DJ Durkin came to Maryland nearly three years ago as a relative unknown, an up-and-coming assistant who had worked for two of college football's biggest-name coaches in Jim Harbaugh at Michigan and Stanford, as well as Urban Meyer at Florida.
Durkin, 40, will be departing College Park without having coached a game during the 2018 season, trying to restart his once-promising career after his image took a significant beating the past five months in the wake of player Jordan McNair's collapse and death of heatstroke and reports of a "toxic" football culture at Maryland.
A commission investigating the football program _ initially hired by the university and later expanded by the University System of Maryland's Board of Regents _ found "a culture where problems festered" but did not deem the environment "toxic." In the roughly 200-page investigative report, obtained by The Baltimore Sun, commissioners stated that they did not find "that the culture caused the tragic death of Jordan McNair."
In the wake of the report's findings, the third-year coach, who has been on administrative leave since August, was fired on Wednesday night, less than a day after the Board of Regents had reinstated him.
According to a copy of his contract, Durkin will be owed $5.8 million for the final two years of what was initially a five-year deal.
Durkin hired strength and conditioning coach Rick Court, but according to the report, Durkin said it was not his responsibility to supervise Court. Players interviewed by the commission described Court as physically and emotionally abusive.
The report notes that Court was never given a performance review.
They worked closely together and Durkin delegated many responsibilities to Court. The head coach, the commission found, "bears some responsibility when Mr. Court ... exhibits unacceptable behavior."
Ninety-four players took an anonymous survey in September at the request of the commission. The Maryland football team's culture "fared poorly" compared with other college teams and Court's "scores were extremely poor by any standard," the commission found.
Court resigned in August.
Yet, if the program had been truly toxic, the commission wrote, Durkin would not have earned the "loyalty and respect" of many players and their families, who have spoken out in support of him over the past several weeks.
Durkin was interviewed for 10 hours, and the commission found "his concern for his players' welfare is genuine."
Durkin compiled a 10-15 record at Maryland after coming to the school with the mandate of turning around the moribund program that had suffered three losing seasons in Randy Edsall's five years _ the last a 3-9 season when Edsall was fired midyear.
Durkin's tenure began with what he thought was a perfect fit of his coaching style and the program itself.
"I really identify with this program," Durkin said at his introductory news conference. "I think this is a blue-collar place, a blue-collar university, a blue-collar program. I think we compete in one of the best divisions and best conferences in the country. I embrace competition, and I want to recruit guys who embrace that competition. To me, it's an easy sell."
After the Terps won his first four games in 2016, Maryland staggered to the finish but became bowl-eligible with a home win over Rutgers in the season finale. Maryland then lost to Boston College in the Quick Lane Bowl to finish 6-7.
The Terps were cursed by quarterback injuries in Durkin's second season. Just as what seemed to befall both Edsall and Ralph Friedgen, Durkin lost his top two quarterbacks, Tyrrell Pigrome and Kasim Hill, in the first three games in 2017.
Pigrome tore his ACL in a season-opening road win at then-No. 23 Texas, and Hill suffered the same fate two games later in a home loss to Central Florida. After third-stringer Max Bortenschlager led the Terps to a road win at Minnesota to push their record to 3-1, Maryland lost seven of its last eight games.
The Terps finished the season with a 66-3 loss at home to then-No. 10 Penn State, a performance that left Durkin visibly upset with the way his team appeared to give up.
"A season of adversity got to us, and it wasn't our best effort put forth," Durkin said that afternoon. "Obviously, you lose two quarterbacks in the first nine quarters of the season and you can ride emotion a little bit. We rode that when we went to Minnesota, but it just wore on us and we slowly deteriorated."
While the team's record under Durkin was below par in the ultra-competitive Big Ten East, the program had made progress in terms of recruiting _ specifically landing area talent such as Hill _ with two straight top-30 recruiting classes.
With a slightly more favorable schedule, it appeared the Terps were on the verge of turning things around this season.
That was before McNair died June 13, a little over two weeks after suffering heatstroke during a team conditioning test.
After allegations of a toxic culture in an ESPN story Aug. 10, newly hired athletic director Damon Evans placed Durkin on administrative leave the next day.
It is also not clear how Maryland plans to replace Durkin. After being named interim coach three weeks before the season began, offensive coordinator Matt Canada has helped guide the Terps to a 5-3 record going into Saturday's home game against Michigan State.
Much will depend on how the team performs the rest of the season, particularly on offense, where the Terps have struggled in their three losses, including their most recent one, a 23-0 defeat at then-No. 19 Iowa on Oct. 20.
