Aggies tab Durkin as new defensive coordinator

Durkin comes to A&M with a sparkling record as a defensive coordinator, but a huge cloud from his time as the head coach at Maryland -- the death of 19-year-old Jordan McNair during an offseason workout. Though an investigation largely cleared Durkin of wrong-doing, he was still fired on Oct. 31, 2018.

Durkin's track record as a coordinator is unquestioned. After a decade as a graduate assistant and position coach, Durkin was elevated to serve as Florida's defensive coordinator by then-coach Will Muschamp in 2013 -- a season after he was named Rivals.com's Recruiter of the Year.

The Gators were impressive on defense in 2013, ranking 8th in the nation in total defense, 15th in scoring defense and 7th in pass defense. Florida was 15th in total defense and 20th in scoring defense in 2014, but the Gators forced 30 turnovers (up from 18 in 2013) and were 11th nationally against the run.

With Muschamp's firing, Durkin flirted with the prospect of taking the defensive coordinator's job at A&M before landing at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh, who had hired him at Stanford eight years earlier. The results were stellar: Durkin's defense ranked 4th in the nation in total defense, 6th in scoring defense, 7th in passing yards allowed and 3rd in rushing yards allowed. That performance made him a hot commodity on the coaching market and led to his taking the head coaching job at Maryland in December 2015.

Durkin led the Terrapins to a bowl game in his first season, but only compiled an 11-15 record overall. He was not considered to be in danger of losing his job before an offseason workout on May 29, 2018, when McNair, an offensive lineman, collapsed with heatstroke during an offseason workout. He would die on June 13, 2018.

Durkin was placed on administrative leave while the incident was investigated. The results of an investigation, provided to the university's board of regents, said the program did not have a "toxic culture" but said Durkin did not have sufficient support for a first time head coach.

The report was highly critical of former strength and conditioning coach Rick Court, who Durkin brought with him to Maryland. The investigators alleged Court was physically and verbally abusive to players and acted largely without oversight.

"Mr. Court would attempt to humiliate players in front of their teammates by throwing food, weights, and on one occasion a trash can full of vomit, all behavior unacceptable by any reasonable standard," the report said.

Durkin was criticized for his lack of oversight of Court and was harshly assessed by some of his players, including one who said, "he needs to learn how to control his staff and become a decent human being."

When the findings of the report were released, Durkin was reinstated as the head coach of the Terrapins. University president Wallace Loh, however, fired him a day later.

After a year with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, Durkin returned to the college ranks as the defensive coordinator at Ole Miss. Working with limited talent and depth in his first season, the results were terrible: the Rebels were 126th in total defense, 125 in passing defense and 117th in scoring defense.

In 2021, Ole Miss attempted a quick fix with a number of transfers and junior college addition to the defensive ranks, but the results remained abysmal during the first half of the season. But in their last eight games, the Rebels gave up 30 points only once, capping the year off with only allowing 14 in a Sugar Bowl loss to Baylor. In the process, the Rebels forced 36 turnovers, including two interceptions that helped Ole Miss take a 29-19 decision from the Aggies in November.

2001-02: Graduate assistant, Bowling Green

2003-04: Graduate assistant, Notre Dame

2005: Defensive ends coach, Bowling Green

2006: Linebackers/special teams coach, Bowling Green

2007-09: Defensive ends/special teams coach, Stanford

2010-12: Linebackers/special teams coach, Florida

2013-14: Defensive coordinator, Florida

2015: Defensive coordinator, Michigan

2016-18: Head coach, Maryland

2019: Consultant, Atlanta Falcons

2020-21: Defensive coordinator, Ole Miss