Ok, I wanted to do a post about what I'm hearing with regards to Durkin's potential staff. I know there's a lot of stuff out there and based on what some of you guys were saying is being reported (TRob done to MD), there is a lot of inaccurate stuff out there. So I'll start there and get into the latest on what I'm hearing on a number of guys.
Travaris Robinson - Durkin seems to have targeted Robinson right off the bat to fill the spot on his staff as defensive coordinator. Robinson worked with Durkin at Florida for 4 years, the final two years working under him as DBs coach with Durkin as the defensive coordinator.
Multiple sources have told me that Robinson, 34, is looking to take the next step and become a play caller and oversee the defense. But some of those same sources in SEC country believe that Robinson's preference is to stay down south. At this point, it is believed that Robinson has an offer to become Maryland's defensive coordinator, but with the preference to stay down south, he appears to have other options.
The first option is to potentially take over for Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator at Auburn. Robinson is an Auburn grad and many believe he'd jump at the chance to become the Tigers' DC. And while early on a number of names were being rumored as candidates to take over for Muschamp, Robinson has gained support to get the DC job at Auburn as many feel Malzahn's staff needs more continuity on the defensive side of the ball and Robinson could help provide that.
If Robinson is not offered the DC job at Auburn, he will almost certainly be offered the job on Will Muschamp's staff if or when he's to become the head coach at South Carolina. Muschamp's hiring at Auburn, similarly to Durkin's at Michigan, was always seen as a short term deal while he sought out another HC job. Muschamp seems close to being names South Carolina's next job and from what I'm hearing from multiple sources down south, it is very likely that Robinson could follow him to Columbia.
So where does this leave Maryland if Robinson decides to remain in the SEC? At this point, I'm not quite sure. I do believe one possibility could be former Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer. There has been talk that Shafer could be a candidate to replace Durkin at Michigan, but sources in Michigan have told me that they have their eye on a few others, including current Ravens DC Dan Peese. It appears that current Stanford DC Lance Anderson is another possible candidate to rejoin Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor. Shafer actually spent a season as Michigan's DC under Rich Rod and was not a good fit, so he left to take the same position under Doug Marrone before replacing him after he moved on to the NFL. But before his season at Michigan, Shafer spent a year working with both Harbaugh and Durkin. That connection makes him a name to keep an eye on with Maryland should Travaris Robinson fall through.
As for offensive coordinator, I continue to hear two names. We'll start with Tennessee WR coach Zach Azzanni. Durkin and Azzanni are close friends, having both spent two years as GA's at Bowling Green together. Just how close are Durkin and Azzanni? They were best men in each other's weddings. To this point, I do not believe Azzanni has been offered the job as Maryland's offensive coordinator. But like Durkin, Azzanni is a fast-rising star in the world of college coaches and would like to become a play caller on offense sooner than later. Several sources I've talked to believe Azzanni will be offered the job at Maryland and they expect him to accept as these two are extremely close. But maybe Durkin could go the co-OC route as multiple sources have mentioned another name for the OC position as well.
I was the first to break out the name Ohio St. co-OC Tim Beck as soon as Durkin accepted the job. A very plugged in source at Maryland told me that Durkin specifically mentioned Tim Beck as a possible OC candidate when interviewing with Maryland. Beck spent this past season as Urban Meyer's offensive coordinator and the word I'm hearing out of Columbus is that he's unlikely to be back at OSU next season.
Before this past season working under Meyer, Beck spent seven seasons under Bo Pelini at Nebraska working with running backs as well as serving as OC and QB coach. Nebraska had a lot of success offensively with Tim Beck running the offense. The connection here is a Youngstown one. Beck is a grad of the famed Cardinal Mooney HS in Youngstown which has produced the likes of Bob Stoops, Mark Stoops and Bo Pelini. One other candidate we've heard could join Durkin, former NFL safety Mike Zordich, also coached at Cardinal Mooney.
My guess? And to be clear, this is speculation on my part. But I think it's possible that Durkin could be looking to go the co-coordinator route with Azzanni working with the WR and doing the play calling while Beck could work with QBs and help oversee things. But I heard from a source with ties to Beck this morning that he's absolutely still in play with Maryland.
With the likely loss of Mike Locksley, Durkin will need to find someone with strong ties to the DMV who can help in continuing to lock down the top players in the area. The name we are hearing that is most likely to do this is Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, who currently works under Nick Saban at Alabama. I learned of AAR's interest in joining the Maryland staff before Durkin was named head coach and I've not only continued to hear that he's interested, but an interview should happen soon for an on-field position. Having been a defensive back himself in college, it would make sense if AAR were to coach DBs. Current director of player personnel Cory Robinson also specializes in working with DBs and my belief is that Robinson is likely to stay on staff so maybe he remains in his current role.
