Testudo Times - The fallout at Maryland in the wake of Jordan McNair’s deathSB Nation's award-winning Maryland Terrapins sitehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50025/testudo-fav.png2018-12-21T06:32:05-05:00http://www.testudotimes.com/rss/stream/174527872018-12-21T06:32:05-05:002018-12-21T06:32:05-05:00MM 12.21: Maryland releases footage from Jordan McNair’s final workout
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<figcaption>Jordan McNair (@TheRealJMcNair)/Twitter</figcaption>
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<p>This is the Maryland Minute, a short story followed by a roundup of Terps-related news.</p> <p id="C5oYLx">Almost seven months after the workout at which <span>Jordan McNair</span> suffered heatstroke, which led to his death two weeks later, the university has released several videos from that day.</p>
<p id="W6aw3u">The video files were released after public records requests from numerous outlets, including surveillance camera footage of the workout itself and footage from body cameras worn by police officers and paramedics.</p>
<p id="Lbiv5y"><a href="https://deadspin.com/maryland-releases-videos-from-offseason-workout-where-j-1831237135">Deadspin released almost 20 minutes of footage </a>from Officers Rabold and Walker, who responded to the emergency and saw the paramedics arrive at Gossett Team House and load McNair into an ambulance to help take him to the hospital. Much of the video is redacted due to specifics about McNair’s condition. The university previously declined to release the footage while waiting for an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General to be completed.</p>
<p id="RofG1a">According to the footage, the paramedics arrived to the team house at 6:05 p.m. and took an elevator down to the ground floor. Walker was already concerned that the medics were moving too slow, and later expressed the same concern to Rabold.</p>
<p id="A7jpKe">“They’re moving so fucking slow,” Walker said at 6:10 p.m. “It’s pissing me off.”</p>
<p id="sETvzC">In the same conversation, Rabold asked Walker if McNair had been brought inside and Walker said he was still outside.</p>
<p id="Z2AOV3">“Jesus,” Rabold responded.</p>
<p id="OmaBoS">The final three minutes of footage showed the ambulance closing and getting ready to leave Maryland Stadium, which it would eventually do at 6:27 p.m., according to the Walters Report that was released in September. McNair would eventually arrive at the Washington Adventist Hospital at 6:36 p.m.</p>
<p id="V3wNRI">Since the workout was only a conditioning workout and not an actual practice, the only video of the workout is from surveillance cameras. <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/terps/bs-md-jordan-mcnair-football-video-20181220-story.html">According to the Baltimore Sun</a>, “large swaths of the football field are obscured, and the video is recorded from across the street, making it difficult to make out specifics about what is happening.”</p>
<p id="2c8lmh">McNair later died on June 13 due to symptoms of heatstroke. University president Wallace Loh said the university would take “full legal and moral responsibility” for McNair’s death in August, and the Walters report in September detailed how the athletic training staff did not follow proper protocol when treating McNair.</p>
<h3 id="iP7eQC">In other news</h3>
<p id="7dAOux">Even though Mike Locksley signed just six recruits during the early signing period, <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football-recruiting/2018/12/20/18149058/early-signing-day-recap-mike-locksley-2019-class-january-preview">it’s just the beginning for the 2019 class.</a></p>
<p id="a7ckSt">Maryland defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator Jimmy Brumbaugh <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/12/20/18150809/maryland-defensive-line-coach-jimmy-brumbaugh-colorado">is leaving the program to become Colorado’s new defensive line coach</a>.</p>
<p id="d9cJNO"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/12/20/18149616/maryland-football-final-2018-redshirt-chart">Here’s the final redshirt chart for Maryland football.</a></p>
<p id="pzRXsL">Maryland women’s basketball is 11-0 <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-womens-basketball/2018/12/20/18150522/delaware-game-final-score-stats-recap-brenda-frese-shakira-austin">after a 77-53 win at Delaware.</a></p>
<p id="2y6QU9">Maryland women’s lacrosse <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/2018/12/20/18149278/maryland-womens-lacrosse-schedule-announced-2019">will play its usual challenging schedule in 2019.</a></p>
<p id="qVq4tX">River Hill soccer standout Justin Harris <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/high-school/bs-va-sp-river-hill-soccer-harris-20181220-story.html">will play for the national champion Maryland men’s soccer team this fall.</a></p>
<p id="QjMTw8">Torrey Smith and his wife welcomed their third child this week.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Beauty, Strength, and most importantly LOVE! Thanks for the prayers <br>Kori Lynn Smith <a href="https://t.co/cv9RqXA4yn">pic.twitter.com/cv9RqXA4yn</a></p>— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) <a href="https://twitter.com/TorreySmithWR/status/1075548496730689536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2018</a>
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<p id="UvPUyq">It’s graduation time in College Park, and the football and men’s soccer teams had several players complete their degrees.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Incredibly PROUD of our summer & fall 2018 graduates that walked this week!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FTT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FTT</a> <a href="https://t.co/VH9rUnNjIH">pic.twitter.com/VH9rUnNjIH</a></p>— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/TerpsFootball/status/1075785249697775617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2018</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">They got the <br>But this is the ultimate prize <br><br>Couldn’t be prouder of our graduates! Terps for life. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UMDgrad?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UMDgrad</a> <a href="https://t.co/DWbLCdkLgc">pic.twitter.com/DWbLCdkLgc</a></p>— Maryland Soccer (@MarylandMSoccer) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarylandMSoccer/status/1075469726460141568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2018</a>
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https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/12/21/18150853/maryland-footage-jordan-mcnair-final-workout-bodycamJustin Fitzgerald2018-11-07T14:34:49-05:002018-11-07T14:34:49-05:00Maryland fires athletic trainers Wes Robinson, Steve Nordwall
