Durkin fired

The Board's main priority was to reinstate him. The Governor had to step in.

I was going for "common sense has prevailed," but I guess my wind wandered while typing.

I’m not sure the record is particularly indicative of Durkin’s ability to coach.  He started with nothing, and they spent most of last season on their fourth-string quarterback after Angry Maryland-QB Hating God had his way with them.

That said, if half of the “nontoxic” items from the report are true, he deserved to get fired even if he’d gone 25-0.  There’s more to being a football coach than winning games.  At least, there’s supposed to be.

And in no way did the investigation turn out evidence that contradicted the original sense and facts of the situation, namely that Durkin fostered a culture of humiliation and disrespect they put players' health at risk.  And I wouldn't trot out OSU as a fine example of that rush to judgment being wrong.

Ok, let me break it down for you.

Maryland's culture is a reflection on DJ Durkin. His first hire was Rick Court, the S&C coach who believed his job was more extreme than it really ones. It created an atmosphere where Court was allowed to do whatever he wanted unchallenged because the athletes, coaches, and staff believed that they could not go against Court because they would then be going against Durkin.

Durkin has tried to cover up not reining Court in by saying he didn't know who Court reported into, if he had authority to regulate him or not. That's 100% bullshit. Rich Court was his first hire. Even if you take Durkin at face value you're left with one of two possibilities:

1. Durkin is so unconnected to the team that he doesn't know the shit that Court is doing - and cannot connect with his players and staff at a level where they would feel comfortable confiding in him

2. Durkin at best didn't care about what Court was doing and at worst 100% agreed with the methods.

Durkin did not directly cause Jordan McNair's death, but under his supervision Maryland football became a place where it was possible due to the culture of the coaching and training staff. So again, you're left with either:

1. DJ Durkin is an asshole who promoted these activities and a player died as a result.

2. DJ Durkin is incompetent and let Rick Court do whatever he wanted, and a player died as a result.

A bunch of players walked out of Durkin's first meeting back, and there were a number of players who have vocalized issues they had with him at all his stops.  So it's disingenuous to act like he wasn't called out by otherss

Also, we do know how the kid died.  He was overworked on the field and then not given proper medical care by the staff when he collapsed.  Feel free to argue something else if you want, but that comes from an independent investigation.

Bully coaches like the one Jabrill Peppers described re: Durkin are common in football. I think he is talking about Mattison as DC versus Durkin as DC when he says, “His tactics were different. It felt extreme at times.” He also said he thought Durkin would “calm down a little bit” and “become more of a people person” once he became a head coach.

That isn't very specific, but it does suggest Harbaugh is okay with a mixture of styles and thus a player’s coach like Mattison can be on the same staff with a high-strung bully like Durkin.

Most importantly, I don’t hear Peppers saying that players didn’t feel like they could speak up — that feels very un-Harbaugh to me. That is far and away the most damning charge the Maryland players and their families are bringing against Durkin’s tenure as head coach: the players felt they couldn’t say anything against the trainer’s tactics.

I wonder if they had anything planned for Saturday's game against MSU.  They'll probably play a lot harder now.  

Those in power are the ones least qualified to make decisions...

Clown shows, you say?

Clown shows, you say?