DJ Durkin to be named DC

[Allen_D 72]

Have seen this now a couple of different places - Boom supports.

 

 

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

We have coaches on staff who have worked with this cat recently.  That's good enuf for me. If they can vouch for the guy and say he good.

[cole256 17,084]

People who randomly insert just continue to randomly insert go figure.

 

My point wasn't to say if this guy is good or bad because how could I know. My point is, nobody is above being questioned. It's crazy to have the worst and pointless negative stuff to say about one guy but then when another guy who has a history gets hired to then try to tell people to give second chances and the past is the past.

I just wish people could be consistent on here that's all. I hope the guy is good because I'm tired of sucking.

I'm not going to ignore it wasn't even two years ago a majority of this board were calling players soft and stuff because they wanted to be treated like humans with dignity and respect. 

Edited January 31 by cole256

[TitanTiger 20,510]

15 minutes ago, Swamp Eagle said:

Its been investigated.  Who here was on the investigative team? We're not solving anything on a football forum...we just spout and read, for pete's sake.  

Yes, Maryland investigated it.  Those making or signing off on these decisions at Auburn wouldn't be doing their jobs if they didn't follow up on that, which involves more than just reading Maryland's report and moving on.  They're going to dig a bit deeper, talk to some more people, especially at his stops since then in Oxford and College Station.  

And consequently, it is completely normal for fans on a forum to talk about it too.  Maybe eventually it'll get to be more "good Lord, give it a rest" but I don't think a few weeks into a coaching search and less than two days into the actual hire is where you hit that breaking point.

[TitanTiger 20,510]

1 hour ago, Allen_D said:

Mike Leach had a “mistreated a kid” episode in his background too… 

The coddling required by kids (and the social media armies that hold the kids blameless) has to frustrate coaches that came of age in the OG disciplinarian coaches era.

This wasn't "mistreated a kid."  A kid died.  It's completely reasonable for such a thing to be throughly investigated, especially when there are reports and complaints of how hard the coaches were pushing the kids in these workouts and the treatment of anyone who wasn't doing well in them.  

Things change.  We know more.  When I was playing football as a kid and my teens, hydration breaks were almost unheard of.  They told us not to drink too much.  Water was withheld and we were made to run more because a coach didn't like the effort we were giving.  We practiced hard no matter how hot it was.  We rightly don't do stupid stuff like that anymore because the consequences can be lethal.   We learn there are coaches that can get the best out of players by using a different approach.  You can sit here an bemoan the fact that coaches can't get away with the Bobby Knight or "Junction Boys" methods anymore or you can just adapt and move on with your life.  

The options aren't to be an a**hole that yells, screams, punishes, belittles and insults or to "coddle."  The best coaches learn to adjust their motivational style as they get to know their players.  They learn that a lot of kids come from s***ty homes with rotten dads who beat and berate them or their moms and they aren't responding to a coach that does the same.  They're looking for someone that cares about them and will push them without all that.

I can't help if you think that's soft.  But to get back to the Durkin situation, as I told Swamp, this HAD to be throughly investigated.  And when you have the complaints about how things were done at MD when he was HC there, if you're Auburn who just jettisoned a good X's and O's coach because his acidic personality was not just about to run off key players, but was running off key coaches - you can't just dismiss the MD stuff as kids who want to be coddled and babied and can't handle a disciplinarian.  And there's nothing wrong with the fans talking about it either.

[Barnacle 9,064]

3 hours ago, Swamp Eagle said:

That would include a lot of people who don’t know all of the facts.  That’s usually the criteria where, personally, I move on. No amount of speculation on my part will change anything pertaining to those events or the hiring of Durkin.  

And, honestly, I just don’t understand concerning one’s self or spending time worrying about things not in one’s control…that’s all I’m saying.

If you don’t find value in the conversation, I wouldn’t blame you for moving on. 

Edited January 31 by Barnacle

[cole256 17,084]

14 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

If you don’t find value in the conversation, I wouldn’t blame you from moving on. 