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<figcaption>Art Pittman-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Both trainers had been on leave for nearly three months in the wake of Jordan McNair’s death.</p> <p id="o0zzkp">The University of Maryland has fired head football athletic trainer Wes Robinson and assistant athletic director of athletic training Steve Nordwall, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/11/07/maryland-fires-athletic-trainers-who-had-been-leave-wake-jordan-mcnair-death/?utm_term=.423da0f66ae3">as first reported by The Washington Post’s Rick Maese.</a></p>
<p id="lSsXkQ">Maryland’s training staff has been under fire for its handling of offensive lineman <span>Jordan McNair</span>, who suffered exertional heatstroke at a May 29 team workout and died in the hospital June 13. Robinson and Nordwall were placed on administrative leave in August alongside head coach DJ Durkin and strength coach Rick Court (who settled with the school days later).</p>
<p id="kqJeop">After both the Walters Inc. investigation into McNair’s death and a lengthy commission report into Maryland football’s culture, the University System of Maryland Board of Regents recommended retaining both Robinson and Nordwall last week. This recommendation was first reported after the Board publicly called for Durkin’s reinstatement, only for him to be fired by school president Wallace Loh one day later. Loh said at a press conference last week that athletic director Damon Evans would determine the trainers’ fate.</p>
<p id="pXFeDr">According to the Walters report, Nordwall did not report McNair’s condition to the team physician until an hour after McNair began experiencing symptoms of heatstroke. Robinson, meanwhile, was on the field as McNair struggled with 10, 110-yard sprints, reportedly telling two interns to “drag his ass across the field.” Medical experts say heatstroke has a 100 percent survival rate when treated properly. </p>
<p id="U0auPS">Robinson had been Maryland football’s head athletic trainer since 2006, when Ralph Friedgen was head coach. (Trainers are hired separately from football coaches, so Robinson served during three different head coaching tenures and never reported directly to the head coach.) Nordwall came to the school in 2014 after a 14-year stint at Eastern Michigan.</p>
https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/11/7/18072750/athletic-trainers-wes-robinson-steve-nordwall-fired-leave-jordan-mcnairThomas Kendziora2018-11-02T06:32:14-04:002018-11-02T06:32:14-04:00MM 11.2: Maryland player reportedly punched another at practice, but says Durkin decision wasn’t why
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<p>This is the Maryland Minute, a short story followed by a roundup of Terps-related news.</p> <p id="qzn5ex">After one Maryland football player said another player punched him at practice on Tuesday while other teammates helped, a bunch of players said that account was untrue.</p>
<p id="cubFFf">This was backup punter Matt Barber’s account of his altercation with starting punter Wade Lees <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/terps/tracking-the-terps/bs-sp-maryland-football-altercation-20181101-story.html#nt=blogroll">in The Baltimore Sun:</a></p>
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<p id="ejhKD8">Barber, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., said word had gotten around on the team that he is a “whistle-blower” who talked to investigators about problems on the team. When Durkin returned to practice Tuesday to watch the team practice, his supporters on the team felt emboldened and began taunting Barber, he said. Some mocked and insulted him, while others threw footballs at him, Barber said.</p>
<p id="P4aZQt">Toward the end of the practice, Barber said, Lees attacked him, attempting to punch him in the face. While the two teammates were fighting, others intervened, trying to break up the fight and grabbed Barber’s arms behind his back, he said. That allowed Lees to punch Barber repeatedly in the face, leaving him with a black eye, needing multiple stitches on his forehead and a dislocated shoulder, Barber said.</p>
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<p id="nVE7LO">“Barber’s arm was in a sling and his head was bandaged” when he talked to The Sun, according to reporter Luke Broadwater. Billy Murphy, a lawyer for the McNair family, told reporters Wednesday night that Barber was targeted due to his role as a “whistleblower” who told investigators about problems on the team.</p>
<p id="3UxpzW">Lees’ response:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">My Statement!! <a href="https://t.co/0chnHYwuaO">pic.twitter.com/0chnHYwuaO</a></p>— Wade Lees (@WL_88) <a href="https://twitter.com/WL_88/status/1058113220622336001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a>
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<p id="8dYbOK">Lees wasn’t alone in this account, either. A bunch of teammates backed him up on Twitter.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This piece of fabrication is an absolute joke and mockery of our team! Not gonna affect us moving forward in any way <a href="https://t.co/7C3NJhak67">https://t.co/7C3NJhak67</a></p>— Tre Watson (@MDQue_33) <a href="https://twitter.com/MDQue_33/status/1058073473736736768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">All 100+ players are behind this man. He was standing up for younger teammates who were being ridiculed and bad mouthed. Do not always believe what you see on Social Media. The truth always wins. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FakeNews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FakeNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/BXjVpc7u3F">https://t.co/BXjVpc7u3F</a></p>— Jake Funk (@jakefunk34) <a href="https://twitter.com/jakefunk34/status/1058144066372886528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is a lie. <a href="https://t.co/SVbQv488B6">https://t.co/SVbQv488B6</a></p>— Ellis McKennie (@emck_cubed97) <a href="https://twitter.com/emck_cubed97/status/1058105013279559686?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is absolutely fake. kids lying out his mouth, this altercation had nothing to do with the coach Durkin situation had everything to do with him picking on a younger players. There were many witnesses and wade has the total support of everyone here <a href="https://t.co/bnPhj8CKfw">https://t.co/bnPhj8CKfw</a></p>— Os3h $ain3 (@Oseh11) <a href="https://twitter.com/Oseh11/status/1058108668909182978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a>
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<p id="RwiRzi">(That’s a sample, but there are others.)</p>
