While working at Stanford from 2007 to 2009, Maryland football defensive coordinator Andy Buh had an inside look at two of the more competitive personalities he knows: DJ Durkin and Jim Harbaugh.
The similarities between the current Maryland and Michigan leaders — competitive energy, passion and command of the team, Buh said — were evident while Durkin worked under Harbaugh for three years with the Cardinal. It continued last year when Durkin was the Wolverines’ defensive coordinator.
Buh said the traits have also traveled with Durkin to College Park in his quest to rebuild the Maryland program. The next step in that process returns him to his former home to face his longtime boss and the No. 2 Wolverines on Saturday afternoon.
“Always respected DJ as a tremendous competitor at the highest level,” Harbaugh said in a press conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Monday. “I smile thinking about his competitiveness and also always happy for a friend’s success. He’s doing a fabulous job, him and his entire staff and team. You can see the energy. You can see the strength, you can see the competitiveness and execution on the field.”
Every week, Durkin said the Terps prepare by reflecting on last week’s performance and studying their opponent. Against Indiana, the Terps struggled to stop the run and failed to convert on a deep passing game despite wide receivers gaining separation from the Hoosiers defenders.
Their opponent scout, meanwhile, had a different perspective this week. Durkin spent 2015 engrossed in the Wolverines plans, running the No. 4 defense featuring Jabrill Peppers, a linebacker and defensive back hybrid who’s a Heisman Trophy candidate because of how he effects all three phases of the game.
Durkin has shared insight with his assistants.
“To have the intimate knowledge that you have when you coach them is only something that you can get from a guy that’s been there,” offensive coordinator Walt Bell said. “From a schematic standpoint, there’s really no carryover, but just from a personnel standpoint … those can be things that benefit you, especially late in games.”
Durkin conceded he doesn’t have to do as much basic research on individual players’ strengths and tendencies, but he has to focus on translating that familiarity into a game plan.
“The main thing is players play games, not coaches, so for me to know all that, that’s great,” Durkin said. “But it’s our players studying film and knowing what they’re up against and what they have to do is the most important thing.”
Durkin has downplayed the significance of leading the opposing sideline in the Big House. The players said he hasn’t shared many stories about his time in maize and blue.
“He’s Maryland full at heart now,” quarterback Perry Hills said. “He doesn’t really talk about ‘Oh, these guys back at Michigan.’ He doesn’t do any of that. This is his home, this is his family and he really believes that.”
Still, the Terps want to make a positive impression in his return. They’ve said throughout the week that the chance to face the Wolverines in the team’s pursuit of a College Football Playoff berth was “special.”
Two years ago, they won in the Big House, but the Wolverines muddled through that 5-7 campaign before Harbaugh arrived. Since then, Michigan has posted an 18-3 record, as the former San Francisco 49ers coach has positioned his squad for national dominance.
That long-term vision was the final similarity Buh listed between Durkin and his mentor.
“We’re not building this thing from game to game or practice to practice,” Buh said. “There’s a big-picture idea in mind.”