You are definitely a lawyer. I'm an engineer only thing I was seeing was ok if you don't want to talk about it go to another thread, you don't have to be here

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

23 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

This wasn't "mistreated a kid."  A kid died.  It's completely reasonable for such a thing to be throughly investigated, especially when there are reports and complaints of how hard the coaches were pushing the kids in these workouts and the treatment of anyone who wasn't doing well in them.  

Things change.  We know more.  When I was playing football as a kid and my teens, hydration breaks were almost unheard of.  They told us not to drink too much.  Water was withheld and we were made to run more because a coach didn't like the effort we were giving.  We practiced hard no matter how hot it was.  We rightly don't do stupid stuff like that anymore because the consequences can be lethal.   We learn there are coaches that can get the best out of players by using a different approach.  You can sit here an bemoan the fact that coaches can't get away with the Bobby Knight or "Junction Boys" methods anymore or you can just adapt and move on with your life.  

The options aren't to be an a**hole that yells, screams, punishes, belittles and insults or to "coddle."  The best coaches learn to adjust their motivational style as they get to know their players.  They learn that a lot of kids come from s***ty homes with rotten dads who beat and berate them or their moms and they aren't responding to a coach that does the same.  They're looking for someone that cares about them and will push them without all that.

I can't help if you think that's soft.  But to get back to the Durkin situation, as I told Swamp, this HAD to be throughly investigated.  And when you have the complaints about how things were done at MD when he was HC there, if you're Auburn who just jettisoned a good X's and O's coach because his acidic personality was not just about to run off key players, but was running off key coaches - you can't just dismiss the MD stuff as kids who want to be coddled and babied and can't handle a disciplinarian.  And there's nothing wrong with the fans talking about it either.

I agree. We also have coaches who have worked with this guy. Their opinion should hold the most weight

Edited January 31 by NWALA Tiger

[Gowebb11 9,367]

11 hours ago, Swamp Eagle said:

P.W. Underwood was an exception, and, man, what a pisser.

Haven’t heard him brought up in quite a while. Made me smile. Tear away jersey days. 

[TitanTiger 20,510]

Just now, NWALA Tiger said:

I agree. We also have coaches who have worked with thus guy. Their opinion should hold the most weight

I think they should certainly be given serious consideration. It's quite possible that people on the coaching staff, in the athletic department, and in the broader university administration have relationships with people in similar roles at Maryland, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.  I'd think those people's experiences and thoughts on Durkin while he was there would also hold significant weight.

But I don't think any of us are in good position to accurately assign appropriate "weight" to the various sources.  Too many moving parts.  I trust that people involved in the hire did give such things serious thought however.

[cole256 17,084]

This is just my opinion, but I feel people who think yelling equals good coaching either watch too many movies or just don't get what a coach really is. There's no elite players operating in fear. 80% of college players could stomp the s*** out of their coach if that's what they wanted to do. 

Sometimes you yell but even then it's just frustration but you don't win a team from yelling. You win a team from respecting and loving them. Then you can yell if you need too, it's not the other way around. You watch Dan Campbell with Detroit Lions it's so much respect in that organization right now they are literally changing a culture that's been holding them down for years. 

I don't know why average fans some who may not have ever played get joy or feel that a bunch of yelling is the way to get guys to play. What elite level player have you ever seen get yelled at? It's a reason you don't really yell at the leaders of your team. Why in the most important situations it's getting close looking your guys in the eye and you are talking? 

If you really want this school to be good you'd be making posts about do this coach really care about his players? Do they respect him? Then you would see a max effort team. 

People always bring up Saban, he does much more talking than he does yelling. And when he does yell he's yelling at his coaches more than anybody. 

[TitanTiger 20,510]

Just now, cole256 said:

This is just my opinion, but I feel people who think yelling equals good coaching either watch too many movies or just don't get what a coach really is. There's no elite players operating in fear. 80% of college players could stomp the s*** out of their coach if that's what they wanted to do. 

