OT-ish Trevor Price's take on Maryland
Trevor Price was interviewed on Rome yesterday to discuss the Maryland football program. First of all Price is a former UM defensive lineman who eventually transferred to Clemson. He transferred because, in his words, "Michigan was way too hard".
He said something that really struck a chord with me. He said McNair had his pick of schools from all over the country. Obviously he choose Maryland and "had he gone to Penn State he'd still be alive today". (think of Penn State as a placeholder in that statement for any other school that offered him a scholarship) That hit me like a brick. He sounded overly confident Durkin is getting fired over this. And after hearing that quote I can't help but agree with him.
You can listen to a replay of the show on Jim Rome's Daily Jungle podcast 8/13/18
Maybe this isn't board worthy but I thought it could make for a good discussion.
August 14th, 2018 at 9:24 AM ^
I picture a year in seclusion followed by a D-2 assistant position coaching job. Maybe that timeline is even too aggressive.
August 14th, 2018 at 9:12 AM ^
It's Trevor Pryce.
August 14th, 2018 at 12:39 PM ^
Thank you. Can't up vote or I would have just done that.
August 14th, 2018 at 9:13 AM ^
How could you not want to start over if you are Maryland? Keeping Durkin would be the height of stupidity.
August 14th, 2018 at 9:18 AM ^
Is now a good time to mention that Brian Kelly also helped to cause a death within his program?
As for Maryland, there's no reason to keep Durkin based on the results of the past two years. You can restart that program and get back to where it has been the past two years without any major step back. There are some coaches/programs where the school would probably just try to settle the lawsuit or something and keep their coach, but Durkin isn't Nick Saban or Urban Meyer (or Brian Kelly).
August 14th, 2018 at 9:25 AM ^
Well the only problem I see is Durkin is a good recruiter. Maryland would probably fall to the level of Rutgers recruiting rankings for a year or two. Its sad because Durkin was one of the up and comers in the coaching ranks. I had him pegged for a higher profile job in the future. He will be lucky to work in any college football capacity in the future.
August 14th, 2018 at 12:30 PM ^
Maryland's 2019 recruiting class is currently ranked #13 in the Big Ten.
Obviously, that's not going to save his job. It's hard to see how it gets any better if Durkin is retained. He's damaged goods as a recruiter.
August 14th, 2018 at 9:28 AM ^
How did he get away with a 0.01% of the attention Meyer and Durkin are getting? It's beyond comprehensible. The only time I hear it brought up is by opposing fan bases. Bring it up to an ND fan and they will quickly change the subject.
August 14th, 2018 at 9:46 AM ^
I'm definitely not a Brian Kelly fan, but Declan Sullivan's death felt more like a tragic fluke. Had any coach or trainer ever seen one of those lifts go over in high wind? I'm guessing they hadn't and thus didn't understand the risk.
Maybe I'm wrong though.
August 14th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^
Apparently none of them bothered to read the warning stickers usually found on the side of those things near the controls that say do not use in high winds. There was no legitimate excuse for having kids up on scaffolds or scissor lifts in high winds. Especially after the kid had expressed concern about his safety before hand.
August 14th, 2018 at 10:14 AM ^
Well, to be fair, nobody sees a lift go over in high winds. Because they never go up in high winds! Seriously, would you climb a tree to 75' high with 50 mph wind gusts? When looking at the wheel base of you basic scissor lift, would you have gone up to 75' in 50 mph wind gusts?
Don't even try to tell us you would have.
Kelly told that kid to do it, despite objections from staff.
August 14th, 2018 at 11:20 AM ^
Is that last part actually true? Kelly directly ordered it?
August 14th, 2018 at 3:50 PM ^
Well, that isn't actually documented anywhere that I've seen. However, this report clearly states that Kelly decided to practice outside, and it's his 'standing orders', if you will, that practice be filmed from high up in a scissor lift. So, while he may not have directly said 'go up', it can be fairly inferred that it was his decision to send the kids up.
Edit: Fair question, though. Thanks for asking/pointing that out!
August 14th, 2018 at 10:23 AM ^
There were very high winds in much of the Big Ten footprint that day. I remember OSU and even that enabler JoePa mentioned they specifically moved practice inside because of the wind. However, ND athletic director Savvy Jack referred to the wind that day as “unremarkable.” It is crazy how Brain Kelly didn’t lose his job, and ND fans bury their heads in the sand and don’t even want to acknowledge what happened.
