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Task at hand: Durkin leading culture change at Maryland
Boardman native
bringing his brand of
football to Maryland
By Brian Dzenis
When it came to letting his new team know he knows what he’s talking about, D.J. Durkin chose to show rather than tell.
During one-on-one meetings with Maryland’s football players, the Boardman native showed them scouting reports of the Terrapins from his time as Michigan’s defensive coordinator. Considering his defense shut out Maryland, 28-0, back on Oct. 3, his assessment of the team was pretty spot-on.
“Any time you have the perspective somebody else has of you, it can only be helpful whether it’s positive or negative and it helps you understand how people view you,” Durkin said. “I’m sure it was eye-opening for them, but it was the truth, I think we’ll get better once we know what the reality is.”
That reality is that after two seasons in the Big Ten, the Terps aren’t at the level of some of peers like Ohio State, Michigan State or Penn State. Maryland went 3-9 this fall as coach Randy Edsall was fired midseason. With the pedigree of serving as an assistant at Florida and Michigan, Durkin is tasked with turning things around. Durkin said the ingredients are there: Maryland is a fertile recruiting ground, there are new facilties coming, Durkin has received support from administration and finally, he brought up the school’s relationship with sports apparel giant Under Armour.
That last part is no small matter.
In recent years, the Baltimore-based company has become a stakeholder in the school and its sports teams, with CEO and alum Kevin Plank wielding influence over athletics. His company has a 10-year, $33 million apparel deal with the school and he’s put up another $25 million toward football facilities. In a New York Times article in early August, Plank put forth the idea that Maryland can be the East Coast’s answer to Nike-backed Oregon. As to where Durkin fits in the drama of big money from big boosters with big dreams, that stuff is for fans and media to worry about, he said.
“I’ve been fortunate to be at a lot of high-level programs that get a lot of exposure and there’s a lot of high expectations,” Durkin said. “The thing you find out is you don’t do your job any differently. The amount of pressure coaches put on themselves is really all you need and all that really matters.”
Making Maryland’s Big Ten dreams come true will require a culture change. Durkin hasn’t spent much time with the team since joining the Terps two weeks ago, electing to spend his time on the recruiting trail, but early meetings with veteran leaders were promising.
“I‘m not sure they know what they’re in for, but at least they’re willing to accept change and get this thing going forward,” Durkin said.
Another thing that people around Maryland may not know about yet is Durkin’s sideline demeanor. He spent the past five seasons around some of college football’s more colorful coaches in ex-Florida and new South Carolina coach Wil Muschamp and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh. Durkin chuckled when asked about his sideline behavior.
“I‘m not going to change who I am or what I’m going to do,” Durkin said. “I get excited sometimes and then there’s times where you have to stay well-thought-out and stay calm and stay level-headed.”
Durkin joins a growing list of head coaches from the Mahoning Valley, including Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi, Toledo’s Jason Candle, New Mexico’s Bob Davie and Youngstown State’s Bo Pelini.
“It’s a blue-collar town where you earn what you get,” Durkin said of Youngstown. “I think those are all the same qualities and things that are probably not just for coaching, but in most professions carry over for success.
“Coaching is they type of thing where if you’re not working at recruiting or improving your players, it’s a hard profession to be in. I think all those qualities carry over and obviously there’s a great love for football in the area and it just sort of worked out that way.”
After 15 years of bouncing around as an assistant, Durkin will have a shot at carving out a legacy in the Big Ten.
“We have work to do here in terms of creating a culture, not just thinking or hoping we can win, but fully expecting to win and playing with that type of confidence,” he said. “I’ve seen that happen, I’ve been a part of changing of mindsets at places before and that’s the fun part. It’s what I really look forward to doing.”