Maryland’s New Football Coach Is Happy That He Will Be Staying Put

The previous football coach at the University of Maryland departed somewhat abruptly because he couldn’t seem to get what he wanted as quickly as he wanted it. So the new coach, Joe Krivak, was asked what Maryland had done for him that convinced him to take this job. A promise of a new stadium? An indoor facility? Definitive academic guidelines?

“Maryland gave me an opportunity to coach their football team--that’s what they’ve done for me,” Krivak said. “I’m 51 years old. This is my shot. I’m either going to retire from this job or I’m going to get fired from this job. I’m not looking to move on.”

There are many reasons why Joe Krivak is coaching this team, and that’s one of the biggest: He’s damned happy to be there.

At first glance, it seems odd that Maryland would choose Krivak, who has not been a head coach since 1968 at Madonna High School in Weirton, W. Va. Maryland could’ve had people with fancier credentials than that: Sam Rutigliano, a fine, compassionate man and a former NFL head coach; Jim Walden of Washington State, described glowingly as college football’s best coach with a losing record; Bill Dooley, a big winner at Virginia Tech; Mack Brown, regarded as a young turk on a fast track.

Any of them might have made a fine coach at Maryland. But any of them might have used Maryland as a stepping stone to something higher. That kind of ambition was not necessarily one of the attributes Maryland was looking for in a coach.

Joe Krivak is here for the long haul.

“Check my past history,” he advised people. “I’m a guy that doesn’t like to move a lot.”

Maryland athletics has gone through a major upheaval. The athletic director job remains vacant. The basketball coach was sacked. The football coach quit in a snit. At the moment, Maryland probably doesn’t much care if its athletic boat goes anywhere, as long as whoever’s left on board doesn’t start rocking.

Joe Krivak has been loyal to Maryland. He was an assistant for eight years, three under Jerry Claiborne, five under Bobby Ross. He has two sons who attend school at College Park. He unhesitatingly and affectionately calls the University of Maryland “my home.”

Joe Krivak can live with an old stadium. He can live with outdoor practice. He can live with task force reports that emphasize academics. He can live with the knowledge that no matter how many seats aren’t in Byrd Stadium, if Maryland wins all its games it really is competing for the national championship.

By picking Krivak, Maryland sends out some welcome signals. One goes to the admirers of Bobby Ross’ program. Krivak was Ross’ offensive adjutant. He helped send Boomer Esiason, Frank Reich and Stan Gelbaugh where they are today: To the NFL. Not to worry, Krivak likes to throw the ball.

Concurrently, Krivak’s hiring should be seen as a validation of Ross’ adherence to the rules. Charles Sturtz, interim AD, said that by choosing one of Ross’ assistants, “We clearly endorsed the thrust of the way the program has been run the last five years.”

Another signal goes to the general population at Maryland. One of their own got this job. Maryland promoted from within. A career assistant coach, a lifer, was rewarded for years of hard work. That should tell everyone that there isn’t an evil force on campus trying to sink the Maryland athletic department.

On the other hand, like the appointment of Bob Wade to be basketball coach, hiring Joe Krivak is not without inherent risks. Last year, Maryland was one of those rare schools with both its football and basketball teams ranked in the top 20. Now, both teams are being coached by people with no previous experience at their jobs. Like Wade, Krivak was once a high school football and basketball coach.

Wade seemed a savvy hire because he was a local hero with solid ties to the Baltimore-Washington community. Increasingly, basketball has become a black and inner city game, and, like John Thompson--who surely acted as the role model John Slaughter looked to--Wade was a black man with an admired reputation for being a strong disciplinarian who coached in an inner city high school.

Krivak, too, has ties to the community, and has pledged to recruit locally. Race is less of an issue in college football. But style of play is crucial, and Krivak has his history with quarterbacks--much like Bill Walsh, who also got his first college head-coaching position, at Stanford, late in life, at 47--to sell.

Still, it has been 18 years since Krivak was a head coach anywhere. Even now he isn’t sure what qualifies him to be a head coach on so high a level. “I really don’t have the answer for that,” he said good-naturedly. “In many ways, Maryland may be getting a pig in a poke.” Krivak smiled.

He wanted this job. There would be no apology for his getting it. “But when a break like this comes along,” he said, “it’s a question of timing, of being in the right spot and getting lucky. Maybe this is my time to get lucky.”

We see why Maryland picked Wade and Krivak. They appear to be fine men and worthy of selection.

Can they coach?