August 14th, 2018 at 10:35 AM ^
How many times do you think D.J. Durkin has seen a player die during his workouts? There are flukes, but there are also safety regulations put in place to prevent those things from happening. We don't all need someone to die right in front of us from not wearing their seat belt to say, "Hey, we should probably wear our seat belts."
August 14th, 2018 at 11:14 AM ^
There are plenty of instances of athletes dying from over-exhaustion.
How many instances in the athletic world are there of someone dying from blowing over in a lift?
August 14th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
This is a very poor rationalization and I would implore you to reconsider your stance.
August 14th, 2018 at 11:05 AM ^
To me that fits under the umbrella of common sense. Only a complete fuckin idiot would not realize the risk.
August 14th, 2018 at 11:55 AM ^
I do not recall the details of the Sullivan's death, but EVERY D-1 and almost every college coach in America is familiar with a lift, how high it can go, and how stable it would be in heavy wind. Maybe Kelly has a decent excuse, but his lack of familiarity with a lift is not one of them.
August 14th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
"I guess I lived long enough." - Final tweet of Declan Sullivan.
the winds must have been really bad if the kid was concerned. . .
Brian Kelly strikes me as a guy (and those who played for him at Grand Valley) is that he demands people to follow through for him. You WILL take football theory as one of your classes or you're off the team. You WILL go up in that lift. I need to watch the practice film later.
that accident, should not have happened if the coach didn't ignore the best interest of his staff, the players, or the university.
August 14th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^
Good point. Sad that it is true. No coach should ever be so important that what is right is swept aside. These are grown men that are in a position to lead the very youngest adult males through some of their most influential years.
August 14th, 2018 at 9:24 AM ^
B1G East hall of shame rankings IMO
#1 Maryland (player death)
#2 PSU (condoned & shielded known child sex abuser)
#3 OSU (spousal abuse, band & wrestling hazing/sexual abuse)
#4 MSU (rape culture, student beatings)
#5 Indiana (head coach ignored injuries, abused players)
#6 Rutgers (credit card fraud, grade fixing, coach abuse in basketball)
#7 Michigan (possible shoe reselling, did too much stretching a while ago)
August 14th, 2018 at 9:28 AM ^
Iowa Conditioning as well...the year escapes me. 2015????
August 14th, 2018 at 9:37 AM ^
That would on the B1G west wall of shame. But theirs is kinda mundane to be honest.
August 14th, 2018 at 9:37 AM ^
Sorry I just reread your post...
August 14th, 2018 at 9:46 AM ^
Joined in 2014 and has 3 points. Has it taken you 4 years to build up confidence to start posting? Welcome to the board but damn, you make Dantonio's lying in the weeds look like childs play.
August 14th, 2018 at 9:59 AM ^
I've been lingering, Worked a job in the field for 12 years (Law Enforcement) Kids sports and just busy daily life....Needless to say, things have calmed down...and promotions helped. haha
August 14th, 2018 at 11:14 AM ^
You conveniently forgot the rap and victim threatening at UM.
August 14th, 2018 at 12:59 PM ^
The rap from Michigan players isn't professional, but it's not shameful.
August 14th, 2018 at 9:53 AM ^
Opposing fans would probably bring up Gibbons, Frank Clark, Grant Perry and LTT.
Not sure if they would count as some sort of scandal or rather individual one offs.
August 14th, 2018 at 10:04 AM ^
Other schools had player misconduct too. MSU with the four or five last year. OSU players thievery..and so on. Most handled every player investigation correct in my opinion.
August 14th, 2018 at 10:07 AM ^
I think so too (other than some of the Gibbons situation).
Just throwing in the devil's advocate response.
August 14th, 2018 at 1:07 PM ^
The Gibbons situation was handled exactly in accordance with Title IX guidelines. When the guidelines changed, the school revisited the situation and made a new finding based on the new guidance. You can't ask for more than that.
The Lewan case is a little more disturbing, but even the police agreed that there was nothing to proceed with, as it was one of those "I was told that he said" kinds of deals. The Title IX office should have looked into that, as well.
