We can now scratch Maryland off the list of coaching vacancies in college football. Michigan defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin will be the new head coach of the Terrapins, according to multiple reports Wednesday afternoon. Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated was among the first to report the news, via Twitter.
https://twitter.com/SIPeteThamel/status/672122261260754944
Durkin has never been a head coach in college football but he should be well prepared for the job after serving on the staff of either Jim Harbaugh or Urban Meyer for the past decade and a half. His coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green under Meyer, continued as a graduate assistant for two seasons at Notre Dame under Tyrone Willingham and eventually led to Stanford as a defensive end and special teams assistant under Harbaugh. Durkin was reunited with Meyer when Urbs took a job offer to coach the Florida Gators. Durkin stuck around for the Will Muschamp regime and served as an interim head coach for the Gators following the dismissal of Muschamp last season. This season he made the move up north to be the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Wolverines as Harbaugh put together his new staff, and now he is taking the next step. It should be a big one for him, with plenty of potential to do some good things.
Maryland is, of course, no national threat in college football, but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the job moving forward. With a renewed and invested commitment to improving the athletics programs in College Park and with the financial support of Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, the future of Maryland football looks promising. Not to mention the added bonus of increased revenue shares as a member of the Big Ten. It was always just a matter of getting the right head coach in charge of the program. Whether or not Durkin will be that guy will have to be evaluated in the years to come, but given his experience under Harbaugh and Meyer there is no reason to believe he will not know what he is doing as he assumes command of the Maryland program. Don’t let Maryland’s on-field performance fool you. There is some potential for a solid turnaround for this program, even if it takes some time for that to develop.
Durkin will have his work cut out for him in 2016. Maryland ranked 11th in the Big Ten in total defense and ninth in total offense. Durkin’s focus will start with recruiting and establishing Maryland as the go-to program for talent in Maryland and Virginia. Given his Ohio roots, getting Maryland into some of the traditional Big Ten states like Ohio and Michigan will be key, as well as Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Remember, Durkin is facing stiff recruiting battles against the likes of Meyer and Harbaugh as well as James Franklin at Penn State and whoever ends up taking the job at Rutgers. And Mark Dantonio. Don’t forget about him.
This feels like a good fit for all parties involved. Mark Richt was never likely to really be a possibility for the Terps, and Mike Leach has had his chance to make a case for the Maryland job. Durkin feels like a solid hire here for the Terps.
