D.J. Durkin works with Mike McCray II
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Michigan defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin has been rumored as a potential head coach at Maryland. He interviewed for the job earlier this week. It seems clear that Maryland is not going to be able to lure a big-time coach with experience as a head man, because they are a lower-tier team in the Big Ten that has an uphill battle to become relevant. They need to get a young guy who’s trying to move up a rung.
This would be a decent move for Durkin. Maryland is a stepping-stone job for a young coach or a fallback option for a decently established coach. If he goes to Maryland and makes them relevant (let’s say a couple 8-4 seasons), then he could parlay that into a bigger job. He’s unlikely to get a big-time job unless he a) has success at a smaller program as a head coach or b) coordinates top-tier defenses for a long time. He’s on his way to reaching the latter achievement, but he’s not there yet.
There have also been rumors that Durkin could take some of Michigan’s assistants with him, such as Jedd Fisch to be his offensive coordinator. These are minor concerns to me. Fisch might be out after the season, anyway, because he was on a one-year contract at Michigan; the Jacksonville Jaguars were paying a large part of his salary after they fired him last year. The Wolverines also have a capable replacement in-house with Erik Campbell, who was brought in last off-season as part of the support staff, but has a long history of wide receiver coaching success with Michigan and Iowa. Add in Jim Harbaugh’s extensive NFL and college experience, and he can probably pull in a good defensive coordinator from several places.
The most immediate concern is in the area of recruiting. Durkin is the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator, and Michigan needs multiple linebackers in this class. It is a thin position group on the field with few established contributors. Michigan has several 2016 linebackers who are high on the Wolverines, but those relationships could be damaged if Durkin goes elsewhere. However, if Michigan brings in a solid defensive coordinator to replace Durkin, the trump card for the Wolverines should be Jim Harbaugh, not whoever’s coaching the linebackers.
If Durkin does indeed leave Michigan, then I do not expect it to hurt Michigan much down the road. Elite programs suffer attrition from the coaching staff, and when someone like Harbaugh puts together an all-star staff, he realizes that those guys will be highly sought after.
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Maryland would seem like a very tall order for someone with no HC experience. Having to build from scratch, recruit against and then face U of M, MSU and that team from ohio every season. Considering those three conf. games every year, 7 or 8 win seasons would not be easy to come by.
I think Richt, Schiano or maybe Frank Reich ends up coaching MD.
Durkin would be better suited taking a MAC job and making a case for an upper level HC position. Maybe he stays in MI for another year, that’s probably best. In my opinion.
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Maryland seems like a death trap. With MSU and OSU at pinnacle points, Michigan rising back under Harbaugh, and PSU as a traditional power it’s always going to be tough sledding. I think Kevin Wilson has been pretty darn good at Indiana but they just have no room to shine. Maryland is in an even tougher spot. If they were in the West it would be different.
I agree that 8-4 would be a major accomplishment, but with 3 nearly auto-losses you almost have to be perfect otherwise. Going 8-4 at Maryland is like going 10-1 at UCF (where Scott Frost, another young assistant, just landed) or Houston or Colorado State and that’s the kind of springboard that gets you a Florida, Georgia, UCLA type of job.
Durkin is better off hanging at Michigan for another year, especially since the defense will return at least 10 major contributors next year.
If you’re an ambitious dude who wants an elite job within the next 5 years, Marylands one of the worst places you can go.
I think a guy like Schiano or Richt or Hoke, who have to reclaim their value might take on a Maryland job, but a young hotshot? That would be a poor decision.
As for Michigan, Durkin would obviously be a huge loss both in recruiting and on the field, despite the late season struggles.
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Also, if you look at their future schedules they have some sneaky tough non-conference games in the next few years including UCF, Bowling Green, and Texas. All have good young coaches settling in and won’t be easy wins by any stretch.
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If I were Durkin, I would have to think long and hard about going to Maryland. Like I said, going 8-4 for a couple years might launch your career. Yes, it would be tough, but it’s tough to be a good coach anywhere. I think the bottom line is that good coaches are going to succeed wherever they are, and those successes are visible. Even with Indiana’s struggles, I think Kevin Wilson is a good coach and could probably win big elsewhere. I don’t know if athletic directors around the country agree or not, but they should be taking notice and allowing a handicap for the fact that he’s at Indiana.
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I’d never go to Maryland if I was Durkin. I see 4 for sure losses (MSU, OSU, UM, PSU) in 2016 and games against Neb., Indiana, and Minnesota would be tough, no matter what kind of job he does. That’s 6-6 or 7-5 season and that’s no way to start off a first job.
