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Maryland fires football coach DJ Durkin one day after controversial reinstatement

Maryland's board of regents reversed course Wednesday by firing football coach DJ Durkin, according to several media reports.

University of Maryland president Wallace Loh, left, speaks at a news conference in front of James Brady, chairman of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, following the board's recommendation that football head coach DJ Durkin retain his job on Tuesday. They changed their minds one day later.
University of Maryland president Wallace Loh, left, speaks at a news conference in front of James Brady, chairman of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, following the board's recommendation that football head coach DJ Durkin retain his job on Tuesday. They changed their minds one day later.Read morePATRICK SEMANSKY / AP
    by Rick Maese, Emily Giambalvo, Nick Anderson, Washington Post
    Published 

Maryland parted ways with football Coach DJ Durkin on Wednesday evening, one day after he was reinstated. Durkin had been on administrative leave since Aug. 11, following media reports that outlined a culture of abuse, fear and intimidation that allegedly took place under his watch.

Maryland's football program and athletic department have been the focus of scrutiny for months, following the death Jordan McNair, a 19-year-old football player who suffered exertional heatstroke at a team workout in late May and died several days later. An exhaustive probe into the culture of the football program also highlighted dysfunction within the athletic department.

The decision to part ways with Durkin came following pushback from lawmakers and some players who voiced their displeasure with his reinstatement on social media. Student leaders criticized the decision, as have faculty members in College Park.

Before Wednesday's news broke, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) called on the state university system's governing board to reconsider its decisions, and said he was "deeply troubled by the lack of transparency."

James T. Brady, chair of the board of regents, said Tuesday that Durkin's "passion for the university, the football team and the players was absolutely impressive and very believable." The regents presented Loh with an ultimatum of sorts: If he wanted to finish the school year and reach the end of his contract, he had to keep Durkin.