DJ Durkin returning to Mayland Saturday....

Submitted by smitty1983 on October 30th, 2018 at 2:36 PM

DJ Durkin is returning as #Terps football coach and will be on the sidelines for Saturday's game against Michigan State, multiple sources said.

I Like Burgers

October 30th, 2018 at 2:39 PM ^

That program is dead as long as he's there.  There is absolutely no way he's going to be able to recruit -- let alone hold on to whatever talent they currently have.  Maryland is 71st on 247's composite -- right between Troy and Oregon State.  Like how in the fuck do they think he can go into a kid's living room and convince him and his parents to send that kid to the guy that was negligent enough to kill someone and for shits and giggles shows his team psychological torture videos of people getting their eyes drilled to toughen them up.

Maryland basically just gave themselves some USC or Penn State level NCAA scholarship sanctions.  When all they had to do was fire him, promote Matt Canada to full-time HC, and move the program forward.

I Like Burgers

October 30th, 2018 at 2:58 PM ^

There will always be people that take a scholarship.  That will never change.  What will change though is the caliber of player taking a Maryland scholarship.  And frankly, as far as I can recall there's never been a situation like this where this much has been reported about a coach and his program and then that coach had to actually continue at that program.

Generally, for coaches with a shady past or practices, they drop down a level, take time off, or get an assistant job to rehab their image before getting another job.  This is kind of a first.

J.

October 30th, 2018 at 3:00 PM ^

The equivocation from parents will start immediately, just as it did with Meyer.  “The report cleared him.”  “He told us he’s learned a valuable lesson.”  “It was a one-time thing.”  “He wasn’t even there when it happened.”

They’ll willfully ignore the 95 other red flags that they should have seen from the reports because of the glory of big-time college athletics and the hope of a massive payday at the end of it.

JPC

October 30th, 2018 at 3:05 PM ^

Meyer's OSU is an NFL factory. It makes sense for people to hem and haw his shittiness away to get their kids to the pros. That's not Maryland's reality.

Dirkin will get some NOVA/DC kids who want to stay home, and others who don't have any comparable alternative. He was fighting an uphill battle before.  Now he's doing it with 2000 pounds on his back. 

I Like Burgers

October 30th, 2018 at 3:09 PM ^

There's also a big difference between what Meyer did and what Durkin did.  Meyer made some shitty calls covering for a wife-beater.  That doesn't really impact the players.  What Durkin did 100% impacts the players.  Ignoring their health and wellness to the point of death while also subjecting them to some psychological torture type shit during team meals.

There ain't a whole lot you can do to talk your way around that.  Especially when you have current players and parents of current players backing it all up.

J.

October 30th, 2018 at 3:20 PM ^

I hope you’re right.  I’ve just seen too many parents excuse too much bad behavior while chasing the almighty shield.

Keep in mind, even though less than 1% of D-I college football players get drafted, every kid (and every parent) believes their kid is going to be one of them.

Double-D

October 30th, 2018 at 4:10 PM ^

Seriously I am stunned.  Maryland has some talent and has been playing well.  This could cause a total loss of the lockeroom this year.....and “more lucky Dantonio voodoo”

the moral outrage hits much closer to home when you are talking to families about the direct welfare of their young men. 

AnthonyThomas

October 30th, 2018 at 4:10 PM ^

Have you been around any 18-year-olds who are better at football than the kids they went to high school with? They all think they're going to the NFL. The kids who commit to Maryland think they're going to the NFL. 

You know DJ Durkin walks into living rooms and says, "Look at how many Michigan defensive players went to the NFL after 2015. That was me." And a lot of parents and recruits will eat that up, even if they're two or three stars. 

vablue

October 30th, 2018 at 8:52 PM ^

I will prepare to get blasted for this, but in fairness Dunkin’ would not have been there when the kid died.  It is still his responsibility and he took no action afterwards, but that was part of the off season program that coaches can not be a part of.  While there were a lot of messed up things in the program, there have been no accusations of unusual things happening during this incident.  Except of course a complete lack of treatment afterwards.  My question has always been where was the training staff?  I think there has been far too much focus on the culture of the program and far too little on what actually happened.  I would also note that we have not seen an autopsy, so we know nothing about why he died, though that will not excuse the slow response.

canzior

October 30th, 2018 at 3:03 PM ^

The only thing about this...is that Maryland has seemed to accept responsibility and do more than lip service which unfortunately is what would  likely have happened at a few other schools in the division. They have at least showed an appearance of wanting to do the right thing...so maybe there is more (or less) than what the public knows.  The university has been exceptionally transparent through this entire process as well. Not saying it's right, and the optics aren't great, but it would be a complete change based on how they started this entire thing.

stephenrjking

October 30th, 2018 at 2:40 PM ^

Wow, what chaos.

I thought he was really taking the program somewhere good. Then the dirt came out, and it was obvious that there's no way he could come back.

Or, not so obvious. But how can anyone ever want to play for him? He's going to get fired after next season for fielding terrible teams. Just fire him now and start over.

stephenrjking

October 30th, 2018 at 3:23 PM ^

Apparently it goes way beyond that. President Loh, apparently, does not want Durkin back, and he's ragequitting next year as a result. 

It's not beyond imagination that a university would find its administration and mission compromised by fealty to a sports team. But it's pretty surprising that Maryland, of all schools, is going to these lengths to keep on a football coach with a losing record. 

KalkaskaWolverine

October 31st, 2018 at 8:00 AM ^

Exactly right. Clearly the right thing to do is to fire the man responsible for supervising this awful mess. But even the cynical move would be to fire him now to avoid the payout. There's no way they can build a contender now, recruiting will now rightfully be a nightmare for years. No players with decent options will want to play for Durkin going forward. 

jtmc33

October 30th, 2018 at 2:49 PM ^

Only explanation is that the University fears a lawsuit if they fire him, must not have had enough evidence to do it for cause.  So money wins 

Because there is zero reason, other than money, that you keep him.  He wasn’t successful, there is no way any players are excited to have him back, recruiting will be crippled, and he’s a PR nightmare after his coaching methods were uncovered.