Plus Durkin is perhaps too young, and given his job with the LBs, still have a lot to learn.
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And 2017 is even worse, with games against with the usual four plus Texas, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Indiana. Shhh. That’s 6-6 even if the head coach is Meyer or Saban. MD just doesn’t have the talent to match the competition. MD will be a tire-fire for years to come.
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Yeah, I agree with the good coaches will be good anywhere comment. But Wilson’s situation is instructive here. I agree with you that he’s been very good and yet his name isn’t drawing any buzz for a promotion up to a higher profile job.
Meanwhile guys like Herman are on the verge of generating a feeding frenzy (at least if you buy the rumors), Jim McElwain goes 10-2 at Colorado State and lands the Florida job, Justin Fuente goes 10-3 at Memphis and lands at Virginia Tech. Gus Malzhan got Auburn after going 9-3 at Arkansas State. Brady Hoke gets the Michigan job off a good year at SDSU (and previously the MAC). etc.
I know Kirby Smart held out for a long time and Muschamp waited around Texas as a hot commodity for a long time and maybe that’s what Durkin has to do if he wants a job at a top 10 program. But maybe he’s better off waiting for ‘just’ a top 20 or 30 job that’s available in a couple years than taking Maryland and potentially languishing in mediocrity there for the next decade.
I think there is a much clearer and cleaner path going from an upwardly mobile non-Power 5 school than slogging it out at a historically weak power 5 team. I think ADs would rather take a chance on a smaller school success story than a higher floor/lower ceiling “he was pretty good at Indiana I guess” type of guy.
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$#%@. It’s official. Durkin to Maryland. What an idiot. I just hope this doesn’t screw up our recruiting of linebackers. Harbaugh got to find a replacement QUICK. We desperately need linebackers.
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In general, I’m not big into the rigid hierarchy that people like to put on programs. There’s just too many examples where traditional powers falter and historically weak programs rise to prominence.
I just don’t see anything that Maryland can really offer to rise above their history. Their stuck recruiting-wise because they are competing with ACC and SEC schools as well as the Big Ten powers. They don’t have much of a home-field advantage to get a lot of talent (though I know there is a respectable amount of talent in the region, but DC/Baltimore aren’t major producers, and there is tons of competition around.)
To me it’s like Mississipi State without the fertile recruiting turf and uh…loose restrictions. I actually think Mullen has a lot of reasons to stick where he is at but if your goal is a top 10 job, he’s another example of why the faster route is through lower-level programs.
It appears that LSU could come open in the next year or two and if I’m Durkin I’m trying to win a Broyles award next year at Michigan and then positioning myself for something like that soon thereafter. If nothing comes open then I go to Houston or some equivalent before I go to a Vanderbilt, Duke or Maryland type situation.
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He made a big career mistake. I just hope this doesn’t screw up our recruiting
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its always gonna be all about talent ID and talent development at places like maryland, maybe more so than at other schools (all coaches need solid eval and development skills to succeed). durkin will need to be very confident in his ability to identify and develop players if hes to succeed with the terps.
baltimore, dc, nova, etc might not be the hottest area for recruiting big time football players (at least from u maryland) but theres plenty large population centers without several hundred miles of maryland and hell have plenty of athletes to eval. philly and its suburbs, baltimore and its burbs, the dc metro area, no virginia, not to mention the rest of pa, md, va, oh, etc – all within easy driving distance of maryland. throw in durkins familiarty with florida schools and hes got a nice pool to start.
he prob wont get the 4 star kids but if hes got an eye for finding the right 2 and 3 star athletes and then developing those kids and maxing out their abilities, he should be able to put together decent rosters. itll be tough to beat um, msu, osu, etc on the field (and prob tougher on the recruiting trail), but under armour and terp alums want to win so durkin has a shot. i think hell be able to put together decent rosters – its just a matter of finding the right players at key spots like QB, finding the right coaches to help him and then winning the games theyre supposed to win or capable of winning.
look at what schiano did for those few years at rutgers – granted he wasnt competing against big ten east every season but schiano was able to find and develop some talented teams. im excited to see what durkin can do – its gonna be interesting, thats for sure
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Good points about Fisch. I think he’s very likely to be gone given the circumstances. Nice of him to take a small role at Michigan for the year, but he’s clearly overqualified.
Campbell is obviously a well-proven WR coach, but I’d be a bit surprised if they didn’t add a fresh face to the mix instead. I like the passing-game coordinator pairing with Drevno’s skillset being run-oriented. Harbaugh’s obviously there too, but they need another pass-oriented guy IMO.
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I don’t see why a high-level, career WR coach couldn’t be your passing game coordinator.
