This summer, the Maryland Terrapins hired Connecticut football coach Randy Edsall to replace Ralph Friedgen. Now, a member of the Terps' staff is leaving for Connecticut.
Defensive coordinator Don Brown has accepted the same position at UConn.
Brown came to Maryland in January 2009 as a part of Friedgen's staff and was retained by Edsall this fall. Brown's decision came as a surprise to Edsall:
"It was one of those things where I got a phone call late yesterday [from Connecticut] asking if they could talk" to Brown, Edsall said.
Brown has plenty of experience coaching in the New England area; he was the head coach at UMass from 2004 to 2008 and held coaching jobs at Northeastern, Yale, Brown and Dartmouth.
Edsall wasn't the only one surprised. Brown had his hands in bringing in several recruits, who were also shocked by his abrupt coaching change.
Cornerback A.J. Hendy, who signed with Maryland because of his interactions with Brown:
"The first time I went up to Maryland I felt a real connection with Coach Brown," Hendy said earlier this week. "He's a football guy. I think he knows the game a lot. It's amazing. Every time I go up there he's got a new cornerback (video) cutup or a DB cutup for me to watch. I feel like we're on the same level with the love we have for the game."
Edsall has not announced a timetable for finding Brown's replacement and is currently deciding to either promote from within or make an outside hire.
"There's different options that I can go, and what I'm going to do is explore my options and go from there," Edsall said. "I'm going to get the best person to come in here and take over."