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A series of bad choices of Maryland

FILE - The Maryland state flag and University of Maryland flag are run across the end zone after a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game between Maryland and Indiana, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams, File)
Terrance Williams
/
AP
FILE - The Maryland state flag and University of Maryland flag are run across the end zone after a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game between Maryland and Indiana, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, in College Park, Md.

Jim Smith has been on the job as athletic director at Maryland for just over six months. In that half year, Smith has likely learned that these days, the job of chief college athletic administrator often is about making the best selection from a series of bad choices.
Specifically, Smith has had to figure out what to do with a football program that is seemingly hopelessly mired in mediocrity, aspiring to be relevant.

Milton Kent hosted the weekly commentary Sports at Large from its creation in 2002 to its finale in July 2013. He has written about sports locally and nationally since 1988, covering the Baltimore Orioles, University of Maryland men's basketball, women's basketball and football, the Washington Wizards, the NBA, men's and women's college basketball and sports media for the Baltimore Sun and AOL Fanhouse. He has covered the World Series, the American and National League Championship Series, the NFL playoffs, the NBA Finals and 17 NCAA men's and women's Final Fours. He currently teaches journalism at Morgan State University.