October 30th, 2018 at 2:58 PM ^
Well, then they hired the abusive assistant. And Ohio State hired the abusive head coach as an assistant.
Seriously; in several decades' worth of watching games from the east (visitors) sidelines, Kevin Wilson and his staff were the most abusive game-time coaches I have ever seen. I never have any idea what they are like in practice; Durkin is not abusive during games. But Indiana under Kevin Wilson was awful-weird. What I saw from the one game (2016) with both Wilson and Allen on the sidelines, Allen was actually a worse screamer at his own guys than Wilson was.
October 30th, 2018 at 2:59 PM ^
His mistake was leaving the players alive to tell the tale
October 30th, 2018 at 2:44 PM ^
Seems like they would want to distance themselves from the controversy. He must have really thrown his strength coach under the bus.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:02 PM ^
Its the rare instance of embracing the controversy and hoping it all works out.
They are 5-3 now and finish with MSU (who is a 1.5 favorite..get your bets in now while you can), and then go to Indiana, before finishing with PSU and OSU. There's a really good chance they don't win another game.
October 30th, 2018 at 2:45 PM ^
Well, at least he’s not going back to Maryland
October 30th, 2018 at 2:45 PM ^
if the PR people couldn't convince the administration that this was a poor choice, they should be fired.
October 30th, 2018 at 2:48 PM ^
Um, seriously? Killing a kid isn't enough??? Wow, they must think he can win a LOT of games...
October 30th, 2018 at 2:51 PM ^
Brian Kelly says "hi".
October 30th, 2018 at 3:02 PM ^
Rumor is the board consulted with John Engler.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:04 PM ^
If that wasn't enough, then this should have been:
That's some full on psychopath shit.
If you want to read more of that story its here: https://theathletic.com/589971/2018/10/16/a-group-of-maryland-football-parents-is-strongly-against-d-j-durkins-return/
October 30th, 2018 at 2:49 PM ^
WTF!?!?!?!
So the head coach can run a program so negligent someone dies (without an unknown pre-existing condition) and return to his job?
I give up and clearly so did Maryland's BoT, President, and AD.
October 30th, 2018 at 2:50 PM ^
I wish I could say that I’m surprised by this but when I read the paragraph of the report that stated that Maryland hadn’t done enough to help him I knew he was going to be back.
I don’t know if I’m getting less naive as I age or college football has changed so much that I’m starting to get turned off. This is so gross.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:09 PM ^
Yeah I couldn't believe what I was reading when i saw that part. What more does Maryland have to do for Durkin to not hire abusive assholes for strength coaches and trainers? What else could Maryland provide for their poor first year head coach for him to not show graphic videos of animals killing each other, and humans being mutilated? Everything that came out after the reports seemed to imply that the strength coach was DJ's first hire, and apparent right hand man. I don't know how this doesn't fall right at his feet. This man should clearly never be allowed to coach again.
October 30th, 2018 at 2:51 PM ^
Maybe they decided the worst punishment they could levy against him was to make him coach Mayland?
October 30th, 2018 at 3:05 PM ^
If that's throwing the book at someone, I don't even want to know what crime is punishable by Rutgers
October 30th, 2018 at 2:51 PM ^
So we really are the only team in the East division that is not a dumpster fire of either ineptitude or corruption? Debord and the 4-5 Hoosiers arguably being simply mediocre and not awful.
October 30th, 2018 at 2:52 PM ^
Why would you bet your entire program on a 10-15 coach who let one of his athletes die on his watch and who you admit caused a "culture where problems festered because too many players feared speaking out?"
Let the ACC have these guys back.
October 30th, 2018 at 2:52 PM ^
I would think that they'd prefer to fire him w/o a buyout but legal is advising they'd likely have to pay the buyout so they are resigning to putting him back in for now. Now I'm simply speculating. It will be a dumpster fire.
October 30th, 2018 at 2:54 PM ^
Wrong and dumb. Wrong because . . obvious. Dumb because how is he going to continue to recruit on a decent level?
