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Maryland Football: Was keeping D.J. Durkin the right move?

By Quinn Douglas

COLLEGE PARK, MD - NOVEMBER 25: Head coach DJ Durkin of the Maryland Terrapins watches from the sidelines during the closing moments of the Terrapins 66-3 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions at Capital One Field on November 25, 2017 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - NOVEMBER 25: Head coach DJ Durkin of the Maryland Terrapins watches from the sidelines during the closing moments of the Terrapins 66-3 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions at Capital One Field on November 25, 2017 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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The Board of Regents will retain Maryland football coach D.J. Durkin following their nearly five-month investigation into the death of Jordan McNair

It has been a tumultuous 2018 for the Maryland Terrapins football program starting with death of Jordan McNair due to a heat stroke on June 13. Since then, the university launched a full-scale investigation to determine if the Maryland coaches and trainers were responsible for McNair’s death. That investigation concluded today as the university claimed they were responsible for McNair’s death, but then reinstated D.J. Durkin as head football coach and Damon Evans as Athletic Director .

To put it bluntly, this was a poor decision by the university. Not only did the 192-page commission report state that there was “a culture where problems festered because too many players feared speaking out”, the report then contradicts itself and says that the atmosphere was “not toxic”. In many people’s experiences in life, it’s my understanding that is you have an unapproachable leader, his reign isn’t going to last very long in any kind of work.

Unfortunately, this is just another case in a long line of immoral acts committed by not just another college football program, but a Big Ten school. This follows the Zach Smith case at Ohio State that put Urban Meyer under fire and Michigan State’s scandal that, ten years ago, would have gotten Mark Dantonio fired on the spot.

The lengths universities go to make sure they keep an immoral coach who can win a lot of football games is disheartening. In a time in our nation where we go to great lengths to prevent horrible things such as sexual abuse on college campuses or rooting out coaches who are simply verbally and physically abusive, it almost seems like college football programs are stuck going backward in a time machine in terms of moral values.

Next. Projected CFB Playoff rankings after Week 9. dark

I hope whatever university that’s the next to go through this (I pray it doesn’t, but it is inevitable) can learn a thing or two from the massive mistakes these programs in the Big Ten are making. I hope they learn what NOT to do in these situations, that wins and losses are not as important as protecting human beings and teaching them the right values. To echo what Yahoo’s Pat Forde said early today “Damon Evans is back, D.J. Durkin is back. Jordan McNair is never coming back”.

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