Sometimes you yell but even then it's just frustration but you don't win a team from yelling. You win a team from respecting and loving them. Then you can yell if you need too, it's not the other way around. You watch Dan Campbell with Detroit Lions it's so much respect in that organization right now they are literally changing a culture that's been holding them down for years. 

I don't know why average fans some who may not have ever played get joy or feel that a bunch of yelling is the way to get guys to play. What elite level player have you ever seen get yelled at? It's a reason you don't really yell at the leaders of your team. Why in the most important situations it's getting close looking your guys in the eye and you are talking? 

If you really want this school to be good you'd be making posts about do this coach really care about his players? Do they respect him? Then you would see a max effort team. 

People always bring up Saban, he does much more talking than he does yelling. And when he does yell he's yelling at his coaches more than anybody. 

What's the old adage I hear from time to time?  You can push them as hard as you love them.  If a player really feels and believes that you care about him, want the best for him, want to help him be not just the best player he can be, but the best person he can be, he'll take a whole lot of intense coaching from you.  You can yell, push him to his limits, and all sorts of things we'd call "hard coaching" or being a "hard-nosed disciplinarian" and he'll take it and work his ass off to meet those expectations - because you've shown him it's more than just a job.  It's more than football (or whatever sport).  It's more than just somebody with power getting to exercise it.  He knows you're doing all of it to help the kid reach his goals and his full potential.

[cbo 7,917]

15 hours ago, Barnacle said:

There is a lot in there, but most of the complaints center around the strength and conditioning coach, Rick Court. Court was Durkin's first hire, and they were apparently close. Court was a hard-ass who, in addition to placing high expectations on his players, relied upon humiliation and questioning player's "manhood" in order to motivate. Almost universally, players reported that he would regularly use homophobic epithets against platers. F'ing p***y and f'ing fa***t were the two phrases most commonly used in the report. When he got heated he would throw or break things. Many players felt he regularly crossed the line, while some defended him. 

The personal complaints against Durkin himself were more benign, and the internal investigation doesn't touch on the death or the circumstances surrounding it at all. However, it does mention that prior to the tragedy, Durkin had requested that a licensed physician be present for all practices, which was never fulfilled. I don't think it's fair at all to directly attribute what happened to Durkin based on the limited information I have read. Importantly, the investigation that was conducted cleared him as I understand it. The report concludes that the medical staff also bears responsibility for the death.

The athletic department was in disarray at the time and the report concluded that Durkin and the program did not receive the support or oversight that it needed, particularly in light of Durkin being a first year head coach with a boat load of novel responsibilities. Moreover, at least one prior complaint about Court was circulated between the AD's office, the President's office, and the Compliance office. It was never attended to. It "slipped through the cracks." 

Maryland conducted player surveys prior to and after the tragedy. Unsurprisingly, player sentiment shifted negatively toward the program, Court, and Durkin after McNair passed. There are a lot of quotes from disgruntled players, but there were many players, coaches, and player's family members who supported Durkin. 

I think Durkin is an intense guy and hired some intense people to go and turn a program around, and one of them in particular went overboard. Durkin was a first year head coach, trying to establish a culture, and I think he wanted hard lines to be drawn in the sand. I think he drew them too far.  Durkin says that it wasn't his responsibility to oversee the S&C coach, that it was someone in the AD's office (this had been the case under the prior coach). He said he was unaware of the majority of the specific complaints levied against Court, but I think those denials lack credibility. I find it hard to believe he wasn't aware of how things were being handled.

I'm sure everyone can make up their own mind about Durkin, but the problem with the court of public opinion is that it generally operates without all the facts. I have questions, but I'm sure Auburn did too, as well as Ole Miss, TAMU, and hell, even Alabama. I guess those questions were answered to Auburn's satisfaction. 

Thanks, Barnacle. I knew you could provide a thoughtful analysis. There's a lot of room in between "he watched a kid die" and "why are we talking about this, kids are too soft these days." Anyone who cares about the team and the players should be interested in the facts here. 

