Monday’s Morning Links:

Edsall Leaves UConn For Maryland: Although Maryland had been hunting around a number of big names, Randy Edsall would have to be in the dark horse category. Edsall has gained a lot of coaching hype these past few years as he has developed Connecticut into a quality program in the Big East, including sharing two conference Titles in 2007 and this past season. The move to Maryland is a bit surprising because at best it is a lateral move, and not the big move you’d expect for Edsall to be leaving. The Terps for their part are showing they plan on being successful in the ACC and on the recruiting trail. For Edsall to be successful he will need to ensure that he is locking up the top talents in the state of Maryland instead of letting them go to bigger schools as they have in the past. I think Edsall is a good hire for MD, and if the school is serious about it, he is the perfect coach to reshape that program.

The Vikings and Cowboys Look To Retain Their Interim Coaches: While the Cowboys keeping Jason Garrett isn’t 100% official, I think it is pretty safe to put him down as the head coach next season. With Garrett and Leslie Frazier retaining their current jobs, it makes to less coaching gigs on the open market, but in reality it shouldn’t be a surprise. Both Garrett and Frazier preformed pretty well after taking over as the head coach, and previously had been top head coaching prospects. I think these were very wise signings by the Cowboys and Vikings if they didn’t think they would be able to land Bill Cowher. Now I know there are a number of other former head coaches on the market, but I’m not sure if any of them will be that much better than Garrett or Frazier. And while you could have spent what it took to land a top assistant, it would have been a brand new guy who would be looking to totally revamp the team. In the case of both the Cowboys and Vikings the are quality teams with playoff caliber talent, who fell because of a combination of bad coaching and key injuries. Both teams are only missing a few pieces from being contenders again. The Cowboys need a new offensive line and help in the secondary, while the Vikings need a new quarterback and an offensive lineman or two. To bring in a new head coach could have set them back farther as they look to change the system. Now hopefully both the Vikings and Cowboys can hit the ground running next season, and be right back into the playoff hunt.

Tom Coughlin Will Return As The Giants Coach Next Season: I know there are some Giants fans that thought otherwise, but this is the right move for the Giants. Coughlin has had a lot of success in his time in New York, and while he has missed the playoffs each of the last two years, he has been competitive both of those seasons. While you can point to a frustrating loss to the Eagles a couple of weeks ago that wasn’t entirely Coughlin’s fault (I’m guessing a new Special Teams coach will be there next season). The Giants need to make some tweaks for sure as well as get healthier, but they should be a top contender next season so why would you change that? Now I think Coughlin’s seat is warm heading into next season, and barring even more injuries missing the playoffs won’t be acceptable in 2011. Right now though I don’t think it would have been warranted, even if you could bring in Bill Cowher (whom I think is the best coach out there). Cowher might be great, but Coughlin isn’t to bad himself, meaning I doubt it would have made much of a difference.