Another name I was the first to break out is Rutgers DL coach Jim Panagos.
Panagos played at Maryland in the early 90's and spent time on Mike Tice's staff with the Minnesota Vikings before a stint at UCF and then spending the past four seasons at Rutgers. Panagos would check a lot of boxes for Maryland: He's an alum, has NFL experience and has strong recruiting ties to New Jersey and NY and has spent time recruiting Maryland and Florida. Sources have told me that Panagos is extremely interested in coming home to coach for his alma mater and he could potentially be a really good hire. But the question would become, where does that leave Wilt?
Chad Wilt has done maybe more than anyone to help keep Maryland's current recruiting class together. This week he visited with Dwayne Haskins, Keith Simms, Jake Funk and Joey Fischer. He also has strong recruiting ties in Virginia, specifically the Tidewater area. At this point, I think he might be the most likely position coach to remain on staff and with both he and Panagos coaching DL, not sure you can find a spot for both. Both Wilt and Panagos are two to keep an eye on and if they could find a way to somehow bring both on board, they both seem to bring a lot of positives to the table.
As for recruiting, Durkin made the short trek down Rt. 1 to DeMatha to visit with 4-star OL Terrance Davis. My sources have told me that Maryland is still in very good shape with all of the DeMatha commits and it seems Durkin made a positive first impression on Davis as the new Terps head man. If Durkin could land Davis, that would be a big addition and be a positive sign for their relationship with DeMatha moving forward.
Maryland also hosted 5-star DE/OLB Shaq Smith yesterday. Again, Durkin seemed to make a positive impression on Smith and the fact that they both play the same position and Durkin specializes in coaching LBs should only help in his pursuit of the Baltimore native. Possibly adding both Smith and Davis at this point in the game could be a huge coup for Durkin. Maryland also hosted Virginia Tech commit Kahlil Ladler, but with Fuente retaining Torrian Gray, I think it's likely he sticks with his VT commitment.
That's what I've got for now, but obviously all of this is fluid and the race for top assistants is just starting to heat up. The first domino to fall should be Muschamp to South Carolina which should happen sooner than later.
Travaris Robinson - Durkin seems to have targeted Robinson right off the bat to fill the spot on his staff as defensive coordinator. Robinson worked with Durkin at Florida for 4 years, the final two years working under him as DBs coach with Durkin as the defensive coordinator.
Multiple sources have told me that Robinson, 34, is looking to take the next step and become a play caller and oversee the defense. But some of those same sources in SEC country believe that Robinson's preference is to stay down south. At this point, it is believed that Robinson has an offer to become Maryland's defensive coordinator, but with the preference to stay down south, he appears to have other options.
The first option is to potentially take over for Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator at Auburn. Robinson is an Auburn grad and many believe he'd jump at the chance to become the Tigers' DC. And while early on a number of names were being rumored as candidates to take over for Muschamp, Robinson has gained support to get the DC job at Auburn as many feel Malzahn's staff needs more continuity on the defensive side of the ball and Robinson could help provide that.
If Robinson is not offered the DC job at Auburn, he will almost certainly be offered the job on Will Muschamp's staff if or when he's to become the head coach at South Carolina. Muschamp's hiring at Auburn, similarly to Durkin's at Michigan, was always seen as a short term deal while he sought out another HC job. Muschamp seems close to being names South Carolina's next job and from what I'm hearing from multiple sources down south, it is very likely that Robinson could follow him to Columbia.
So where does this leave Maryland if Robinson decides to remain in the SEC? At this point, I'm not quite sure. I do believe one possibility could be former Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer. There has been talk that Shafer could be a candidate to replace Durkin at Michigan, but sources in Michigan have told me that they have their eye on a few others, including current Ravens DC Dan Peese. It appears that current Stanford DC Lance Anderson is another possible candidate to rejoin Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor. Shafer actually spent a season as Michigan's DC under Rich Rod and was not a good fit, so he left to take the same position under Doug Marrone before replacing him after he moved on to the NFL. But before his season at Michigan, Shafer spent a year working with both Harbaugh and Durkin. That connection makes him a name to keep an eye on with Maryland should Travaris Robinson fall through.