August 14th, 2018 at 4:57 PM ^
Wasn't the issue with Gibbons how Brady Hoke handled it in front of the press?
August 14th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^
I'd put MSU ahead of OSU. MSU's issues are systemic and have involved abuses committed within and/or by multiple units within the athletic department, not to mention the enabling that extends all the way through the top of the university administration. Plus, aside from Nassar going to jail, there is no real indication that anything at MSU is changing.
Then again, don't forget that OSU is also mired in another sexual abuse investigation involving their wrestling program.
August 14th, 2018 at 10:30 AM ^
...and Cream Cheese!!!
August 14th, 2018 at 9:32 AM ^
Durkin will definitely get fired over this. I think the S&C coach and 2 trainers involved may end up having more to worry about than keeping their jobs as I wonder if there are any criminal / legal implications here.
August 14th, 2018 at 9:51 AM ^
There was a report this morning about someone calling the team physician before 911. The 911 call states first that he was hyperventilating then later says he has a seizure. I don’t think this helps anyone keep their jobs, but it might help them avoid legal liability. For those of you who haven’t lived in or visited the area in the summer, it gets extremely humid and I’m sure that played a bigger role than the heat did in this instance.
August 14th, 2018 at 9:51 AM ^
The whole thing is a sad situation. Still, it is perfect cover for Meyer and OSU. They do a late Friday news dump reinstating Meyer and the whole thing just goes away.
August 14th, 2018 at 11:54 AM ^
Couldn't agree more. This whole two week deal was for them to get the media circus to fizzle out, and then just wait for the next big story to take over the media's attention. With the fiasco going on at Maryland (which is justifiably a more serious situation), Meyer and OSU are officially old news.
There's no way Durkin survives this with his job intact. OSU will wait for him to get fired and then release their statement around the same time saying Meyer will not be fired/suspended. Dump it in with Durkin getting fired, divide the media's attention, and then just ride out the tirades from Paul Finebaum, Mark May and Stephen A Smith for the next 2 weeks until football comes back and everyone stops caring.
OSU will luck out yet again. They always catch a break at the perfect time so why should that stop now?
August 14th, 2018 at 10:11 AM ^
if there's one thing I've learned about college football, its that 'facts' are often secondary to the W-L record
hence, Durkin = gone; Meyer = slap on the wrist ('possible' 1-3 game suspension, at the most) then back to the OSU sideline
August 14th, 2018 at 11:16 AM ^
Incorrect: no way Meyer gets any suspension let alone loses his job.
August 14th, 2018 at 1:40 PM ^
Well, that's settled. You can go back to your Buckeye message board with your other bruhs.
August 14th, 2018 at 10:46 AM ^
Interesting facts about Rick Court, Maryland’s strength coach, that I haven’t seen publicized:
Grosse Pointe native that received his Kinesiology degree from MSU. He was a catcher as a Spartan and may reassume his position if found criminally responsible when he goes to the pokey.
August 14th, 2018 at 10:53 AM ^
I remember when Durkin took over the Maryland gig. The players contrasted his style with Don Brown's. They all seem to say Don Brown wasn't nearly as harsh. I thought at the time Durkin's style was just someone who yells a lot.
So I can see the culture he was trying to instill was probably going to be intense. But I didn't think he would ignore protocols to assure player safety.
August 14th, 2018 at 11:17 AM ^
I don't have a horse in the race, but I'm curious as to why. If it's only about the death of McNair, Durkin wasn't there the day of the incident. If it's about "degrading" players or being too harsh I'm not sure that's a fireable offense and quite subjective without any direct observation of specific incidents.
August 14th, 2018 at 12:12 PM ^
It'd probably fall under helping foster a culture where it was acceptable to treat McNair the way he was treated.
August 14th, 2018 at 2:21 PM ^
BTN just reported that the school has revealed that Durkin was present at the workout that fateful day 5/29. This is the first I’ve ever heard this.
August 14th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^
Pryce also said he transferred out of Michigan because it was "too hard." He meant the fitness tests, especially the test where they have to run 1.5 miles in 11 minutes-- he said a lot of the lineman had major trouble with that, but they didn't humiliate the people who failed, they (the Michigan coaches) just told them to show up at 5am the next day and run it again until they passed.
August 14th, 2018 at 12:22 PM ^
Can confirm.