Durkin out

Good.  Now maybe they will beat Michigan State on Saturday.

His has been called a "shit-eating grin" and now it is changed forever.

Wallace Loh is hard to figure out.  He got away with saying he will retire in over half a year, probably with full pension, benefits, and contract perks.

There were many issues involved, one of which was board involvement in personnel issues.  It has been reported often that only Loh has those powers.  Put another way, Loh has those powers and he can and will exercise them.  He always wanted Durkin out.

So now he is pressured from many sides--students, faculty, governor.  He does it.  He fires Durkin.

He is one of those people who sometimes sounds incompetent and even dumb, but he is not.  He would not be in that position if he were.

The other oft-reported characteristic of Maryland employment contracts is that Loh is hired and fired by the board.

Did Loh act as a rogue or does the board really not care that much either way?  Will Loh be fired as a result of this unwanted action?

I think not.  Loh has won on all fronts:  keep his job, get rid of Durkin, and the ability to exercise his sole authority with regard to Damon Evans.

The backlash against the decision to bring back Durkin was significant.  The Terps next game (in East Lansing) was going to be a lot of protests and the game itself would have been a farce.  As mentioned, students and faculty were in an uproar and potential player defections were reported.  It is hard to foresee the board firing Loh for acting inappropriately, after all, there must have been contingencies in place if that were to happen.  At this point not many people in power or otherwise care that much about Daniel J.  Can they do it for cause and can a student protest (not to mention Jordan McNair) be considered cause?  I think most people do not care much about that either.

It happened very fast.  On the internet everyone was still writing about the unjust world when it happened.

They were wrong and now we can look forward to the next chapter and the game against Sparty.



As for Durkin, he was put through the wringer in incredible fashion.  If you think he is at fault and deserves hell, he certainly got it.  First he had to deal with McNair's death, then suspension (with pay) and sitting out two-thirds of the season.  Then he had to face the team and everyone else who did not want him there.  Finally he is canned.

Although on the fast track as an assistant, he is a young guy with no experience as a head coach.  This is extremely difficult, uncharted territory.

Perhaps the biggest slap in the face was players walking out in a meeting.

He walks away with a ton of money.  He is absolutely painted as the devil who go paid.

---

Others have written about how the board is a joke and everyone looks ridiculous, but I do not agree.  Loh is not a bad guy; what does he know about building a football program?  He did not do it immediately, but when things settled-down and the facts came out he admitted responsibility and fault.

As for the football program, he is a realist and smart there too.  Now he is going to pay attention and he has the better part of a year to improve the situation.  Look, we are already in the Big Ten East, we are not going to quit and give up now.

The athletics department, Mr. Brady said, “failed to provide Mr. Durkin with the tools, resources and guidance necessary to support and educate a first-time head coach in a major football conference.”

Some who want to criticize can find a way, it seems.  Durkin is responsible and you cannot blame the AD or the rest of the malfunction, they say.  But it is true.  To be really successful and to have it last everyone needs to work together.  Ideally, you want leadership, succession, diversity, and all the things that go into good overall management. 

For those of us who follow these things it was clear Durkin had to go.  His tactics and his whole persona had been exposed.  He could not coach anymore as he had his whole life.  Many players--those who spoke out and the silent ones too--did not like him and recruiting, hiring, dealing with students and the rest of the campus, would all be much more difficult.  Somehow Matt Canada has managed to quiet things, but Durkin had to go.

Boy am I glad I didn't write a bunch of stuff about how Maryland sucks.  The truth is I felt that way, but it was not my problem and I know precious little about it.  I would probably root against the football and basketball teams, and that is a prerogative of the armchair fan.  I do not live there (anymore), I did not attend the university nor have I worked there, etc.  I am free to leave.

Finally, that circles back to the best part of this story.  Jordan McNair's legacy has added meaning.  Many, many people learned, and those who are knowledgeable and involved stood-up.  They were a huge force and they won.


Update:  politicians too.

The university’s decision capped a tumultuous day in which the board of regents’ recommendation that Durkin be retained was roundly criticized from all corners, with state lawmakers calling for a public hearing, several Maryland congressional representatives lambasting the board’s actions and Gov. Larry Hogan (R) calling on the regents to reconsider their controversial recommendations.

 “I am deeply troubled by the lack of transparency from the Board of Regents, and deeply concerned about how they could have possibly arrived at the decisions announced” Tuesday, Hogan said.

That was one of the weirder things about this, they were just going to say "That is our decision, the rest is secret?"

This is one of the reasons Maryland is a great state:  a feeling of empowerment and representation.  Northern Virginia is similar, sure, but there is a lot more to Virginia than just the Washington suburbs.  D.C.?  They have a mayor and that is about it.

A lot of politicians really stepped-up fast.  The student government took credit too.  And Loh is indeed a courageous man.