DJ Durkin’s return lasted two practices.
Amid a backlash over the University of Maryland allowing its football coach, who was in charge when a player died this summer, to return to the team Tuesday, the school fired him after practice Wednesday.
Chaos had enveloped the program since Durkin stepped back in, with several players reportedly walking out of a team meeting Tuesday. The culture under Durkin had been under a microscope since offensive lineman Jordan McNair’s May 29 death from heatstroke; it took the school more than an hour to call police from McNair first showing signs of the condition. Investigations into the program later found a culture in which players were scared to speak up.
The Maryland Board of Regents moved to reinstate him, and the response was immediate, including from Maryland governor Larry Hogan.
“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 yesterday,” Hogan said.
“I share the concerns of many Marylanders and believe very strongly that more must be done to restore the public trust. I am calling on both the University System of Maryland Board of Regents and President Wallace Loh to reconsider their decisions and to schedule a public hearing to address these issues in an open and transparent manner.”
Maryland guard Ellis McKennie celebrated the 180.
“Justice served,” he wrote on Twitter. “Jordan McNair can begin to Rest In Peace. Go terps! See you Saturday! #beatmsu.”