<p id="q1pTbP">“The scuffle lasted barely a few seconds with both guys throwing punches,” a source told <a href="http://www.dbknews.com/2018/11/01/maryland-football-dj-durkin-fired-wade-lees-matt-barber-wallace-loh-billy-murphy/"><em>The Diamondback</em></a>’s Andy Kostka. “Matt dislocated his shoulder when he missed swinging a punch.”</p>
<p id="XbbGj6"><em>The Diamondback</em>’s account differs mightily from Barber’s:</p>
<blockquote><p id="7inM5w">But the source told The Diamondback in a text message that Barber’s longstanding attitude problems left him with few allies on the team, and the fight was initiated after Barber “tried to bad talk a player” to Lees. When Lees “told him off,” the source said Barber jabbed at Lees, which began a brief altercation that was broken up by a coach.</p></blockquote>
<p id="THPFEK">“This is an incredibly difficult time for our football student-athletes,” athletic director Damon Evans said in a statement. “However, we take any matters involving physical altercations extremely seriously. Our priority is to understand fully what transpired and we have referred this matter to the Office of Student Conduct to look into the detail.”</p>
<h3 id="Zan4ln">In other news</h3>
<p id="jJKSYy">Quite incredibly, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/11/01/maryland-board-also-recommended-retaining-trainers-who-failed-treat-jordan-mcnair/?utm_term=.7a887e20397f">the University System of Maryland Board of Regents recommended the school keep the two trainers who received blame for failing to treat Jordan McNair</a>.</p>
<p id="XKBRpp">Also: <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/11/1/18053632/james-brady-maryland-board-of-regents-chair-resigns-dj-durkin-wallace-loh">Board of Regents chair James Brady has stepped down</a>.</p>
<p id="sc8wNs">Thomas outlines <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/2018/11/1/18050278/dj-durkin-reinstated-fired-one-day-timeline">how Maryland went from reinstating DJ Durkin to removing him a day later</a>.</p>
<p id="iD7N0P">Roman Stubbs has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/11/01/among-maryland-football-players-mix-relief-tension-uncertainty/?utm_term=.12e38070a099">an account of the past few days</a> that’s worth reading in <em>The Washington Post</em>.</p>
<p id="s6p9H7">I looked at <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/11/1/18034096/maryland-football-coach-search-dj-durkin-fired">some qualities Maryland should target in its next head coach.</a></p>
<p id="mZiQ41">Using that as a guide, <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/11/1/17799574/maryland-football-dj-durkin-matt-canada-coach-options">I compiled a list of candidates Maryland might target</a>.</p>
<p id="JrBDaK"><em>The Diamondback</em> has an account <a href="http://www.dbknews.com/2018/11/01/maryland-football-dj-durkin-fired-football-coach-students-wallace-loh-board-of-regents/">from the student rally originally scheduled to protest Durkin’s reinstatement</a>.</p>
<p id="4tOKvC"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps/2018/11/1/18049668/field-hockey-big-ten-championship-weekend-ohio-state-preview">It’s Big Ten tournament championship weekend time for Maryland field hockey</a>.</p>
https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/11/2/18054260/maryland-football-practice-altercation-punter-punchRyan Connors2018-11-01T17:29:21-04:002018-11-01T17:29:21-04:00Maryland Board of Regents chair James Brady resigns
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<p>Brady has been under fire after recommending that DJ Durkin be reinstated as head coach.</p> <p id="V73pqV">University System of Maryland Board of Regents chairman James Brady has resigned from his position, <a href="https://www.usmd.edu/newsroom/news/1860">he announced in a statement Thursday</a>.</p>
<p id="73N2ne">Brady’s intention to resign was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/11/01/maryland-board-regents-chair-intends-resign-leadership-fight-tied-football-scandal/?utm_term=.17fc3d44fece">first reported by the Washington Post</a> on Thursday afternoon, shortly after the Board of Regents concluded a closed meeting in Baltimore.</p>
<p id="JTcvam">This comes two days after the Board announced its recommendation to reinstate Maryland football coach DJ Durkin. University of Maryland president Wallace Loh reversed course and fired Durkin on Wednesday, reportedly without consulting the Board on the matter.</p>
<p id="4DiiyI">“In recent days, I have become the public face of both the board and its decisions related to these matters,” Brady said in the statement. “In my estimation, my continued presence on the board will inhibit its ability to move Maryland’s higher education agenda forward. And I have no interest in serving as a distraction from that important work.</p>
<p id="G2T216">“Accordingly, I will step down from the Board of Regents immediately.”</p>
<p id="8IUTrt">Here’s how Brady explained the Board’s decision to recommend Durkin’s reinstatement in <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/higher-ed/bs-md-brady-transcript-20181031-story.html">an interview with the Sun</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p id="Rj6BGN">When DJ came on board, he didn’t get all the help he needed. Being the head coach of a college football team in 2018, in a big conference like the Big Ten, is a big job. I don’t think the proper consideration was given to all of that. But we felt he is a good man and a good coach. We want to give him the opportunity to get that right, recognizing full well the challenge he has in front of him to do that.</p></blockquote>
<p id="1rhewt">This decision, of course, was met with severe backlash from all sides. Players, students, media and state and federal lawmakers voiced their displeasure with Durkin’s return to the team. This included Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who called both Loh and the Board to urge them to reverse the decision. Hogan appointed Brady to the Board of Regents in March 2015; Brady had previously chaired Hogan’s victorious 2014 campaign for governor and was co-chair of his transition team.</p>
<p id="8cVfSQ">Other politicians called for Brady’s ousting specifically. Rep. Anthony Brown (D) called for Brady to resign, citing “the extreme callousness and ineptitude he demonstrated by putting his own personal agenda ahead of the welfare of our students.” Ben Jealous, the Democratic candidate opposing Hogan’s re-election for governor, called Wednesday for Hogan to remove Brady from his position.</p>
<p id="71XQx5">Barry Gossett, the vice chair of the Board of Regents and a high-profile donor to Maryland athletics, would assume the chairman position in Brady’s absence.</p>
https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/11/1/18053632/james-brady-maryland-board-of-regents-chair-resigns-dj-durkin-wallace-lohThomas Kendziora2018-10-31T21:53:24-04:002018-10-31T21:53:24-04:00Maryland tried to give DJ Durkin a second chance. He didn’t deserve one.
