After death of Maryland player, coach and sports director keep their job

Mr. Loh, 72, who became president in 2010, enthusiastically continued the Big Ten. After the football team had difficulties during its first two seasons in the conference, in 2014 and 2015, the administration is looking for a young coach exceptional to put in place a program capable of competing with the best teams in the country.

He landed on 40-year-old Durkin, who quickly rose to the ranks of college football coaches. Before he was 30, he had been an assistant at Stanford under Jim Harbaugh. He then worked in Florida with Urban Meyer, the current coach of the state of Ohio, and then found Mr. Harbaugh in Michigan, where he oversaw one of the best units in the country.

In December 2015, Mr. Durkin signed a $ 12.5 million, five-year contract with Maryland. His task was not simple: to make Maryland competitive after decades of mediocrity and structural disadvantage. He had all the support of Mr. Loh – until the months following Mr. McNair's death.

Upon McNair's death in June, Mr. Evans was Acting Sports Director. he assumed the position of permanent sports director later in the month. Mr. Durkin, now in his third full season, is still relatively new to his work. According to the commission and the report, these factors were decisive in the decision to allow both men to keep their jobs, said Mr. Brady.

Some local and state politicians quickly responded to the board's decision.

In a statement, Rushern L. Baker, III, Prince George County Executive, said that he and Mr. Loh had begun their tenure at the same time, and stated that Mr. Loh had "done more to unite the 39, university with the county in its eight years than its predecessors in previous decades. "

"The decision made today by the Maryland Regents University system was very disappointing," the statement said. "It's unfortunate that they seem to have put the short-term interest of the creation of the university's football program on the continued progress of Maryland's flagship university."

During a phone interview, Mr. Baker went further and called the action of the dreadful "terrible" commission.

"The only person who leaves the university is the only person who took responsibility for the death of Mr. McNair," said Mr. Baker. Mr. Loh, he added, "has shown the moral courage we want for a leader."