On Thursday, Ole Miss announced it was hiring D.J. Durkin, the former Maryland coach, to be an assistant under new head coach Lane Kiffin.
It’s a shocking decision from Kiffin and Ole Miss AD Keith Carter. Durkin was the head coach of Maryland when lineman Jordan McNair, 19, died due to complications from heatstroke during a team workout.
McNair’s death was a horrifying — and completely preventable — tragedy, and while Durkin never faced charges over his death, the event did eventually cost him his job shine a light on the program Durkin was running at Maryland. An investigation revealed that Durkin had shown graphic videos during team meals as a motivational tactic.
According to Gus Little, this included videos of serial killers, drills entering eyeballs, and bloody scenes with animals eating animals.
Members of Durkin’s staff were alleged to use abusive speech against players, including homophobic slurs. Every bit of the investigation showed something clear: Durkin had overseen an unsafe environment for young people, and a young person died under his watch.
That should be the end of it. That has to be the end of the discussion for Ole Miss.
Durkin had a chance to run a football program, and he failed. Not just in wins and losses, but in the very first thing anyone running a college program must be responsible for: The safety of the young people in the program.
My old colleague Alex Kirshner put this well: Durkin can find work doing just about anything in this country. But he should not be overseeing young people in any capacity.
There are lots of jobs in the American economy. DJ Durkin could do one that does not give him influence over the care/treatment of teenagers. This is like the absolute bare minimum punishment https://t.co/Two8ERqil8
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) January 2, 2020
Ole Miss AD Keith Carter put out a statement after the hire was made, suggesting that he’d done his due diligence and talked to plenty of people before OK’ing the hire.
From the statement:
“We received consistently strong feedback about Coach Durkin’s strong character and work ethic and his positive impact on the communities and institutions where he was previously employed. Once we had the chance to spend time with coach Durkin, we were even more convinced that he is exactly the type of accomplished coach with strong football credentials who is also a proud and committed family man that will make him a great addition to our new staff.”
What I am willing to bet: Carter didn’t talk to the family of Jordan McNair. I’m guessing he didn’t talk to any of the former players who said Durkin had created a toxic environment at Maryland.
Ole Miss has been put through the ringer recently by the NCAA, and many in Ole Miss land have felt wounded by the NCAA enforcement team’s investigation into the school that lasted years and years.
This has resulted in a defiant attitude from many in and around the university. They may see the hiring of Durkin as another push back against the organization/the world at large, a loud “eff you” to the powers that be.
Here’s the bottom line on Ole Miss/Durkin: Keith Carter is a young, inexperienced AD who is getting positive reinforcement from his fan base for throwing up middle fingers at the world. It is an intoxicating place to be in at the moment.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 2, 2020
But AD Keith Carter needs to know better. Lane Kiffin needs to know better. This isn’t thumbing your nose at the NCAA and the rest of college football. This is thumbing your nose at the family of Jordan McNair, and putting football over common sense.
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