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<img alt="NCAA Football: Indiana at Maryland" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VfpW-tSf_cCcwEGywhNyIWqzAAA=/0x0:5024x3349/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61976355/usa_today_10376019.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>This was written before the news that Durkin had been fired.</p> <p id="agbYri"><em>This story was initially published before </em><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/31/17679604/dj-durkin-maryland-football-part-ways-jordan-mcnair"><em>Maryland fired DJ Durkin on Wednesday</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<p id="QEtvyG">Investigators probably could have been harder on DJ Durkin, but they still outlined multiple failures on his part as a head coach in their report, <a href="https://www.usmd.edu/newsroom/Report-to-USM-Independent-Investigation-UMD-Footbal-10-23-2018.pdf">which stretched to almost 400 pages with appendixes</a>. Durkin told investigators he wasn’t responsible for the conduct of strength coach Rick Court, yet, as <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesCrabtreeH/status/1057020803949232128"><em>The Diamondback</em>’s James Crabtree-Hannigan notes</a>, Durkin had no problem asking for whatever he wanted when he thought it was in service of player health. When Durkin thought something wrong was going on, he’d try to change it. And he didn’t do anything about Rick Court’s behavior.</p>
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<h3 id="f608UX">There are football-specific reasons Maryland could have chosen to move on from DJ Durkin, sure.</h3>
<p id="zCZcFx">A quick run of those would be something like:</p>
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<li id="xcQ0Vx">How is Durkin supposed to sit in the living room with a recruit’s parents and say he’ll treat their son like his own child after this?</li>
<li id="v4iCt1">Player transfers are a possibility, especially if immediate eligibility elsewhere is granted by the NCAA.</li>
<li id="syAQNO">You thought fan support was low? It can get lower, and it isn’t going to magically boomerang back up.</li>
<li id="ylrl84">Durkin didn’t seem to get along with the athletic department staff Maryland had in place, including the AD. Is that just magically going to change?</li>
</ul>
<p id="tUXuv8"><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com%2F623583%2F2018%2F10%2F30%2Fdj-durkin-return-player-booster-reaction-maryland%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.testudotimes.com%2Fmaryland-terps-football%2F2018%2F10%2F31%2F18041802%2Fdj-durkin-maryland-football-jordan-mcnair-second-chance" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Nicole Auerbach notes at <em>The Athletic</em>:</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p id="qwaGPC">Durkin returns to a team that has played well without him — the Terps are nearing bowl eligibility with a 5-3 record under acting coach Matt Canada. Where does Maryland go from here? How will Durkin attempt to rebuild relationships and unite the team? And, from a practical standpoint, how will he persuade parents to send their kids to play for him in the future after the publication of a <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5020884/Maryland-football-program-culture-report.pdf">nearly 200-page report</a> that included examples of psychological and physical abuse within his program?</p>
<p id="2trzlI">“You know everybody else is going to use this on Maryland. Everybody,” a private coach who has worked with multiple Division I players, including several currently at Maryland, told <em>The Athletic</em> on Tuesday. “The Temples and UConns can now use that. … The biggest thing about it is kids talk. Kids talk. These kids want to get out of there. There are kids who have no NFL grades at all who are talking about declaring. They do not want to play for this man.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p id="3dKUtv">But those are secondary reasons. I don’t think we even need to go there.</p>
<h3 id="WIww4w">Some players didn’t want Durkin back. What’s the acceptable number of players who don’t want him to be the head coach for the school to decide he shouldn’t be the head coach?</h3>
<p id="lFTNQ1">This was apparent before Tuesday, <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/30/18044562/dj-durkin-maryland-football-meeting-players-walk-out">when three players left Maryland’s team meeting after Durkin came back. </a></p>
<p id="RCbIpd">Over the course of the investigation into the program, some players said uniformly positive things about Durkin.</p>
<p id="sK1ZnT">Like:</p>
<blockquote><p id="BlppiA">“Coach Durkin has given me tremendous opportunity. I have been able to work while being a member of the team to help my future career after football. I have the utmost respect for him, he has always been a great coach to me.” </p></blockquote>
<p id="FCd8Nn">and</p>
<blockquote><p id="k3Zb0L">“Knowing Durkin on a personal level, it was heartbreaking. I know he cares about his players. I know he had a lot invested in those guys.” </p></blockquote>
<p id="dVwwUe">But other players said things like:</p>
<blockquote><p id="qIvxwM">“If he didn’t want you to start he would do everything for you to quit and make you look bad to make you think you suck.” </p></blockquote>
<p id="jLaLtD">and</p>
<blockquote><p id="HpW1GC">“If you’re not a superstar he doesn’t really care about you. You are just a number on the roster. He needs to learn how to control his staff and become a decent human being. He should not be our head coach.” </p></blockquote>
<p id="un6ixi">What I’m saying is: how many players have to be against a head coach for it to matter? How many players <a href="https://twitter.com/tyranjhunt/status/1057594775556231170">have to say</a> their school “chose a paycheck over [someone’s] life” for the school to reconsider its decision? </p>
<p id="xytr12"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/8/27/17762104/maryland-football-2018-preview-jordan-mcnair-dj-durkin-wallace-loh-damon-evans">This is what happens when athletes are given zero power.</a> </p>
<h3 id="o70KDr">The *exact* role DJ Durkin played in <span>Jordan McNair</span>’s death might be colored in shades of gray. But that’s far from the only issue here.</h3>
<p id="eonuFv">The role Durkin played in McNair’s death is at least more complicated than what investigators concluded. They decided because Maryland’s culture did not match the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary definition of “toxic,” it was not toxic, and “in light of our conclusion that Maryland’s football culture was not ‘toxic,’ we do not find that the culture caused the tragic death of Jordan McNair.” </p>
<p id="MpdUS1">We can note that if trainers present had correctly diagnosed McNair’s signs of heat stroke, McNair would likely still be alive. That still doesn’t necessarily excuse Durkin. He’s the program CEO, and this happened at a workout he attended. Durkin and other coaches were there when head trainer Wes Robinson yelled something along the lines of “drag his ass across the field” to other trainers while McNair struggled. If the head trainer feels empowered to act like that in your presence as a head coach, it’s hard for me to say that you escape blame.</p>
<p id="4CQ5Sw">(Investigators found that Durkin pleaded with AD Damon Evans to hire a completely new training staff before camp started in August, which Evans denied for reasons that remain unclear. That still doesn’t undo Durkin’s conduct beforehand.) </p>
