until the next quality program with an opening comes calling. With much better timing.