DJ Durkin Working Behind the Scenes for Saban at 'Bama
Former Maryland head coach D.J. Durkin, fired in October after a lengthy investigation into the death of one of his players, has resurfaced at Alabama.
In his first foray back into football since his October firing, Durkin has been helping Alabama this past week in a consultant-like capacity, sources told AL.com. It’s unclear at this point if Durkin could have a long-term role on Nick Saban’s Alabama staff though, according to sources.
Interesting with the Dax Hill situation
December 13th, 2018 at 12:01 PM ^
I don't think Durkin would be allowed contact with recruits per NCAA rules in his capacity as a "consultant."
December 13th, 2018 at 12:05 PM ^
That’s true, but “Harbaugh’s buddy is on my staff and he told me...” is different than “Harbaugh to the nfl”.
I’m not sure anyone knows right now, but it seems like (1) something happened to get Harbaugh to refute the rumor, (2) dax flipped to Alabama, (3) durkin is at Alabama, and (4) durkin seems to be more of a scumbag than we thought. Not proof, but it’s an odd sequence of events.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^
I don't think Alabama gives a damn about who can contact and when.
I remember under RichRod some players we were recruiting were complaining that we essentially honored the NCAA mandated no contact period, because other (SEC and OSU) colleges kept in contact.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:39 PM ^
Saban not following NCAA rules? I can't imagine!
December 13th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^
Against the rules you say? Well then, that totally negates that theory.
If it's against the rules, Alabama certainly wouldn't do it.
December 13th, 2018 at 11:40 AM ^
I dunno a kid might put more stock if it’s coming from your former DC...just saying
December 13th, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^
Hopefully that same kid will reconsider a program that hires Durkin after what happened at Maryland.
December 13th, 2018 at 6:39 PM ^
Maizen? Is that you buddy?
December 13th, 2018 at 11:42 AM ^
Et tu durkin
December 13th, 2018 at 11:42 AM ^
Win at all costs
December 13th, 2018 at 11:53 AM ^
Hopefully he's helping them with their run defense.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:23 PM ^
He's likely in charge of inspirational videos and training safety, given his experience.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
Saban has hired Steve Sarkisian, Mike Locksley, Tosh Lupoi, and Lane Kiffin in the past couple years; all guys who have had checkered pasts. He even hired a rival's head coach the year after being fired as a human victory cigar. Why would anyone be surprised by this?
In fact, this was the most likely outcome if DJ Durkin was going to stay in college football. There is no other college football program that can shelter and protect guys like this other than Alabama and Saban, especially now that Urban Meyer is gone (Kevin Wilson, Zach Smith, and Greg Schiano). And you could argue that no one needs it more than Durkin as he is going to have a tougher time than all the characters listed above except for maybe Zach Smith.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^
I'm pretty jaded about this whole corrupt enterprise but even I figured he'd have to do NFL analyst purgatory for a year or at least be out of a job through signing day.
The Maryland players had an actual revolt over this guy like 6 weeks ago.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:17 PM ^
Just wait until Bobby Petrino shows up to work at Alabama.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
Not implausible at all, with one caveat: I'm not sure Petrino is good enough as a coach to merit inclusion on Saban's staff.
But if he is, this wouldn't surprise me at all.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:25 PM ^
Petrino will be in the box as Senior QB3 Sideline Posture Analyst.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
As a coach, I think he is. But most of these guys being rehabbed are usually brought in because they can RECRUIT and have connections to areas where Saban wants players. Recruiting is the name of the game.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
Petrino rolls in to Tuscaloosa on his two wheeled cruiser with resume in hand. I like that image.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:08 PM ^
Keep him on until the week prior to the Iron bowl. That would be a good time to can him.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:08 PM ^
Bama don't give a shit about nothing. They operate as a pro team would.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:19 PM ^
Which is to say that Bama aspires to be as excellent as Goodell's constellation of filth.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^
Of course he is.
Bama is quietly becoming a place where coaches with shaky history can slip in, benefit from the Nick Saban behemoth eclipsing the sun, and rehabilitate their careers. After a year or two or three of working on the staff, they have the touch of Saban and a resume of victories and a history that is unremarkable compared to the other characters that came through and they can work regular jobs again.
Lane Kiffin. Mike Locksley. Butch Jones. D.J. Durkin. Nobody ever looks very hard at this, because Saban (and his winning) is a black hole that devours any uncomfortable questions.
Edit: L & B above mentioned Sark, I had forgotten about him. He also mentioned Lupoi, whose checkers I am unfamiliar with.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:25 PM ^
I do wonder if people will reevaluate this in a couple years. Lane Kiffin got off to a hot start at FAU and started to get mentioned again for Power 5 jobs, but year 2 was a step back. The Falcons offense is sputtering under Sarkisian. I have my doubts the Jeremy Pruitt or Mike Locksley hires will work out long term. Saban assistants prior to this did not have a great track record (McElwain, Muschamp and Dooley). I don't count Jimbo Fisher because he transitioned under Bobby Bowden to be coach-in-waiting so the program was already set up for him.
