Ralph Friedgen out as Rutgers OC due to health reasons

It will be one and done for Ralph Friedgen at Rutgers as Metro New York has learned that the Scarlet Knights’ offensive coordinator will be leaving coaching due to health reasons.

Friedgen, who in his one season “On the Banks” helped turned a stagnant Rutgers offense into a unit that surprised in their first season in the Big Ten, will not be returning for the 2015 season. A team source tells Metro that Friedgen’s decision to forego a second season with the Scarlet Knights was based solely on his health.

Last year, Friedgen was responsible for the development of senior quarterback Gary Nova into one of the better quarterbacks in the Nation. Despite the steep learning curve in the Big Ten, Nova completed 57.2 percent of his passes for 2,851 yards with 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He is now being looked at as a possible undrafted free agent by teams throughout the NFL.

Rutgers finished last year 8-5 in their debut season in the Big Ten, winning their bowl game over North Carolina in impressive fashion.

A former head coach at Maryland, where he won an ACC title and four bowl games,Friedgen did little in terms of traveling for recruiting at Rutgers and was limited mainly to coaching and game-planning. But he leaves behind a tremendous void in terms of his ability to manage the offense.

A replacement might not be easy to find, especially given Friedgen’s reputation as an offensive mastermind.

One possibility for a replacement is Ben McDaniels, who has been with the school for one season as a wide receivers coach. He is young and rather untested but has been an offensive coordinator before when he was at Columbia and has spent time coaching in the NFL. His brother is Josh McDaniels, the current offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.