As for offensive coordinator, I continue to hear two names. We'll start with Tennessee WR coach Zach Azzanni. Durkin and Azzanni are close friends, having both spent two years as GA's at Bowling Green together. Just how close are Durkin and Azzanni? They were best men in each other's weddings. To this point, I do not believe Azzanni has been offered the job as Maryland's offensive coordinator. But like Durkin, Azzanni is a fast-rising star in the world of college coaches and would like to become a play caller on offense sooner than later. Several sources I've talked to believe Azzanni will be offered the job at Maryland and they expect him to accept as these two are extremely close. But maybe Durkin could go the co-OC route as multiple sources have mentioned another name for the OC position as well.
I was the first to break out the name Ohio St. co-OC Tim Beck as soon as Durkin accepted the job. A very plugged in source at Maryland told me that Durkin specifically mentioned Tim Beck as a possible OC candidate when interviewing with Maryland. Beck spent this past season as Urban Meyer's offensive coordinator and the word I'm hearing out of Columbus is that he's unlikely to be back at OSU next season.
Before this past season working under Meyer, Beck spent seven seasons under Bo Pelini at Nebraska working with running backs as well as serving as OC and QB coach. Nebraska had a lot of success offensively with Tim Beck running the offense. The connection here is a Youngstown one. Beck is a grad of the famed Cardinal Mooney HS in Youngstown which has produced the likes of Bob Stoops, Mark Stoops and Bo Pelini. One other candidate we've heard could join Durkin, former NFL safety Mike Zordich, also coached at Cardinal Mooney.
My guess? And to be clear, this is speculation on my part. But I think it's possible that Durkin could be looking to go the co-coordinator route with Azzanni working with the WR and doing the play calling while Beck could work with QBs and help oversee things. But I heard from a source with ties to Beck this morning that he's absolutely still in play with Maryland.
With the likely loss of Mike Locksley, Durkin will need to find someone with strong ties to the DMV who can help in continuing to lock down the top players in the area. The name we are hearing that is most likely to do this is Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, who currently works under Nick Saban at Alabama. I learned of AAR's interest in joining the Maryland staff before Durkin was named head coach and I've not only continued to hear that he's interested, but an interview should happen soon for an on-field position. Having been a defensive back himself in college, it would make sense if AAR were to coach DBs. Current director of player personnel Cory Robinson also specializes in working with DBs and my belief is that Robinson is likely to stay on staff so maybe he remains in his current role.
Another name I was the first to break out is Rutgers DL coach Jim Panagos.
Panagos played at Maryland in the early 90's and spent time on Mike Tice's staff with the Minnesota Vikings before a stint at UCF and then spending the past four seasons at Rutgers. Panagos would check a lot of boxes for Maryland: He's an alum, has NFL experience and has strong recruiting ties to New Jersey and NY and has spent time recruiting Maryland and Florida. Sources have told me that Panagos is extremely interested in coming home to coach for his alma mater and he could potentially be a really good hire. But the question would become, where does that leave Wilt?
Chad Wilt has done maybe more than anyone to help keep Maryland's current recruiting class together. This week he visited with Dwayne Haskins, Keith Simms, Jake Funk and Joey Fischer. He also has strong recruiting ties in Virginia, specifically the Tidewater area. At this point, I think he might be the most likely position coach to remain on staff and with both he and Panagos coaching DL, not sure you can find a spot for both. Both Wilt and Panagos are two to keep an eye on and if they could find a way to somehow bring both on board, they both seem to bring a lot of positives to the table.
As for recruiting, Durkin made the short trek down Rt. 1 to DeMatha to visit with 4-star OL Terrance Davis. My sources have told me that Maryland is still in very good shape with all of the DeMatha commits and it seems Durkin made a positive first impression on Davis as the new Terps head man. If Durkin could land Davis, that would be a big addition and be a positive sign for their relationship with DeMatha moving forward.
Maryland also hosted 5-star DE/OLB Shaq Smith yesterday. Again, Durkin seemed to make a positive impression on Smith and the fact that they both play the same position and Durkin specializes in coaching LBs should only help in his pursuit of the Baltimore native. Possibly adding both Smith and Davis at this point in the game could be a huge coup for Durkin. Maryland also hosted Virginia Tech commit Kahlil Ladler, but with Fuente retaining Torrian Gray, I think it's likely he sticks with his VT commitment.
That's what I've got for now, but obviously all of this is fluid and the race for top assistants is just starting to heat up. The first domino to fall should be Muschamp to South Carolina which should happen sooner than later.