 

[cole256 17,084]

38 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

What's the old adage I hear from time to time?  You can push them as hard as you love them.  If a player really feels and believes that you care about him, want the best for him, want to help him be not just the best player he can be, but the best person he can be, he'll take a whole lot of intense coaching from you.  You can yell, push him to his limits, and all sorts of things we'd call "hard coaching" or being a "hard-nosed disciplinarian" and he'll take it and work his ass off to meet those expectations - because you've shown him it's more than just a job.  It's more than football (or whatever sport).  It's more than just somebody with power getting to exercise it.  He knows you're doing all of it to help the kid reach his goals and his full potential.

Absolutely and if you have enough time to hit the ultimate....I imagine you can probably tell by my personality I was opinionated, hard headed, I got a bunch of whoopings from my mom and aunt.... But when it came to my grandfather. If he looked at me and just said the words I disappointed him I felt like I couldn't breathe.

He hardly had to speak words yet alone raise his voice. 

But IMO you are exactly right as long as I know you actually care about me, I can then trust that you are only telling me things for my food and if you are yelling it's because you are passionate and you care. 

To me this is a coach. I'll sacrifice for this. I'll give myself to something pure. It's not surprising his player made this speech after being inspired by his coach. 

 

 

Edited January 31 by cole256

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

Is Durkin a heavy blitz guy or sit back in zone with a bend but don't break philosophy?

[cole256 17,084]

21 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

What's the old adage I hear from time to time?  You can push them as hard as you love them.  If a player really feels and believes that you care about him, want the best for him, want to help him be not just the best player he can be, but the best person he can be, he'll take a whole lot of intense coaching from you.  You can yell, push him to his limits, and all sorts of things we'd call "hard coaching" or being a "hard-nosed disciplinarian" and he'll take it and work his ass off to meet those expectations - because you've shown him it's more than just a job.  It's more than football (or whatever sport).  It's more than just somebody with power getting to exercise it.  He knows you're doing all of it to help the kid reach his goals and his full potential.

I'm a nobody (on here) but if he ever wanted to do it barnacle would be a great mod

Edited January 31 by cole256

[Swamp Eagle 5,144]

41 minutes ago, cole256 said:

You are definitely a lawyer. I'm an engineer only thing I was seeing was ok if you don't want to talk about it go to another thread, you don't have to be here

Barnacle is correct, I don’t value the conversation, so I should move on…but the thread is about the Durkin hiring, not just his Maryland tenure, so I’ll remain in the thread. 
 

That’s why he’s a lawyer and you’re an engineer..😉

[aubiefifty 16,903]

6 minutes ago, cole256 said:

I'm a nobody (on here) but if he ever wanted to do it barnacle would be a great mod

everybody brings something to the table cole.............

[cbo 7,917]

3 hours ago, Swamp Eagle said:

That would include a lot of people who don’t know all of the facts.  That’s usually the criteria where, personally, I move on.

[aubiefifty 16,903]

6 minutes ago, Swamp Eagle said:

Barnacle is correct, I don’t value the conversation, so I should move on…but the thread is about the Durkin hiring, not just his Maryland tenure, so I’ll remain in the thread. 
 

That’s why he’s a lawyer and you’re an engineer..😉

so what am i? chopped liver?

[aubiefifty 16,903]

Just now, cbo said:

i used to watch that show.

[augolf1716 21,302]

2 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

everybody brings something to the table.............

No they don't 

[aubiefifty 16,903]

Just now, augolf1716 said:

No they don't 

i knew you always hated me big shooter. tis ok i still have mad love for ya...................

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

I sure wish we could have a discussion about Durkins x's and o's style. 

[Barnacle 9,064]

1 minute ago, NWALA Tiger said:

I sure wish we could have a discussion about Durkins x's and o's style. 

Got this from @bigbird

https://mgoblog.com/diaries/dj-durkin's-defensive-scheme-part-1
 

https://www.goodbullhunting.com/2022/9/5/23336953/film-room-durkins-defense-dominant-in-texas-a-m-aggies-season-opener-college-football-video-review
 

https://baltimoresportsandlife.com/crash-course-d-j-durkin/