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Not really sure if Erik Campbell is a “high-level” coach. Sure he coached RBs and WRs here and there. He was Michigan’s WR coach 2003-2007 but haven’t done much since. I’d much more prefer Jedd Fisch, esp. with the job he’s done with the passing game. I hope Harbaugh can keep him with a big raise.
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Campbell helped develop a bunch of receivers here at Michigan, going back to David Terrell, Marquise Walker, Braylon Edwards, Jason Avant, Steve Breaston, etc. Then he was at Iowa from 2008-2012, where he always had solid receivers (Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Marvin McNutt Jr., etc.) despite Iowa not generally having much talent at the QB/WR positions and being more of a running team. If you’re at least partially responsible for people like Terrell, Edwards, Avant, Breaston, Manningham, Arrington, etc., then I’d say that’s a pretty high level of coaching. Two of those guys were 1st round picks, a few are still in the NFL, and all of them were standout college players (except maybe Arrington, who was very good but never the #1 guy).
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Yeah – Campbell’s resume is pretty bullet-proof. This strikes me a bit similar to the Fred Jackson bashing that went down (and is still going down). These guys were integral parts of the Michigan program’s success in the 90s.
They were really good at what they did at their positions. I suspect though that Campbell, like Jackson, doesn’t necessarily project to be any more than a position coach.
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Soup Campbell is a great position coach, he has sent beau coup wide receivers to the pros.
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Campbell’s a great position coach and good recruiter but I think he’s purely a WR guy and he’s not experienced in play-calling or QB-whispering.
And yeah, I get that Harbaugh is doing the heavy lifting there, but you want some support since the head coach does everything else. Michigan can’t JUST leave that up to Harbaugh.
Anyway, Campbell’s already around the program and I’m sure is giving plenty of his attention and tutelage to the WRs one way or another. Not sure that giving him an official spot gives the program that much more than what he does today.
I think Harbaugh would be better served bringing in somebody from outside who has the potential to grow into an OC if/when Drevno is poached in a few years time.
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I’m not opposed to bringing in somebody other than Campbell/Fisch (if Fisch leaves), but I just think that if your “fallback” guy is Erik Campbell as your WR coach, then you’re in a pretty good spot. Harbaugh as QB coach, Drevno as run game coordinator, and Campbell as pass game coordinator is not a bad deal. Plus Harbaugh uses Jay Harbaugh, Wheatley, Drevno, and Fisch as sounding boards for play calls, anyway, so it wouldn’t be entirely up to Campbell. He may not have had play calling duties in the past, but he was Carr’s assistant head coach and has been around long enough that I think calling plays would not be a stretch.
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I mostly agree with you that it would be OK because I have a ton of respect for Campbell as a WR coach. I just think big-picture-wise Michigan needs a QB-oriented guy who can coach WRs than a WR-oriented guy who can coach QBs. More importantly they need somebody who has the potential to call plays and develop into an OC down the road. If nothing else that allows Harbaugh to focus on other matters.
I don’t think being an offensive assistant under Carr speaks to play-calling chops in any way.
From what I’ve read it’s Harbaugh first, with Fisch and Drevno supporting, for the playcalling. I don’t think Wheatley and Jay H are doing much there and frankly there’s not much reason to think they are up for that duty just yet. Maybe they develop it down the road but they are pretty green for that responsibility.
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Uhg!!! Durkin can expect three or four seasons winning 5 maybe 6 games and getting fired. What a great first head coaching gig….
I’d bet Scott Schafer and Jim have already been talking.
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Urban Meyer flat out kicked Durkin’s tushy.
Durkin has more than proven himself as a big time D1 defensive coordinator and I am sorry to see him go, but Urban Meyer flat out pantsed him and then kicked his pale, white tushy on national TV.
I find this to be particularly disappointing in light of Durkin’s alleged hyper competitive nature, the legend of the one and one basketball game with Harbaugh and all that. I don’t believe that I could leave Michigan for any other job, anywhere, for any sum of money having had Urban Meyer just flat out kick my tushy in the manner in which he just did Durkin.
Did I mention that Urban Meyer just flat out ………
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Meyer’s team also scored 42 points against Alabama, so maybe it’s not as shameful as you make out.
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Here is my thought on DJ Durkin’s departure, he was going to be a HC one day and when the Maryland job opened, he took the opportunity and now he is the HC for Maryland. Now, Maryland is in a tough position in the Big Ten East Division because MSU, OSU and Michigan are the top teams with Penn State right behind them. He does deserve a lot of credit for the defense this year even though Michigan did not do well against OSU. I wish DJ the best moving forward. Let’s see who Harbaugh hires!
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