The Official Maryland Terrapins Thread

[Bozo the kKklown]

I also think some people on that staff may be criminally responsible if true.

[Bozo the kKklown]

From 24/7

 

• Only three non-coach staff members were placed on administrative leave on Friday: Rick Court, head trainer Wes Robinson and another trainer. Rumors have swirled in recent weeks that a coach had yelled at Jordan McNair and his teammates, demanding that he finish the drill. The sources of that yelling varied depending upon who you talked to. On Friday, ESPN alleged that it was Robinson who screamed, "drag his ass across the field." Sources said Robinson has never been known as a feisty motivator during a 12-year tenure that has overlapped with Ralph Friegden , Randy Edsall and now Durkin, but seemingly has changed his approach to better fit with strength coach Rick Court.
• The staff was mostly blindsided by the report. Durkin told staffers a couple hours before the release of ESPN's first article that ESPN might be publishing a story, but that was the breadth of their preparation for it. Some sources close to the program purportedly not a party to some of the worst alleged behaviors in the articles were unaware Court and company had resorted to such tactics, but said it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. "I wouldn't say he's [well-liked by coaches or players]," one source said.
• The staff, as of Friday evening, was moving forward as planned. Maryland is supposed to hold a scrimmage at 10 a.m. Saturday and Durkin was expected to be in charge. Asked if it might be canceled, a source said, "the kids want to play." While staff members haven't heard anything leading them to believe Durkin is about to be fired, some high-ranking program insiders believed such a move is inevitable and could come fast.
• Multiple sources said Durkin's hard-charging nature came back to bit him in the form of ESPN's second article, which quotes former staff members criticizing him, including one saying he wouldn't send his son to play for Durkin. Durkin is very demanding of his assistants. "When you rub people the wrong way, it comes back on you," a source said. In Durkin's inner circle, it's believed the coaches and players quoted in the article are a collection of those he chose to part ways with, taking an opportunity to gain revenge by exaggerating the situation. If the program was as ESPN painted it, the reasoning is, why would so many veteran players -- Ty Johnson, Derwin Gray, Damian Prince and Taivon Jacobs among them -- chose to extend their college careers for extra years rather than leaving when they could have.
• As of now, those inside the program seem to believe Durkin will survive this, at least for the time being. Evans has also been working to reassure them that the situation will be calmed.
• High-ranking program supporters expressed disappointment over how Maryland's handled of McNair's death, pointing to the initial press conference as needless and sharply criticizing school president Wallace Loh for hiring Evans in the wake of McNair's death, with the investigation far from completed.
• You can safely expect a strong push for Loh's exit as president from high-placed school supporters and others in political circles. For all of his failings -- hiring Kevin Anderson, signing off on poor contracts and failing to understand high-stakes athletics -- his decision to run what looked like a farcical $100,000 search before handing the job to Evans might be his undoing now. Search firm reps shook off outside feedback that Loh would ignore their advice, likely to hire Temple's Patrick Kraft, and hire Evans, which he did.
• Despite all of the turmoil, coaches and players remain optimistic about this season. They believe that the program has Maryland's most talented team in years. Whether Durkin will be coaching the team three weeks from today against Texas, though, remains uncertain.
• If Durkin remains on the staff this fall, that's not to say that his assistants are calmly on board. There's a strong sentiment within the program that the negative light shed on the program reflects heavily on the strength and conditioning staff, rather than the position coaches working with the players on the field. There's a very strong possibility that the staff could be decimated with attrition following this season.
• No recruits had decommitted as of Friday evening, but there was a sense inside the program that to keep them on board Maryland needs to address Durkin's status, one way or another, soon. The cloud hovering over the program since McNair's death has hindered recruiting and caused the staff to take some lesser-rated prospects than usual, though, so it's not a case of trying to keep blue-chippers on board. Though the short-term solution is "keep the class in-tact ," we're hearing that the families of several committed recruits have significant concerns about the state and direction of the program.

[StillUnknown]

 

[Corcaigh]

On 8/11/2018 at 12:49 PM, BenningRoadSkin said:

I also think some people on that staff may be criminally responsible if true.

 

Absolutely. Far short of a reasonable standard of behavior for a professional. Especially once he had collapsed.

Edited August 12, 2018 by Corcaigh

[Bozo the kKklown]

1 hour ago, StillUnknown said:

 

I hope he gets fired.

[StillUnknown]

4 minutes ago, BenningRoadSkin said:

I hope he gets fired.

 

I can't see any way he returns

[Redskin4ever]

Yeah, he is gone. There hasn't been one report that has mentioned this was an assistant coach gone rogue. All this is pointing to how Durkin ran the program. Now that he is on leave, this is just a prelude to ending his career as a coach. 

[Forehead]

Man, I remember when the Big 10 used to talk about being "better" especially in relation to the SEC.  It was touted how much better the academics were, how much cleaner and better run than those southern programs with no moral compass.  I think at this point, the only Big 10 East program that hasn't had a significant issue in the past five years is Rutgers, of all teams.

