[Debbie Yow], the athletic director, fired Mark Duffner, the Terps' football coach, Monday after five seasons and a 20-35 record. There has been criticism, not so much of Duffner's dismissal, but of the way it was handled. If Yow has as much success hiring as she did at Saint Louis, however, the complaints will subside.

This coaching search probably will be the defining moment of Yow's tenure at Maryland, just as her hiring of Charlie Spoonhour is her legacy at Saint Louis.

Yow came to Maryland in 1994, and two years later has fired Duffner. She was hired by Saint Louis in 1990, and two years later dumped basketball coach Rich Grawer. In three of the previous five years, he had gotten the Billikens to the NIT, but a 5-23 record in 1991-92 opened the door for a change.