Some of the biggest names in football sure think he can coach.... 46 years young....
Daniel John Durkin[1] (born January 15, 1978) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the
Auburn Tigers. He was formerly the head coach for the
University of Maryland. Durkin began serving as the head coach of the
University of Maryland football team in 2015.
[2] Following the practice-related death of player
Jordan McNair, Durkin was placed on leave in August 2018.
[3] Matt Canada was named acting head coach until further notice.
[3]
The
University System of Maryland Board of Regents reinstated Durkin on October 30, 2018,
[4] instigating protests and uproar.
[5] University of Maryland president
Wallace Loh fired Durkin the next day.
[6]
Playing career
A native of
Youngstown, Ohio, Durkin attended
Boardman High School where he was an
all-conference and all-Northeast Ohio selection.
[7][8]
Durkin played
wide receiver and
outside linebacker at
Bowling Green from 1997 to 2000, and served as a team captain his final two seasons. He started a total of 33 games in his career and recorded 131 tackles, including 28 for loss. Durkin led the team in sacks in 1998 and finished second in that category in 2000. He earned a
bachelor's degree in business marketing in 2001, and a
master's degree in educational administration and supervision in 2004.
[9]
Coaching career
[
edit]
Durkin began a career in coaching immediately following his playing career. He worked as a
graduate assistant at Bowling Green under new head coach
Urban Meyer in 2001 and 2002, and at
Notre Dame under head coach
Tyrone Willingham in 2003 and 2004. He returned to Bowling Green in 2005, where he coached defensive ends, linebackers, and special teams on the staff of
Gregg Brandon. In 2007, he moved to
Stanford on the first staff of
Jim Harbaugh, where he served for three seasons as the Cardinal defensive ends coach and special teams coordinator. In 2010, Durkin was reunited with Meyer when he joined the
Florida Gators as linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. He remained on Florida's staff when
Will Muschamp took over as head coach in 2010, and in 2013 was promoted to defensive coordinator, replacing
Dan Quinn.
[1][9][10]
Durkin has a reputation as a strong national recruiter and was named the 2012
Rivals.com Recruiter of the Year.
[11]
On November 22, 2014, Durkin was named interim head coach for Florida's bowl game after the previous head coach,
Will Muschamp, announced he would step down following the regular season.
[12] Durkin led Florida to a 28–20 victory in the
2015 Birmingham Bowl against
East Carolina.
[13]
On January 5, 2015, sources confirmed that Durkin was hired as the defensive coordinator of
Michigan. The hire reunited Durkin with new Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.
[14] Michigan confirmed the hire on January 8, and announced that Durkin would also coach linebackers.
[15]
On December 2, 2015
ESPN's
Joe Schad announced that Durkin was expected to be named head coach of the
Maryland Terrapins football team,
[16] which was confirmed later that day.
[2] Durkin would lead the team to a bowl game appearance in his first year. Following a scandal involving the death of a player and reports of a toxic team culture, Durkin was fired by Maryland midway through the 2018 season.
[17]
On January 2, 2020, Ole Miss announced it had hired Durkin as an assistant to head coach Lane Kiffin, along with
Chris Partridge and Joe Jon Finley.
[18]
On January 5, 2022, it was announced Durkin would become the new defensive coordinator at Texas A&M under
Jimbo Fisher.
[19]
On January 31, 2024, Auburn had announced that it had hired DJ Durkin as their next defensive coordinator.
On pick a date, Auburn has announced that it had hired DJ Durkin as their next head coach.
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