His one success storiy so far has been Kirby Smart, but Georgia was not in bad shape under Mark Richt who had rebuilt the program.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:40 PM ^
Georgia was stacked and loaded with 30-some seniors on last year's team. And they were good players because Richt recruited very well at UGA for more than a decade. He just couldn't win big games - something we saw from Miami last year, and will see again next year (when they recover from this season's sophomore blip). Of course, by now, Smart has that UGA pipeline up and running smoothly (as Isiah Wilson clearly shows)...
December 13th, 2018 at 12:50 PM ^
Georgia recruited pretty well. The recruit better under Smart.
I don't think it's hard to conclude why. FWIW I believed that Richt tried to run his ship "as tight as he could," somewhat analogous to how I think Michigan runs its ship. The SEC is a tough place for that kind of ethic. Then again, Miami would be, too. YMMV.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:42 PM ^
Tosh Lupoi was investigated by the NCAA for paying for recruits' tutoring services. NCAA never handed down any penalties, but Washington still paid him a six-figure buyout to go away as an assistant coach. Resurfaced at Alabama.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:51 PM ^
Huh, isn't that interesting.
December 13th, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^
You mean the part where he wasn't punished, right? The rest of it is par for the course...actually, come to think of it, the lack of punishment fits as well.
December 13th, 2018 at 2:45 PM ^
I think UCLA was going to hire Lupoi but the admin wouldn’t let it happen because he was so dirty.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:19 PM ^
I assumed Durkin would wind up with Urban but obviously that can't happen (for now...). Also, quite the headline on Deadspin:
Report: "Narcissistic Sociopath" D.J. Durkin Is A Consultant At Alabama Now
December 13th, 2018 at 12:20 PM ^
Ok..Cool...Hook'em
December 13th, 2018 at 12:23 PM ^
Durkin is a great coach and his hard-nose style fits perfectly in Saban's system. I would expect Saban is grooming him for a year as Alabama's DC before he takes another head coaching position.
December 13th, 2018 at 2:30 PM ^
I'm starting to wonder just how good Durkin is as a coach. His defenses at Maryland were never very good and he apparently doesn't care about player development vis a vis keeping them alive. And while Don Brown is amazing and shouldn't be used to compare against any other DC, the defense took a noticeably jump up overall once Durkin left. I'm sure he's "fine" as a coach, but I think the past couple of years have perhaps highlighted how he probably benefitted from being with defense-first head coaches at earlier stops. That should be the same at Alabama, but I'm not sure Durkin is going to prove to be a particularly good head coach.
December 13th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
I heard Ray Rice interview first
December 13th, 2018 at 1:42 PM ^
Only because Kareem Hunt turned him down.
December 13th, 2018 at 1:55 PM ^
Rae Carruth is a free man now
December 13th, 2018 at 1:01 PM ^
Not sure how much this would impact the Dax Hill situation. He's been at Maryland long enough that it's not likely he built a relationship with Hill while he was still at UM.
Unless you think that Hill's parents would steer him away from Bama because of Durkin's involvement?
December 13th, 2018 at 1:10 PM ^
Does this every single year. Might as well start calling Tuscaloosa "Saban's Island of Misfit Coaches."
December 13th, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^
Nobody wants a Durkin-in-the-box!
December 13th, 2018 at 1:21 PM ^
The corruption continues in Alabama..........
December 13th, 2018 at 1:22 PM ^
Yapping dogs are gonna yap...
December 13th, 2018 at 1:52 PM ^
At least Lane Kiffin never killed anyone. Damn, Saban aint no quitter in his words like his former QB. Papi would argue that.
December 13th, 2018 at 1:54 PM ^
Good for him i guess. People have to work.
December 13th, 2018 at 2:25 PM ^
Not that I condone this, but at least when Saban shows he doesn't give a shit about other human beings he wins a bunch. Like, I get his "win at all costs" probably makes sense to him considering how many titles he has.
Still, the only reason Durkin wound up at Alabama was because Meyer left OSU too early to sign him instead.
December 13th, 2018 at 2:55 PM ^
One of the comments to the Deadspin story indicated the NCAA is just fine with Saban helping to "rehab" the image of disgraced coaches - less headache for them. Interesting perspective.
December 13th, 2018 at 3:41 PM ^
Saban is switching from an over-signing strategy to one where he just kills off players he thinks won't pan out.
Hence Durkin.
December 13th, 2018 at 4:51 PM ^
Only because Urban wasn't around to hire another disgraced coach.
December 13th, 2018 at 4:53 PM ^
WOW. What a totally shocking development....................................
December 13th, 2018 at 10:19 PM ^
These programs are looking for nothing more than a discount. Alabama and OSU find a morally bankrupt human, they see an elite technician and hire him. They could not care less what may result; it's for their handlers to deal with. The truth that saban and Meyer work under ends at " good technician or good tactician"