October 30th, 2018 at 2:55 PM ^
To me this decision is unfathomable. How can the head of an organization survive this? It makes me want to throw up in my mouth.
October 30th, 2018 at 2:58 PM ^
Crazy. so Loh was going to be immediately terminated himself if he got rid of Durkin? Boosters call the shots apparently. Even so, Loh is "retiring" in June - the price he is being forced to pay for being honest and accepting responsibility. I never would have believed this result.
Parents of the player who died, and other parents, are not going to let this go.
October 30th, 2018 at 5:35 PM ^
The football team was meant once to promote the school. Now the schools are meant to promote the football team.
I am not naive to the situation around the college and packed stadiums but for every enormous donor there are many more smaller donors.
If you let one big donor sway too much we'd have lunacy like naming an arena after their daughter who did not even go there. (Yes, that did happen)
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/news/story?id=1931214
October 30th, 2018 at 3:00 PM ^
devils advocate. ignoring the "culture" argument. only the Jordan Mcnair incident.
Head coach doesn't witness him going down, doesn't get informed about him being taken to the trainers, never hears about any of it till its already been the hour between symptoms and treatment.
Is that a firable offence? Taking all of the emotion out of the scenario i honestly dont think he should be held accountable for the position coach and trainers between him and the incident not sorting it out appropriately.
There is more to it than that obviously and even if he wasn't at fault i can commiserate with cleaning house for the sake of a fresh start. It just feels to me like a vast majority of people here and elsewhere are saying fire him and burn the program down as a holier than thou statement.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:05 PM ^
It's his job to know. You lose the right to be blissfully ignorant when you are the head coach. It was JoePa's job to know. It was Dantonio and Izzo's job to know. It was Urban's job to know. End of story.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:41 PM ^
I think that's a flimsy argument that't based around a house of cards that it was a deliberated and intentional lack of awareness across the entire program. Idealistically i'm with you 100% though. I just don't think that way about the real world.
October 30th, 2018 at 4:07 PM ^
There is nothing "idealistic" about believing that people who are in charge of institutions should be held accountable for that institution or organization's failings. Being a head coach or a CEO or what have you is not a privilege, it's a responsibility and you should pay the consequences when your organization fails to protect people, whether or not you were directly responsible. This should be common practice for everyone.
October 30th, 2018 at 4:31 PM ^
I agree with that statement. It is Durkins responsibility to own the shortcomings of his staff and the schools medical staff under his supervision. I just don't necessarily agree that firing him is that fix. He should take it and own it and improve. If firing is the biggest result of this that the public cares about then i think we as a society have failed McNair.
October 30th, 2018 at 4:31 PM ^
Again, you sound idealistic. Most of the time, most leaders of organizations that fail (in big business, in government, and virtually all organizations which operate in a monopoly / cartel / duopoly environments, like the NCAA) do NOT pay the price of failure.
Time and again they either get paid to leave or a slap on the wrist. Even having to leave is relatively rare unless there is a multiyear multiple instances of failure.
That's the real world.
That is NOT what I want it to be, but that is it.
October 30th, 2018 at 5:50 PM ^
Yes, I'm well aware of that. That's why people must continue to call it out as bullshit, even if it takes years to change the culture.
October 30th, 2018 at 5:47 PM ^
A kid died due to the the extreme and systematic negligence of his staff member(s). Nevermind firing. Any real "leader" in such a tragic circumstance would and should resign.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:07 PM ^
I get the exercise. I think he should still be fired as the buck stops with him. I'm not a big fan of plausible deniability in coaching. He then does coaching rehab -- a year off with a few commentary gigs, 1-2 years as a DC at a name program, and then HC again. Not because it will necessarily make him any different (though here's hoping) but because then at least he can walk into recruits' rooms and have a chance.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:49 PM ^
i can appreciate that as i said sometimes it makes sense to clean house regardless of direct or indirect blame. That path to redemption that i think everyone should have is a fair one.
On a separate note.