<p id="i3LEYF">But if you’re of the opinion that McNair’s death was strictly a failing on the part of the training staff, that doesn’t absolve Durkin of other wrongdoings outlined <em>in Maryland’s own report </em>mentioned above. </p>
<ul>
<li id="hVz7q2">He dodged responsibility for Court’s actions even though college strength coaches absolutely do serve their head coaches. Saying that the first guy you hired upon taking this job is not under your purview just strains the imagination. </li>
<li id="B8I9eN">Durkin’s coaching environment was one where players who weren’t starters often enough felt that he didn’t give a shit about them. </li>
</ul>
<p id="nF8uNt">To just explain those things away by saying Durkin had never been a head coach before, that the school didn’t prepare him properly and that he’ll just do better next time is profoundly disappointing.</p>
<div id="1zsgIP">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Every Saturday my teammates and I have to kneel before the memorial of our fallen teammate. Yet a group of people do not have the courage to hold anyone accountable for his death. If only they could have the courage that Jordan had. It’s never the wrong time to do what’s right. <a href="https://t.co/AaZVmLGTtS">pic.twitter.com/AaZVmLGTtS</a></p>— Ellis McKennie (@emck_cubed97) <a href="https://twitter.com/emck_cubed97/status/1057411252035694594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<h3 id="CMd4O3">Durkin was just one part of a larger system of disarray and ineffectiveness in the Maryland athletic department, but did contribute to that system.</h3>
<p id="Skqk8W">Investigators outlined an athletic department one school official described as filled with “chaos and confusion.” Investigators determined the athletic department shared responsibility for Court’s actions due to its general disarray, and for not preparing Durkin to be a head coach.</p>
<p id="kASVcn">Just because Maryland’s athletic department was a dumpster fire doesn’t mean Durkin is absolved from responsibility for the way he operated in it. He’s been a football coach for his entire adult life, and he knows how to treat people with respect. It should actually be that simple.</p>
<h3 id="ZijSxG">I guess I get why this happened.</h3>
<p id="oFG2Vv">Maryland doesn’t want to piss off some of its bigger donors, <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/3/17925040/maryland-football-jordan-mcnair-dj-durkin-boosters#comments">whose opinions on this whole matter are well-known</a>, and thinks winning football games will ultimately make people forget about this. I don’t think that’s going to happen. Do you?</p>
https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/31/18041802/dj-durkin-maryland-football-jordan-mcnair-second-chanceRyan Connors2018-10-31T21:36:52-04:002018-10-31T21:36:52-04:00A timeline of Maryland football, from DJ Durkin’s hiring until now
<figure>
<img alt="maryland football-dj durkin-wallace loh-damon evans" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ERsOnOqOwTyOhhFoGXNHXxn1DC0=/0x0:3818x2545/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61957505/DSC_1499jpg13.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Wallace Loh and DJ Durkin at the football coach’s introductory press conference. | Sung Min Kim/Testudo Times</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Let’s take a broad view at these last three years, with a focus on the past few months.</p> <p id="mL9BMD">Maryland football is officially without a head coach again, firing DJ Durkin Wednesday after a wild two-day saga. Here’s a quick look at how we got here, starting at the beginning of Durkin’s tenure:</p>
<h3 id="OFN8CB">December 2015: Kevin Anderson hires DJ Durkin as Maryland’s new head coach, to just about universal praise.</h3>
<p id="i3K07v">Fresh off a one-year gig as Michigan’s defensive coordinator, Durkin comes to Maryland for his first job as a head coach. Everyone is excited, <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/2015/12/7/9847340/maryland-football-coach-durkin-students">including Maryland students</a>, after a very underwhelming few years by Randy Edsall.</p>
<h3 id="GLIyNu">Durkin signs two of Maryland’s best recruiting classes ever.</h3>
<p id="AviPdy">It became obvious why the Terps’ new head coach came in with a reputation as an energetic recruiter. Maryland did lose the commitments of some blue-chip prospects, <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terrapins-football-recruiting/2016/1/18/9859704/dwayne-haskins-decommit-terps-ohio-state">including a QB</a>, but Durkin’s first full class in 2017 <a href="https://247sports.com/college/maryland/Season/2017-Football/Commits/">ranked in the top 20 on 247Sports’ leaderboard</a>, and his second was in the top 30. Under Edsall, Maryland’s classes hovered around the 40s. The future feels bright for Maryland, though the Big Ten East isn’t getting any less frightening. </p>
<h3 id="5NZkRk">2016 and 2017: Maryland’s on-field product is ... still Maryland football.</h3>
<p id="g2KfUH">Durkin’s on-field product is still a work in progress. But a bowl berth in his first season was all Maryland fans could have asked for, and catastrophic quarterback injuries sabotaged a 4-8 follow-up campaign. Blowout losses were a big part of both seasons, but it seemed an improvement from what happened in the previous regime.</p>
<h3 id="ioLtUV">October 2017: Anderson goes on what Maryland called a six-month “sabbatical,” but everyone knew he wasn’t coming back.</h3>
<p id="aAZfAj">This is first reported as a firing, which Maryland then denies. <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/2017/10/16/16477256/maryland-terps-ad-kevin-anderson-leave-status-update-analysis">This is weird from the beginning, as the “sabbatical” just seems like a way to postpone Anderson’s exit</a>. Damon Evans, the former Georgia AD who’d been serving as football liaison and assistant athletic director, becomes the interim AD.</p>
<p id="PQ7pHA">Investigators will later outline Anderson’s sabbatical as the result of years of mistrust between he and university president Wallace Loh. The breaking point, investigators say, is when Anderson approved the use of university foundation funds to pay for a lawyer to defend two Maryland players accused of sexual assault by another Maryland athlete. Investigators say Loh and Anderson both knew at the time of the “sabbatical” that Anderson would not return. The reason given to investigators for announcing this the way Maryland did was so it would not draw attention for fans or media to think that the move was related to the FBI’s college basketball investigation. <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-basketball/2018/10/12/17966456/maryland-basketball-fbi-probe-trial-adidas-silvio-de-sousa-diamond-stone?_ga=2.197534895.1244402785.1539170764-2124692641.1527349065">Maryland ended up getting mentioned there anyway</a>.</p>
<h3 id="jtGOUk">April: Maryland announces Anderson’s permanent departure.</h3>
<p id="EdwSZ5"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/2018/4/13/16581948/maryland-terps-athletic-director-kevin-anderson-fired-damon-evans-search">Not a shocker here.</a></p>
<h3 id="g1Ch32">May 29, 2018: <span>Jordan McNair</span> collapses at Maryland football’s first organized workout of the summer.</h3>
