Photos by The Roanoke Times and the Associated Press

Longtime Virginia Tech aide Bud Foster interviewed for the Clemson head coaching job last year.

Ralph Friedgen isn't just tutoring Maryland's players. He is also passing on his wisdom to James Franklin.

In February, Maryland announced that Franklin, the team's offensive coordinator, would become head coach when Friedgen decides to retire.

One of Maryland's ACC rivals, Florida State, also has a coach-in-waiting. Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden will be 80 years old in November.

Despite Bowden's age, FSU waited until 2007 to adopt a coach-in-waiting plan.

Friedgen, 62, is hardly as old as Bowden. Why the rush to designate an heir?

"Bobby Bowden's not coaching at Maryland, either. It's tougher," Friedgen said. "I have to go out and raise $500,000 a year for the football program."

So Friedgen has been mentoring Franklin in the many aspects of his job.

Plus, Franklin had been drawing interest from other suitors. Now he has incentive to stay put.

"It was one way to keep James in the program," Friedgen said. "It was also a way to transition into the next coach."

Friedgen is the same age as his good friend Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech. But Tech has no interest in making highly touted defensive coordinator Bud Foster a coach-in-waiting.

"Succession plans can be overrated," Tech athletic director Jim Weaver said.

Beamer in no rush to end Tech career

Maryland and FSU are among four Division I-A schools who have a coach-in-waiting. Two other schools, Purdue and Oregon, elevated a coach-in-waiting to head coach this year.

Wisconsin kicked off the football trend in 2005 when Bret Bielema, now entering his fourth season as head coach, was named the coach-in-waiting under Barry Alvarez.

A handful of men's basketball programs, including Purdue, Texas Tech and Syracuse, have also adopted a coach-in-waiting plan in recent years.

At Florida State, President T.K. Wetherell and then-athletic director Bill Proctor told Bowden they wanted to name Jimbo Fisher the coach-in-waiting. Fisher was given that role in December 2007, during his first season as the Seminoles' offensive coordinator.

FSU junior quarterback Christian Ponder is glad the school made the move.

"It helps us, to know who's going to be the next head coach," Ponder said. "We're not really sure when it's going to happen, but to know and to have that figure already in place definitely helps because you know what he's going to bring to the table. ... So when that transition occurs it's going to be easier."

Bowden said having a successor has paid off with potential recruits.

"These kids look at me, they know I ain't going to be around there forever," Bowden said. "They know I'm not likely to finish their term at Florida State. But we can say, 'Hey, there's the guy that's going to take my place.' And then he gets to talking to them and they love him to death."

But Weaver said he doesn't feel a need to reassure prospective Hokie recruits by pointing to a coach-in-waiting.

"I don't think that's a valid issue for Virginia Tech at this point," Weaver said. "We feel like Coach Beamer is young enough that he might go for some time.

I don't think you have to necessarily have succession plans in place when you have somebody who you expect to coach for some time."

Beamer has steered the Hokies since 1987.

"I'm not in any rush to retire," Beamer said. "As long as the health's good and we have good football teams, I'd like to coach."

Brown also has heir

After first serving on Friedgen's staff from 2000-04, Franklin returned to Maryland a year ago as Friedgen's assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.

Last winter, athletic director Debbie Yow approached Friedgen with the idea of making Franklin the coach-in-waiting as a way to keep him from possibly leaving.

"It wasn't that big a deal to me because when I brought James back and named him assistant head coach, I was really trying to groom him for that [head coaching] position anyway," Friedgen said.

Friedgen is under contract through the 2011 season, and has said he might want to coach a few years beyond that.

The Baltimore Sun reported that if Franklin isn't promoted to head coach for the 2012 season, Franklin's contract states he can either remain offensive coordinator or resign and reap $1 million.

Bowden, the second-winningest coach in I-A history, hasn't set a retirement date. But FSU is contractually obligated to pay Fisher $5 million if he isn't elevated to head coach for the 2011 season.

Texas coach Mack Brown, 58, is under contract through 2016. But that didn't keep Texas from naming defensive coordinator Will Muschamp the coach-in-waiting last November.

As at Maryland, Texas wanted to keep Muschamp, 38, from leaving for another job.

Tech has concerns

At Virginia Tech, Foster has had other coordinator opportunities over the years. And last year, he interviewed to become Clemson's head coach.

Why hasn't Tech made Foster the coach-in-waiting, to make sure he sticks around?

"You're asking the wrong guy about coach-in-waiting." Beamer said. "That's an administrative question."

Weaver did talk with Texas AD DeLoss Dodds about Texas' decision to have a coach-in-waiting,. Weaver also discussed the idea with Beamer and Tech President Charles Steger.

They decided in December not to go that route, just as Penn State has never named a successor for 82-year-old Joe Paterno.

Weaver and Steger discussed the idea again this summer and remain opposed to it.

Not only is retirement not on Beamer's radar, but there is the potential for staff conflicts to arise when assistants have both a boss and a boss-in-waiting.

"Sometimes that sends an incorrect message to who's really in charge of the program," Weaver said.

Besides, if Foster, 50, is again wooed for another coordinator job, Tech could always boost his salary to keep him, just like it has before.

And if Foster leaves for a head coaching job, Tech could always try to hire him back when Beamer is ready to retire.

"A lot of people would say that having head coaching experience would be a positive, as opposed to just being at that one place or being an assistant all the time," Weaver said.

Weaver, 64, might not even still be the AD when Beamer retires. Not wanting to force a coach-in-waiting on the next AD is a "valid concern," Weaver said.

Friedgen likes the concept

Maryland senior cornerback Nolan Carroll is glad the school has named a coach-in-waiting.

"It's a good idea because the questions came up about Coach Friedgen's health as far as will he still be able to coach two or three years from now because of his weight and health?" Carroll said. "It was a good idea for him to do this now, to get all that uncertainty out of the way."

At some schools, hiring a coach-in-waiting doesn't give black candidates the chance to even be considered when a coach eventually retires. That isn't an issue at Maryland and Kentucky because Franklin and UK coach-in-waiting Joker Phillips are black.

Friedgen has been trying to prepare Franklin, 37, for his next role by bouncing ideas off him and explaining his decisions.

"I'm trying to help James become a head coach -- hopefully a very successful head coach," Friedgen said.

He has also been tutoring Franklin in behind-the-scenes matters, such as how to organize the program's annual golf tournament and how to recruit customers for their stadium's new luxury suites.

But just because Friedgen likes the coach-in-waiting idea doesn't mean he's been recommending it to his pal in Blacksburg.

"That's Frank's call," Friedgen said with a smile. "I don't think Frank's thinking about leaving. I think he's trying to beat Bobby Bowden."

A handful of the nation's major college football programs have implemented a coach-in-waiting plan, but Virginia Tech has yet to jump on the bandwagon.