By Marc Carig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 24, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 23 -- After two seasons of serving as his own offensive coordinator, Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen has tapped a familiar face to take over those duties in the short term and perhaps succeed him as coach in the long term.

Former Maryland wide receivers coach James Franklin, who emerged as one of the Terrapins' top recruiters during his first stint in College Park, signed a three-year deal to return as the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach, school officials announced yesterday. Maryland Athletic Director Debbie Yow said Franklin, 35, will make $285,000 in base salary, which does not include potential bonuses.

"It would give him the ability to grow and learn and I think you look at my age, I'm not going to be around forever," said Friedgen, 60. "Maybe this puts him in position to be head coach, whether it's at Maryland or somewhere else."

Friedgen said he will turn play-calling duties over to Franklin, who will be free to run his offense. Friedgen said he will have input, but that his only request with the offense is that it is flexible enough to fit around the Terrapins' personnel.

"I'm going to let him do his thing," Friedgen said.

Since former offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe resigned in February 2006, Friedgen said he would hire only an offensive coordinator who was already familiar with the program, hinting that he would tap a former assistant. Friedgen said another barrier was simply finding an opening on the coaching staff.

But the departure of special teams coordinator Ray Rychleski last week created an opening that Friedgen worked quickly to fill. He had already had preliminary talks with Franklin.

Rychleski, who was hired away to coordinate special teams for South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier, will coach in Friday's Emerald Bowl before yielding to Franklin, who steps in Dec. 30.

"I've always considered the University of Maryland to be one of the premier programs in the country, and I'm excited about the opportunity to return," Franklin said in a statement. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Friedgen and what he's been able to accomplish throughout his career; and I'm looking forward to helping him take the program to new and exciting levels."

Franklin spent five seasons as the Terrapins' wide receivers coach from 2000 to 2004. Originally hired by coach Ron Vanderlinden, Franklin was retained when Friedgen was hired as head coach after the 2000 season. In 2003, Friedgen promoted Franklin to recruiting coordinator.

He left the program to coach wide receivers for the Green Bay Packers. After one year in the NFL, Franklin returned to the college ranks to serve as offensive coordinator under Kansas State Coach Ron Prince. At all of his stops, Friedgen said Franklin showed improvement.

"If James can make things simpler and help players learn quicker, I'm all for it," Friedgen said. "And maybe now it's time to do it."

Friedgen hopes Franklin emerges into a right-hand man who can help alleviate some of the extra duties that have overwhelmed the coach in the two years since adding coordinator duties, in which the Terrapins finished 88th in total offense.

He wants to involve Franklin in other aspects of the program such as fundraising. Meantime, Friedgen said he will use his extra time to focus on fundraising and to keep better tabs on the Terrapins' defense.

"It got to the point where for the first time in my life it wasn't always fun. I was exhausted," he said. "I didn't want to just do this to unload it. I wanted to find the right guy."