<p id="ucqLtU">Information trickles out slowly about this. <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/6/4/17427360/jordan-mcnair-critical-stable-condition-hospitalized">Maryland first announced a few days after the workout</a> that McNair, a redshirt freshman, was hospitalized in “critical but stable condition.”</p>
<h3 id="hGSvWB">June 13: <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/6/13/17460240/jordan-mcnair-offensive-tackle-dies-age-19-obituary-rest-in-peace">Jordan McNair dies.</a>
</h3>
<p id="TXXE62">No cause of death is announced at the time, though rumors persisted that heat stroke or heat-related illness was at least a factor.</p>
<h3 id="9UzCwP">June 15: Maryland holds a press conference addressing McNair’s death.</h3>
<p id="1Sb3g7">“My heart is broken for the reason that we’re all even sitting here,” an emotional Durkin says at the press conference. “You look for reasons. It’s not reasonable that a 19-year-old should pass away. It’s not reasonable that a family, parents, his parents, Marty and Tonya, should ever have to go through this.</p>
<p id="AkG6RD">“Jordan was such a tremendous person. As big as he was stature-wise, his heart was much bigger. He had a great way about him, a quiet smile. It was hard to get a word out of him, but it was also hard to have a conversation with him without bringing a smile to your own face.”</p>
<p id="fbj4Rf">Evans also gives a brief timeline of the May 29 workout, and says the school will hire someone to examine what led to McNair’s collapse.</p>
<h3 id="pgpm2H">June 19: Maryland announces it has hired Rod Walters to examine “relevant policies and protocols.”</h3>
<p id="y9sQsA"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/6/20/17482292/jordan-mcnair-death-external-review-consulting-group-walters-inc">Walters is a former SEC head trainer who now runs a sports medicine group.</a> The school says the Walters investigation could take up to 90 days.</p>
<h3 id="kebxWO">June 26: Maryland promotes Damon Evans to permanent athletic director.</h3>
<p id="1AhF9B">With that investigation ongoing, Maryland finally starts moving forward to find a new athletic director. After interviewing Evans, former Tennessee AD John Currie and Temple AD Patrick Kraft, <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/2018/6/25/17501348/damon-evans-maryland-athletic-director-bio-hired-georgia">University of Maryland president Wallace Loh hires Evans</a>. This receives decidedly mixed reviews.</p>
<h3 id="hLxbYI">July 12: Maryland <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/7/12/17565550/university-statement-investigation-details-jordan-mcnair-death-walters-inc">releases some new info</a> about the workout where McNair collapsed, including that Durkin was present.</h3>
<p id="zBUR1V">It’ll later be revealed that the whole coaching staff was there. Neither of these were exactly denied previously, but Maryland didn’t mention or hint at the idea that coaches were there, and complicated NCAA rules meant most media and fans weren’t sure.</p>
<h3 id="wOKysU">July 16: Jordan McNair Foundation website says heatstroke caused McNair’s death.</h3>
<p id="NOE5l1"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/7/16/17576962/jordan-mcnair-death-heat-stroke-family-foundation-website">This was the first public confirmation that heatstroke was the cause of death.</a></p>
<h3 id="pu3UkM">Aug. 10: <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/8/11/17677576/espn-reports-jordan-mcnair-death-dj-durkin-toxic-culture">ESPN drops two major stories.</a>
</h3>
<p id="9A60dA">The first outlines accounts from several players from the workout where McNair collapsed. It’s the first place we hear allegations from current players that head trainer Wes Robinson yelled “drag his ass across the field,” <a href="http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24343021/jordan-mcnair-maryland-terrapins-died-heatstroke-team-workout">to trainers while McNair didn’t look right:</a></p>
<blockquote><p id="HLPXed">“There were multiple people that said, ‘Wow, Jordan looks f---ed up, he doesn’t look all right,’” one player told ESPN. “We knew he was really exhausted, but we didn’t know he was in danger of his life. But that doesn’t mean that a medical professional shouldn’t know to put him in an ice tub.”</p></blockquote>
<p id="q5NuSv">The second story, <a href="http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24342005/maryland-terrapins-football-culture-toxic-coach-dj-durkin">released later that day</a>, is where we first hear the words “toxic culture.” This story outlines allegations from anonymous players, former players and former Maryland staff members who say Durkin presided over a team where verbal abuse of players was common and went beyond what some staff members experienced at other programs.</p>
<h3 id="xETadQ">Aug. 11: Maryland places DJ Durkin and two members of its medical staff on leave.</h3>
<p id="WKpqjQ">The day after ESPN publishes those stories, <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/8/11/17678096/dj-durkin-maryland-football-jordan-mcnair-espn">news comes out that Durkin is now on paid administrative leave, as are athletic department head trainer Steve Nordwall and Robinson, the head football trainer</a>. Durkin’s comments to investigators later would say that the coach did not feel he got to explain his side of the story before the school moved to place him on leave. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada, hired in the offseason to replace Walt Bell, is appointed interim head coach.</p>
<h3 id="wCWPaz">Aug. 14: Wallace Loh and Damon Evans hold a press conference.</h3>
<p id="bYGSWJ">Here, Loh announces the school accepts “legal and moral responsibility” for Jordan McNair’s death. This appears to be regarded well nationally, but University System power brokers are later reported to be unhappy about those comments.</p>
<p id="Z27cdJ"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/8/14/17689506/maryland-football-jordan-mcnair-damon-evans-wallace-loh-press-conference">Among the takeaways:</a> Loh and Evans admitted missteps on the part of training staff present, but were careful not to mention the coaching staff. Evans says the school has parted with football strength coach Rick Court. <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/8/14/17689148/rick-court-maryland-football-bio-strength-conditioning-jordan-mcnair">This is quickly reported as a settlement between Court and the school.</a></p>
<p id="AY1LN2">Loh announces he’s formed a panel to investigate the culture of Maryland football.</p>
<h3 id="YivmF1">Aug. 16: McNair parents say DJ Durkin “shouldn’t be able to work with anybody else’s kid.”</h3>
<p id="8pNnGk"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/8/16/17698998/maryland-football-jordan-mcnair-dj-durkin-fired">McNair’s parents and their attorney appear on Good Morning America and ESPN, and don’t mince words. </a></p>
<h3 id="LiPePN">Aug. 19: USM Board of Regents takes over Loh’s investigation.</h3>
<p id="iQPEqU">The Board, which oversees all 12 state institutions, <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/8/17/17729514/usm-board-of-regents-maryland-football-investigations-culture-jordan-mcnair">votes to assume authority over the investigation Loh just announced and the Walters Investigation</a>. </p>
<h3 id="DV9qf3">Sept. 1: Maryland beats Texas. In football. Again.</h3>
