A pattern began to form as Terrapins football coach DJ Durkin assembled his staff after the Terps hired him in early December — many of the 37-year-old leader’s top assistants were former head coaches.
Associate head coach and defensive line coach Mike London spent the previous six seasons at the helm of Virginia’s program, while defensive coordinator Scott Shafer led the charge at Syracuse the past three years.
Assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Pete Lembo has 15 years of head-coaching experience, too.
Another pattern also developed as the assistants spoke with the media Jan. 12 in Gossett Team House: They often referred to the ego-free nature of the relationships they’ve developed with one another over the past month as the coaches prepare for the start of winter and spring workouts.
“It’s a collaborative effort,” London said. “We all understand that there’s insights we each have specifically — where we’ve been, where we’ve grown up, the decisions we’ve had to make — and we can offer those types of insights to DJ.”
Part of the staff’s rapport has been built through past interaction.
Durkin and Shafer worked together under Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh’s staff at Stanford in 2007. London didn’t know Durkin personally, but the two shared mutual connections.
Lembo, meanwhile, met Durkin last June when Harbaugh invited Lembo to the Wolverines’ summer camp to give a speech. While Lembo spent most of the day with Harbaugh, the seeds of his relationship with Durkin were planted.
“Sometimes you go to a new place — you haven’t been there — and sometimes people can kind of mind their own business,” Lembo said. “DJ really took the time to get to know me that day, and you can tell that he was sincere, and he was genuine. It was almost like he knew about me already.”
Durkin’s other assistants experienced similar interactions in the process of joining the Terps.
London visited College Park and bonded with Durkin over the importance of family and his family’s local ties to Hampton, Virginia.
And offensive coordinator Walt Bell, who held the same position at Arkansas State the past two years, prepared for a grueling, football-focused “interview for my life” when Durkin met with him before the Red Wolves’ bowl game last month. Instead, the two spent about four hours talking about football plans, personality and life.
Bell hasn’t held a head coaching position yet — something he hopes a strong showing with the Terps could lead to — so he’s taken the opportunity to learn from the experience around him, too.
“It’s been incredible to watch guys operate, work and recruit,” Bell said. “Just how excited they are to just be coaches again, how little ego all of them have. It’s something for me to aspire to.”
The veteran additions have worked together to give Durkin what London called “discernment.” They can walk into Durkin’s office and provide reminders about scheduling, academics or recruiting without feeling as though they’re overstepping their position, London said.
But Shafer said their cohesion thus far has stemmed from the similar philosophies and expectations for football style, recruiting and academic performance.
And as they get the chance to interact with the Terps when they return from winter break, the coaches hope their patterns in the office translate to the field.
“We’re going to attack the little things daily,” Shafer said. “When you put those things on top of one another, you give yourself a chance to win at a high level down the road.”
