PSA: you can't say Freeze was morally unfit for Auburn and then back DJ Durkin for HC

This is not a post defending Freeze's misdeeds. This is a post stating that if you want to say a HC candidate's past misconduct can disqualify them for the job, then you can't support Durkin as the next head coach.

People have forgotten that one of Durkin's players died from heat stroke at a practice while Durkin was HC at Maryland. Now, Durkin wasnt responsible for passing out water bottles that day. Durkin might not have even known McNair had a seizure before the decision was made to not call 911 for another hour.

But there is no dispute that Durkin was responsible for the assistants he hired and the culture of the program. He was there when his Strength and Conditioning coach was verbally and physically abusive to players. All S&C coaches are tough with players, but there's a line. Durkin was there when that coach threw weights at players, or force fed players to the point of vomiting as a punishment. Durkin was fully complicit in a culture of fear and humiliation that held little regard for the wellbeing of players.

You can not paint McNair's death as a tragic 'accident' that nobody could have predicted, when it is the obvious endpoint of a program culture that coerced players to completely disregard their own well being for fear of humiliation and cruel punishment.

Do I want Durkin gone as DC? Not really. It seems he has learned his lesson enough to be in that role, otherwise there wouldn't be so many players that obviously respect him. But if we're going to make moral fitness a crucial criteria for the HC role, Durkin has proven himself unfit to be in charge of the culture of a program; no amount of Durkin "learning his lesson" is going to bring McNair back to life.

Edit: for those saying "well theres some players that denied there was a problem, so there definitely wasn't a problem!" There's no such thing as "equal treatment" in the weight room or practice field. Whether it be talent or something else, some players are going to get less punishment for the same fuck ups. Not only are the players getting the good end of the stick not going to perceive the problem with the same intensity, theyre also likely to start perceiving the players getting the worst abuse as deserving it. This is an extremely well established psychological phenomenon in abusive environments, those on the better end of things will often side with the abusers against those getting the worst of it, and minimize their perception of their own abuse in comparison.

Even if you don't believe Durkin is responsible for McNair's death, it's still a problem we do not need. Every team competing for a recruit is going to have someone at least imply "Durkin doesn't care about you, he killed a player". Will that work for them every time? No. Will it work some times? Yes.