Ralph Friedgen, left, took at least 10 DeMatha Catholic (Md.) players while he was at Maryland. (AP file photo)

By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

Bill McGregor isn't sure if Ralph Friedgen will buck the trend of one-year offensive coordinators at Rutgers, but the longtime DeMatha Catholic (Md.) head coach knows Friedgen, 66, still has a lot left in the tank.

“If Ralph wants to get back into it, Ralph could be a head coach I’m sure," McGregor said. He’s the only one that can answer that in terms of where he’s going to coach. Does he want to stay as an assistant coach as an offensive coordinator and not have all the aggravation and the things that go with being a head coach? Or does he want to go into the pro game? I’m sure he had a number of offers to go there. Or does he want to stay at Rutgers and be their OC?"

McGregor, who has known Friedgen since Friedgen was an offensive line coach at Maryland in 1982, used to spend his spring days in College Park, Md., detailing Friedgen's coaching.

“What we’d do is (offensive line coach) Buck (Offutt) and I would go right after school," McGregor said. "I don’t think that spring I missed a spring practice. Buck and Ralph became such good friends. Buck was I think the best line coach I’ve ever seen. He could’ve easily coached college football. At times Ralph would call Buck up and say, ‘Hey Buck, would you come up and take a look at the offensive line?’ And Buck would go up there with him and Buck would watch practice and then go critique player by player.”

Quotes from Rutgers' new coaches teleconference

Friedgen, formally introduced Tuesday as Rutgers' offensive coordinator, always returned to DeMatha, even when he left for other jobs, McGregor said. 

"In the formative years I knew Ralph, I followed his career at Georgia Tech," McGregor said. "He would come in and recruit the D.C. area, recruit the DeMatha kids. I had a number of kids have the opportunity to go up and play for him at the University of Maryland. They loved him. He was very demanding but very fair. He loved the kids, cared for the kids. They had great experiences playing for him.”

He may be asked to do the same at Rutgers.

“I’m going to whatever coach (Kyle) Flood wants me to do," Friedgen said. "I think I have to have an impact in recruiting. It’s part of the job.”