<p id="IWK1EE">The season finally starts, with many eyes rightfully focused on things off the field. Maryland then proceeds to more or less do its usual thing, which means losing comfortably to some of the nation’s best teams and burying some of the nation’s worst. The Terps are 5-3 as of this writing.</p>
<h3 id="CJ8Uk3">Sept. 21: USM Board announces Walters Investigation findings.</h3>
<p id="mv0rA4">Walters insisted he was not there to make any larger decisions or determinations about the football program, and was just in charge of making some recommendations on procedural changes. His report shines a negative light on Maryland’s training staff, whom he says failed to properly recognize McNair’s “atypical” signs of heat exhaustion.</p>
<aside id="Xg7rGn"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"11 revelations from Rod Walters’ 74-page report on Maryland football","url":"https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/9/25/17892492/maryland-football-jordan-mcnair-death-dj-durkin-rod-walters"},{"title":"Read the full report from Rod Walters to Maryland’s Board of Regents","url":"https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/9/22/17890052/maryland-football-jordan-mcnair-rod-walters-dj-durkin"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="Y8nkn7">Sept. 30: A Washington Post story outlines more allegations against Durkin and Rick Court.</h3>
<p id="To7zP4"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/9/30/17895596/maryland-football-dj-durkin-jordan-mcnair-rick-court-washington-post">This story</a>, headlined, “Motivation or abuse? Maryland confronts football’s fine line as new allegations emerge.” has new allegations against Durkin and football strength coach Rick Court, Durkin’s first hire at Maryland. Among many things, it outlines a letter sent to Loh’s office from an anonymous team parent in 2016 outlining allegations similar to what anonymous players are saying in 2018, which the commission investigating Maryland football says it had not seen before. This story addresses the problem at the center of this controversy: what some players see as abuse, others see as tough, but fair, motivation. </p>
<h3 id="tSpwVS">Oct. 6: Booster doesn’t travel to Maryland-Michigan following player outrage over his comments on Jordan McNair’s death.</h3>
<p id="IRa0ZH"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/7/17948296/maryland-football-jordan-mcnair-booster-rick-jaklitsch">This was an ordeal.</a></p>
<h3 id="8as8qE">Oct. 19: Board meets to hear investigators’ findings, announces a timeline for any personnel moves.</h3>
<p id="5sE770"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/17/17950430/maryland-football-dj-durkin-jordan-mcnair-culture-investigation-timeline">About two months after the investigation was announced and five months after McNair’s death, we’re nearing the finish line.</a> The Board says it will meet again on Oct. 23, and gives itself a deadline of Oct. 30 to announce any “initial” recommendations or personnel decisions on Durkin, Evans, Loh and anyone else involved.</p>
<h3 id="SiOi60">Oct. 23: USM Board meets again.</h3>
<p id="6yL9ac">Reporters watch this meeting from the outside. Tough to tell what goes on inside closed doors. The only info released is that the Board will meet again in two days.</p>
<h3 id="V0blK8">Oct. 25: Investigators’ report becomes public as the Board meets a third time.</h3>
<p id="G0Pts7">As we wait for the Board to meet on Thursday, The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun obtain copies of the almost 200-page report. The school’s investigators decide in the report that Maryland football’s culture does not match their technical definition of “toxic,” but there’s still a lot to process in it, almost none of it positive. <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2018/10/25/18024732/maryland-investigative-report-dj-durkin">Among the takeaways: </a>Maryland’s athletic department is a mess, and football players seem less happy than those in other sports at the university. Readers and reporters everywhere comb over it.</p>
<h3 id="g1LQoc">Oct. 26: Board meets a fourth time, and Loh, Evans and Durkin show up to make their cases.</h3>
<p id="BH3VlD">Durkin and Evans both exit the meeting and decline comment to reporters on the scene. No announcements come afterward.</p>
<h3 id="55a0Rh">Oct. 29: Another Board of Regents meeting.</h3>
<p id="dAyCZa">Durkin, Loh and Evans were all reportedly scheduled to meet with USM chancellor Robert Caret, but those meetings were then canceled. <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/29/18037284/maryland-football-dj-durkin-wallace-loh-damon-evans">The Board met again at 5 p.m.</a></p>
<p id="VZFLF0">The Board also <a href="https://www.usmd.edu/newsroom/news/1853">officially released the findings from the investigation</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ryanconnors_/status/1056969516092178432?s=21">including a letter from Anderson</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/afkostka/status/1056980160891809793?s=21">the anonymous letter from a parent in 2016</a>.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="5GMTj5">
<p id="7LOVo0">Tuesday and Wednesday merit their own timeline. But in short...</p>
<h3 id="Vtf2bv">Oct. 30: <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/30/18042532/maryland-football-dj-durkin-damon-evans-wallace-loh-press-conference">The Board announces Durkin and Evans are retaining their jobs, with Loh retiring in June</a>.</h3>
<p id="MoE7rO">Durkin met with the team, and <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/30/18044562/dj-durkin-maryland-football-meeting-players-walk-out">three players reportedly walked out of the meeting upon his return</a>.</p>
<h3 id="MuWm5Y">Oct. 31: <a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/31/17679604/dj-durkin-maryland-football-part-ways-jordan-mcnair">Loh fires Durkin less than 30 hours after his reinstatement</a>.</h3>
<p id="F3wpbn">This news came after outrage at Durkin’s return from just about everywhere.</p>
<h3 id="yNqdII">Now you’re all caught up!</h3>
<p id="SvrnRG">We’ll update this timeline when something else happens.</p>
<p id="t1z9pS"></p>
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https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/30/17921896/maryland-football-dj-durkin-jordan-mcnair-wallace-lohRyan Connors2018-10-31T18:40:16-04:002018-10-31T18:40:16-04:00Maryland fires DJ Durkin one day after reinstating him
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<img alt="Maryland v Nebraska" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/m6RW4jxEq8JL1zAmkxAct1rKjls=/0x0:1501x1001/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61982323/625648138.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>He returned to the team Tuesday, and his tenure ended Wednesday.</p> <p id="qnKCK0">Maryland has fired head football coach DJ Durkin one day after reinstating him.</p>
<p id="EU2lXp">The news of Durkin’s firing was <a href="https://twitter.com/RickMaese/status/1057761420014743554">first reported by The Washington Post’s Rick Maese</a>, who <a href="https://twitter.com/RickMaese/status/1057769358041190400">later reported</a> that the school is not firing him for cause but rather buying him out of his contract.</p>