Its interesting to me that the medical well being of the athletes is being put under the umbrella of the head coach instead of the university. Take the hoke concussion incident and subsequent concussion protocol here. We expect to have that focus on player safety regardless of our head coach situation from here till the end of football. Its not like it was "Durkin trainers philosophy" that said dont treat for heat stroke. Seems to me a strong argument that the medical staff should be separate and the ultimate authority in these cases. Just saying fire the guy at the top because its a big name and hes evil and we are good and everything will be better seems shortsighted.
October 30th, 2018 at 6:17 PM ^
Durkin (and Meyer, and Mork, and Izzo, and Delaney) get paid to know.
If something like this bullshit ever happened at Michigan I would expect JMFH to be gone too.
The coach defines the culture. He is entrusted to run the program to best represent the University he works for...end of story.
Fuck the number of wins. In the case of Durkin, the number of losses! I wouldn't let any of my sons play for that coach or university.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:00 PM ^
Considering the manifest idiocy happening on a daily basis in this country, it's not at all surprising that the Maryland "brain trust" made this decision.
"Idiocracy" was set 500 years in the future. That was a comically optimistic scenario.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:03 PM ^
Well that figures just in time for the Michigan State game I doubt the Maryland players will even play for him why should they
October 30th, 2018 at 3:07 PM ^
I think football programs that let players die...should get the death penalty.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:20 PM ^
I don’t care what the reasoning is, this will never make sense. Fuck Maryland on the level of fucks that PSU, MSU, OSU, and Baylor all deserve.
How sad that 4 of the 5 most morally and ethically bankrupt programs reside in the B1G East. Disgusting.
October 30th, 2018 at 4:33 PM ^
Not at all. The 4 out of 5 most KNOWN morally and ethically bankrupt programs reside in the B1G East.
The SEC is the hidden leader. But they are awesome at covering it up.
The lead in making it ALL about money.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:23 PM ^
That is completely unacceptable. Maryland should be ashamed of itself.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:30 PM ^
Durkin must have some unsavory pics of the AD and prez. Otherwise, in what world does this make sense?
October 30th, 2018 at 3:33 PM ^
Anyone surprised by this has been living in a cave for the last few years.
Evil always wins.
October 30th, 2018 at 5:12 PM ^
Nope. Not now. Not ever. There is the battle and there is the war.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:44 PM ^
Eeeww. That's the only way to describe this situation.
October 30th, 2018 at 3:53 PM ^
I went to high school with Carl Tabb. During his recruitment, Northwestern was listed for a time as a school he was interested in. The summer before our senior year, Rashidi Wheeler died during a conditioning drill for Northwestern. I asked Carl one day if he was actually thinking about going there and he replied something along the lines of, "They f'ing killed a kid, man. I'm not going there".
Maryland just destroyed their ability to recruit any players who have other options.
October 30th, 2018 at 5:14 PM ^
I thought Carl Tabb was still on the roster. Kinda like a Robbie Hummell thing. Fuck me
October 30th, 2018 at 3:57 PM ^
Agree with all of the above, but I think Matt Canada is a better coach as well. Keeping Durkin makes little sense even if winning football games is all you care about.
October 30th, 2018 at 5:39 PM ^
Yes! His defense needed work, but that offense seemed to be in decent shape.
Must be as others have noted - someone with diabolical power is pulling the strings.
We'll see how this plays out
October 30th, 2018 at 3:59 PM ^
I wonder if Durkin will get a verbal reprimand from Delany? He didn't tell the truth, so probably not.
October 30th, 2018 at 4:06 PM ^
This probably just cost the AD his job. Maybe not this year, but in the next year or two. Completely disregard the PR disaster that comes with reinstating a coach that presided over negligent homicide. How in the hell do you expect Durkin to be able to recruit anyone? What parent would allow Durkin to even get on their property, much less allow their son to go play football for him? Any letter my son would get from Maryland would be going straight into the fireplace.
If the PR fallout from this decision doesn’t get Durkin and the AD fired, it’ll be in 1-2 years when he can’t recruit a decent team and the wins stop showing up. Canada has the team playing decent football now. Cut ties with Durkin, promote Canada to HC, and let the program move on. Now this is going to follow them for as long as Durkin is there.