After losing Saturday 59-3 against the Michigan University, Maryland head football coach, DJ Durkin, now face Ohio State University and Durkin’s former boss, Urban Meyer. The task at hand; try to defeat a team in the AP Top 10. A daunting task indeed, but one that Durkin believes he is ready for, saying: “We got a group of guys who know how to win. We’ve proven that. We haven’t done it on a consistent basis, but we know how to win. When we’re all playing together and doing the right thing, I think we’re a tough matchup for anyone.”
Durkin’s career began at Bowling Green University, where he became a graduate assistant for then BGU coach, Urban Meyer. In 2007, Durkin was hired as Special Teams Coordinator for Stanford University Cardinals. Durkin was reunited with Meyer at the University of Florida in 2010, before working as Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator at Michigan in 2015. Durkin was then hired by Maryland for his first head-coaching job at the end of the 2015 season.
In his first season as head coach, Durkin has already won more games then his predecessor. He took over a team that was an abysmal 3-9 last year, and his team currently sits at 5-4. Maryland started out strong, winning their first four games, before losing three of their last four. Maryland will play two games against the AP Top 25 within the next two weeks, after losing to #3 Michigan on Saturday. Durkin spoke on his relationship with Meyer, saying: “He’s a friend and obviously a good person to seek advice from within the profession”
For Durkin, winning two of their final three games would be a success, bringing Maryland to a bowl game for the first time since 2014. It would be a bit of redemption after being outscored by 56 points in Ann Arbor. A win would also help his freshman class gain more experience, fifteen of which who already play significant roles on the team, most on the defensive side of the ball. When speaking about his defense, Durkin has certain expectations for his players moving forward:
“What I would like to see is just guys lining up and playing within the scheme. Trust their technique, trust the guy next to you and just do the right thing. I think if we do that alone, we will play better defensively. Just that thing alone. Mix that with the level of effort and energy, that we’ve played with at times this year, then I think you get even better that way.”
Should he win against Ohio State or the #21 University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, it will not just be representative of Durkin’s success this season, but a look at what may come from a fan base that so desperately craves success. With Durkin leading the team, that success might come sooner than one thinks.
