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Maryland Football Coach: Ralph Friedgen Is Being Asked To Accept A Buyout

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According to Eric Prisbell and Steve Yanda of the Washington Post, the University is likely to ask Ralph Friedgen to retire, and Kevin Anderson implied that an announcement will be made as to the coach's future next week.

A source close to the Maryland athletic department said Franklin's departure "helped set wheels in motion with a focus on pursuing Mike Leach. Essentially the thought is now is the time to strike. You somehow work with Ralph to quote-unquote retire."

Chick Hernandez of Comcast SportsNet confirmed that Fridgen is getting bought out earlier tonight.

As Heather Dinich of ESPN's ACC Blog points out, its not Friedgen who is the real loser in all of this. It's his players.

Earlier today, offensive coordinator James Franklin left to be Vanderbilt's head coach, and he reportedly plans to take several assistants with him. Sources said that Friedgen left the office today without talking to any staff members about the situation, and everyone was left wondering about their futures. The assistants, their families, and the players are the ones who have been hurt the most by the upheaval at Maryland - not Friedgen. He'll get a cool $2 million out of the deal.

As for the top candidate to replace Friedgen, Mike Leach told the Washington Post that he has not been contacted by Maryland about the position.