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Maryland's football coach, DJ Durkin, and athletic director, Damon Evans, will resume their duties after President Wallace Loh has accepted a recommendation from the Regency Council of the University of Maryland's system that the two men would be kept at their present positions.
At a press conference Tuesday on the results of the independent inquiry into the culture of the football program, the president of the regents, Jim Brady, said that "the council admits that during the term of office of the 39, football coach, DJ Durkin, the sports department had no culture of responsibility, ensure proper supervision of the football program and did not provide Mr. Durkin with the tools, resources and resources. the guidance needed to coach and educate a head coach for the first time at a major conference. "
"We believe that Mr. Durkin has not adequately supervised coach Rick Court, but this failure is shared by the university's sports department." We believe that the coach Durkin has been unfairly accused of the dysfunction of the sports department, and he shares some responsibilities, it is not fair to put everything in his place.He acknowledged his role in the weaknesses of the sports department while he was not in charge of the sports department. he was the head coach and has engaged in reforms. "
Despite the announcement of the recommendations, a final decision regarding Durkin and Evans was made by Loh. Although Loh did not have to follow the wishes of the board, he chose to support Evans.
"I am pleased that the board of directors trusts sports director Damon Evans because, since he was appointed director of sports in early July 2018, he put this department on the road to Unification, cohesion and a more prosperous, "said Loh. "He is, in my opinion, one of the best sports directors in the country and I am proud to call him my colleague."
Curiously, Loh did not mention Durkin specifically during his remarks. According to Washington PostLoh, who announced his retirement next June, was not in favor of bringing back Durkin but felt like he had no other choice. Loh later confirmed that Durkin had been reinstated. Evans will decide whether Durkin will lead the next Terrapins game against Michigan State on Saturday.
According to ESPN and L & # 39; athletics, several players came out of the first meeting of the Durkin team.
Durkin had been on administrative leave since August 11th. Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada was the acting coach for the first two months of the regular season, leading the Terps to 5-3.
Durkin, who is 10-15 years old in two full seasons in Maryland and 5-13 in the Big Ten game, has been put on vacation as a result of a damning report from ESPN detailing a "toxic" culture "within the Terrapins program, in light of the deadly death of offensive line player Jordan McNair. The report used interviews with current and former players, as well as with former football staff and relatives of the program. Durkin and former Maryland Force coach Rick Court were particularly targeted.
In response, Maryland published two reports: one detailing the transgressions involved in McNair's death and the other on the program's culture.
According to this latest report, which can be read in its entirety here, a culture of fear prevailed under Durkin. The probe included interviews with former players, parents of current players, staff members of the sports and current departments. However, the survey did not use the word "toxic", which was the key adjective used by ESPN's in-depth reports in August.
"The commission found that the Maryland football team had no" poisonous culture ", but it had a culture in which the problems were complicated because too many players were afraid to make themselves known, indicates the report. In conclusion, even though Durkin applied an "open door policy" to his players, it only applied to those whose point of view was the same.
The report also reflected a wide gray area describing Durkin as a coach who cares about the well-being of his players, but also failed to properly supervise and manage his strength and conditioning, Rick Court, who was separated from the program. in August. 14. The report states that the Court was "effectively responsible to no one" and that Durkin "asserted that it was not his responsibility to supervise" the Court.
Like Durkin, the survey paints a contrasting picture of the court with both good and bad reviews. Among the most disturbing details of the report, however, are cases in which the court would try to humiliate players with insults and throwing objects at them, including a trash can containing vomit. The court denied this specific incident.
"This included … unacceptable behavior under any reasonable standard," the report says. "These actions failed the student-athletes that he claimed to serve."
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