Torrey Smith responds to Maryland’s firing of DJ Durkin; Twitter has strong reaction
Maryland legend Torrey Smith responded Thursday to the firing of head football coach DJ Durkin with what he prefaced as an “unpopular opinion,” and many on Twitter had strong reactions to his controversial comments.
Smith started with a post on Twitter that said: “My unpopular opinion about the state of Maryland football. 1. There Coach Durkin wasn’t to blame for Jordan( McNair)’s unfortunate death. That was the medical staff. 2. The strength coach was clearly a clown but that still wasn’t enough in my opinion for Durkin to be fired.”
My unpopular opinion about the state of Maryland football.
1. There Coach Durkin wasn’t to blame for Jordan’s unfortunate death. That was the medical staff.
2. The strength coach was clearly a clown but that still wasn’t enough in my opinion for Durkin to be fired.
He added in a separate post, referencing Mike Locksley who currently is Alabama’s offensive coordinator but previously served as Maryland’s interim head coach in 2015: “Moving forward if we want Maryland’s program to maximize it’s potential we need to let Mike Locksley run the show. He knows the school and area better than any other coach would. You can’t just bring in a new guy and expect him to right the ship. It’s not that simple.”
Moving forward if we want Maryland’s program to maximize it’s potential we need to let Mike Locksley run the show. He knows the school and area better than any other coach would. You can’t just bring in a new guy and expect him to right the ship. It’s not that simple.
From there, fans on Twitter replied to Smith’s comments, questioning his views. Smith decided to continue his argument by replying to several of the tweets as he defended his stance. Take a look at some of Smith’s responses:
It was in the summer. Coaches aren’t even involved in workouts at that point. People are forgetting that. It’s medical, strength coaches, and the athletes. https://t.co/8xZhFiURUS
With all do respect that’s the challenging part of competing at a high level. You push yourself to the limit. The medical staff failed Jordan. It’s a fine line between being tough and being neglectful. https://t.co/id9f9iRGZO
Yes I would feel the same. This was a medical staff error. The culture part to me is where I don’t agree. If we are opening up that can of worms we need to talk about the strength and conditioning culture in college itself. That’s a problem. https://t.co/bNPLpSb3tB
Because you wouldn’t be talking about this culture (it wasn’t even as bad as folks are making it out to be) if it wasn’t for the mistake of the medical staff. https://t.co/vFqH6P4YCu
Current players have also said it wasn’t bad. Same as with plenty of guys that were there since he came in. https://t.co/Uc55kevD1V
Your son would be missing out. https://t.co/jLAR6XzUXn
A young man died because of a medical error. That had nothing to do with the head coach. https://t.co/iPuIPsAfyT
I get that 100%. My thing is that it will probably cost him his career and he wasn’t responsible for Jordan’s death. I don’t think that’s right. https://t.co/wKSbEtATu9
Fair https://t.co/W2ujpqQuee
Jordan passed away from a heat stroke. Had the medical staff recognized his symptoms and used cold water immersion earlier. We wouldn’t be having this issue. 100% medical error https://t.co/mfyGm9rCJ5
I love the trainers…they were my trainers…but you gotta go https://t.co/88xd435NqG
Google it. You are 1000000% wrong ??♂️ https://t.co/ZrGTjSn776
Maryland fired Durkin on Wednesday evening, one day after the chair of the Maryland Board of Regents said he deserved another chance to coach the team. Durkin had been scheduled to return to practice this week and coach Saturday against Michigan State. But the decision to give Durkin a second chance led to a backlash from students and alumni as well as on social media.
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Maryland fires DJ Durkin after backlash
Durkin and the entire Maryland athletic department have faced scrutiny since this summer, when McNair, a 19-year-old offensive lineman, collapsed of heatstroke during a workout May 29. He died June 13. In the aftermath, an ESPN report uncovered a culture of intimidation in the football program, which led to Durkin’s suspension as the university investigated McNair’s death and other issues with the program.
However, that study found “no toxic culture” in the program, as alleged in the ESPN report.
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