 

Penn State - The Sandusky scandal

Ohio State - ongoing Urban Meyer thing, coach spousal abuse

Michigan State - Larry Nassar...this isn't specific to football, more the athletic department as a whole

Maryland - Death of Jordan McNair, and Durkin/staff running Full Metal Jacket camp

Michigan - Brendan Gibbons/Taylor Lewan rape scandal

Indiana - Kevin Wilson dismissed for mistreatment of players

 

Rutgers is the only one left.  The choirboys are all in the Big 10 West.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

 

[thebluefood]

This McNair story is heartbreaking. Just 19-years-old. His life was just starting and now he's dead. 

 

And for what?

 

Quote

"Our preliminary investigation reveals there is an unexplained one-hour time period when nothing significant was done to avoid the complications of heatstroke," Murphy said. "Although there is some evidence they allegedly tried to cool him down, he should have been iced immediately. He presented at the hospital with a temperature of 106, which means he was not cooled down.

This especially - this is not okay.

Edited August 12, 2018 by thebluefood

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

 

[spjunkies]

Go get Les Mile please. 

[Corcaigh]

I think we expect that players will be pushed in training to what looks like an extreme, especially from the perspective of an outsider.

 

But if it is true that the player collapsed and showed signs much worse than normal exercise fatigue, sitting them down on a bench for an hour before they get care is negligent. It's hard to believe that a professional coaching staff and their medical team could be unaware of the risks. 

 

 

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

4 hours ago, spjunkies said:

Go get Les Mile please. 

 

Oh that will fix everything.

 

"College football is definitely a thing that should exist" is not really a statement I agree with at this point in my life.

[Corcaigh]

1 minute ago, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

 

Oh that will fix everything.

 

"College football is definitely a thing that should exist" is not really a statement I agree with at this point in my life.

 

Let's not be too hasty. Granted ...pedoephilia, prostitution, sexual assault, manslaughter, academic fraud, and corruption are all enabled by college football programs.

 

But at least they don't permit players taking a knee during the anthem.

 

[StillUnknown]

4 hours ago, Corcaigh said:

 

Let's not be too hasty. Granted ...pedoephilia, prostitution, sexual assault, manslaughter, academic fraud, and corruption are all enabled by college football programs.

 

But at least they don't permit players taking a knee during the anthem.

 

 

you left out the CTE without the financial compensation

[Bonez3]

The way this is spinning I wouldn't be surprised if the 'death penalty' (NCAA wise) gets brought into play. And they really need to change that name it seems

Edited August 14, 2018 by Bonez3

[skinfan2k]

2 minutes ago, Bonez3 said:

The way this is spinning I wouldn't be surprised if the 'death penalty' (NCAA wise) gets brought into play. And they really need to change that name it seems

Death penalty lol.  are you serious? NCAA is too profitable for that now.  Penn state with Paterno could have gotten, but they really didnt 

[Bonez3]

3 minutes ago, skinfan2k said:

Death penalty lol.  are you serious? NCAA is too profitable for that now.  Penn state with Paterno could have gotten, but they really didnt 

PSU absolutely should have gotten it. Make no mistake, this was an avoidable death by every account released. I wouldn't mock it yet.

 

And FWIW, nobody's gonna miss Maryland football (in the big ten especially. Such a joke they're in that conference)

Edited August 14, 2018 by Bonez3

[Bozo the kKklown]

2 hours ago, Bonez3 said:

The way this is spinning I wouldn't be surprised if the 'death penalty' (NCAA wise) gets brought into play. And they really need to change that name it seems

When you have no idea how the NCAA makes the decision to give an athletic program the death penalty, you make uninformed posts like this one.

[Bonez3]

10 hours ago, BenningRoadSkin said:

When you have no idea how the NCAA makes the decision to give an athletic program the death penalty, you make uninformed posts like this one.

I would never suggest I know how the NCAA makes decisions nor do I give a ship.

 

I offered an opinion, ‘uninformed’ yes, on a random message board. Criticism noted.

 

But if it does get bantered about as charges start to and will come in, look me up aight. 

Edited August 14, 2018 by Bonez3

[The Evil Genius]

I'll say it every year. Should have kept Friedgen (and tried to steal away more WVU QBs). 

[justice98]

25 minutes ago, The Evil Genius said:

I'll say it every year. Should have kept Friedgen (and tried to steal away more WVU QBs). 

 

I dont think Fridge had long to go even if they kept him.  He's 71 now.  

 

I'm convinced Maryland football will never really be consistently good. Even if this Durkin thing hadn't gone south, they were probably a 7-8 win ceiling every year if everything broke right.

[Bozo the kKklown]

2 hours ago, Bonez3 said:

I offered an opinion, ‘uninformed’ yes,

 

cheers

 

1 hour ago, The Evil Genius said:

I'll say it every year. Should have kept Friedgen (and tried to steal away more WVU QBs). 

Never had an issue getting rid of Fridge, but hiring that meathead with the buzz cut out of 1954 to be head coach probably wrecked this program indefinitely. I never liked that hire.

[Bonez3]

Maryland accepts responsibility for his death, all left to the lawyers now. 

 

Wait on NCAA statement. Maybe some of the expects on this board can weigh in on their thoughts beforehand.