<p id="36UGqU">Durkin had been on administrative leave since Aug. 11 as the University System of Maryland Board of Regents oversaw an investigation into his program and coaching methods after media reports detailed allegations of bullying and abuse at the hands of Durkin and strength coach Rick Court in the wake of Jordan McNair’s death in June. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who joined the staff in January, was elevated to interim head coach in Durkin’s absence. In light of Wednesday’s news, Canada is returning to that position.</p>
<p id="nNKeNt">Durkin came back to the team on Tuesday, and was present at Maryland’s practice. Three player walked out of the team’s first meeting after Durkin returned. <a href="https://twitter.com/brucefeldmancfb/status/1057768743013502977?s=21">According to Bruce Feldman</a>, another group of players was absent from practice Wednesday.</p>
<p id="gy1TPp">This reversal comes on the heels of calls from across the state for the University System of Maryland Board of Regents to reconsider its decision to recommend Durkin and AD Damon Evans return to their posts. Governor Larry Hogan was one such official.</p>
<p id="EeKG6V">“While the university system is required by law to operate independent of political influence,” Hogan wrote in a statement, “and as such no governor has the ability to hire or fire any university personnel or members of the Board of Regents, I can and will demand that the university is held accountable for making the reforms they have pledged to put in place with the full transparency that the students, parents, and faculty expect and deserve.”</p>
<p id="NMV8Mw">University president Wallace Loh, who announced Tuesday he would retire in June, reportedly expressed intentions to move on from Durkin in meetings with the Board of Regents, but was pressured into reinstating him (the Board itself does not have the power to fire or reinstate Durkin). At Tuesday’s press conference at which Board chairman James Brady called Durkin “a good man and a good coach,” Loh avoided mentioning Durkin’s name.</p>
<p id="FNjU1j">“The chair of the Board of Regents has publicly acknowledged that I had previously raised serious concerns about Coach Durkin’s return,” <a href="https://president.umd.edu/communications/statements/our-football-program">Loh said in a statement Tuesday</a>. “This is not at all a reflection of my opinion of Coach Durkin as a person. However, a departure is in the best interest of the University.”</p>
<p id="4CEzHM"><em>This story will be updated.</em></p>
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<p id="75XYOq"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/25/18023962/maryland-football-dj-durkin-rick-court-damon-evans-investigation-commission"></a></p>
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https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/31/17679604/dj-durkin-maryland-football-part-ways-jordan-mcnairRyan ConnorsThomas Kendziora2018-10-30T17:39:40-04:002018-10-30T17:39:40-04:00Multiple players walked out of DJ Durkin’s 1st meeting back with Maryland football
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<img alt="NCAA Football: Indiana at Maryland" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TQYjSi3FXnJ2IvLwyk4MxF2-StQ=/0x0:2044x1363/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61967473/usa_today_10376026.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Only one of the players is known, and it’s unclear what’s next.</p> <p id="sxVwEu"><a href="https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/30/18040254/dj-durkin-maryland-football">DJ Durkin has been reinstated as Maryland’s head football coach</a>, and he had his first meeting with his team since August before Tuesday’s scheduled practice. Several players walked out of that meeting, <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNRittenberg/status/1057361856975851520">according to ESPN</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/EmilyGiam/status/1057369290947600385">The Washington Post</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/1057363562069458945">The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach</a> was first to report the number as three.</p>
<p id="dfOj9u"><a href="https://twitter.com/Jeff_Ermann/status/1057412165366374400">InsideMdSports’ Jeff Ermann said</a> one of the players to walk out, Ellis McKennie, returned to practice. McKennie spoke out on Twitter on Tuesday evening.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Every Saturday my teammates and I have to kneel before the memorial of our fallen teammate. Yet a group of people do not have the courage to hold anyone accountable for his death. If only they could have the courage that Jordan had. It’s never the wrong time to do what’s right. <a href="https://t.co/AaZVmLGTtS">pic.twitter.com/AaZVmLGTtS</a></p>— Ellis McKennie (@emck_cubed97) <a href="https://twitter.com/emck_cubed97/status/1057411252035694594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2018</a>
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<p id="gcePYY">Durkin addressed the team at around 3:30 p.m., which was shortly after the University System of Maryland Board of Regents announced that he and Damon Evans would remain in their positions. <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNRittenberg/status/1057366270608371712">ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reports</a> the players who walked out were starters.</p>
<p id="tEssOz">Before the press conference, <a href="https://247sports.com/college/maryland/Article/DJ-Durkin-Returns-as-Maryland-Football-Coach-After-No-Toxic-Culture-Found-in-Investigation-123977682/">InsideMdSports’ Jeff Ermann</a> reported that reaction to Durkin’s return was likely to be mixed:</p>
<blockquote><p id="Vb9bRQ">“Players and coaches have varying opinions on whether Durkin should return, as two sources inside the program said his return could prompt some players to consider quitting or transferring out after the season; some believe the program’s manhood-challenging culture under Durkin and departed strength coach Rick Court was unhealthy, and might have led to McNair being pushed beyond the point of exertion. Some are also disheartened by Durkin and the university’s response to McNair’s death, while other players and parents of players have expressed their support for Durkin.”</p></blockquote>
<p id="SkfjUJ">Ermann reports that Durkin is expected to return to the sidelines on Saturday against Michigan State, though university president Wallace Loh and USM chairman James Brady did not confirm that in the press conference.</p>
<p id="MZynaz">The Board of Regents decided to reinstate Durkin after deliberating for over a week about an independent commission’s report into the culture of the program. The report did not go as far as to say the program had a “toxic” culture, but said there were still serious problems that needed to be fixed. </p>
<p id="hWE8KY">The report detailed a dysfunctional athletic department from the top down, including Durkin. Durkin said he was not sure who former strength and conditioning coach Rick Court reported to, even though Court’s contract said he reported to Durkin. This basically allowed Court to have complete autonomy during his tenure at Maryland. The report also detailed how players were afraid to speak of mistreatment under Court, and some viewed the two as “the same person.” Court later reached a settlement with the school days after the initial ESPN report on the program’s culture.</p>
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https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-football/2018/10/30/18044562/dj-durkin-maryland-football-meeting-players-walk-outJustin Fitzgerald