Maryland football in a state of utter chaos....

[Flipper]

http://www.espn.com/college-football/st ... -dj-durkin" target="_blank

[MarkL]

What is it with former BG coaches this offseason? Meyer and now Durkin.

Update. Oh my gosh. I just finished the article. A player died under Durkin's watch and nobody responded medically appropriately? Wow. That is awful. That poor kid and his family.

[MarkL]

Also this sounds quite a bit like what led to Beckman getting canned at Illinois, besides of course being an awful coach. Beckman and Durkin, both from the Meyer coaching tree. With Durkin and Meyer in trouble at the same time, I wonder if there is going to be additional scrutiny into other programs coached by former Meyer assistants. Off the top of my head, that includes Florida, South Florida, and Boston College. All of which are coaches that I like.

[threestooges]

Rick Court, the strength coach mentioned in the article, was at BGSU as well.

[FalconTurf]

Also this sounds quite a bit like what led to Beckman getting canned at Illinois, besides of course being an awful coach. Beckman and Durkin, both from the Meyer coaching tree. With Durkin and Meyer in trouble at the same time, I wonder if there is going to be additional scrutiny into other programs coached by former Meyer assistants. Off the top of my head, that includes Florida, South Florida, and Boston College. All of which are coaches that I like.

I can't imagine that just because people are on the Meyer coaching tree would get extra scrutiny but it will give every institution a reason to take a closer look at what is going on. My opinion is that the money of climbing to better programs along with the threat of losing the current job has put pressure on coaches that bring the true colors of those coaches to the surface.

[Tony4BG]

Very sad/bad situation there. Read this morning Trainer, Strength & Conditioning and one other person placed on paid administrative leave

[Schadenfreude]

Also this sounds quite a bit like what led to Beckman getting canned at Illinois, besides of course being an awful coach. Beckman and Durkin, both from the Meyer coaching tree.

It seems possible they learned some of these techniques here in Bowling Green. Let us not forget:

In his two seasons in the Bowling Green lab, [Meyer] learned how far he could push a team — what, everybody doesn’t have vomit trash cans? — and how those who stayed would respond if he showed them how much he cared.
“I’m glad we did it without TV cameras and the Internet and all that because imagine a 36-year-old coach and a new staff, we were out of our minds,” Meyer said. “Dan Mullen was on the staff. Great coach, out of his mind. Our first game of the year, we played at Missouri. You’re allowed to travel 70. There were 55 kids on the plane, because that’s all we had left. We were so hard on them.”

And if the reference to vomit stations isn't clear enough..

His stop before Utah, Bowling Green, had all the handicaps of a mid-level program gambling on a first-time head coach: a 2–9 record and a roster full of, Meyer says, "drugs and misfits." A week after his hiring, in 2001, 27 players skipped study table, so Meyer summoned the team to the training facility at 5 a.m. Garbage cans stood along the sidelines, and for the next three hours Meyer ran the players without mercy. Some walked out, never to return, and about half vomited. "It went forever," says Ryan Wingrove, then a senior defensive end.

When a man vomits, he is sick. That isn't something to celebrate.

[commonsense]

What is it with former BG coaches this offseason? Meyer and now Durkin.

Update. Oh my gosh. I just finished the article. A player died under Durkin's watch and nobody responded medically appropriately? Wow. That is awful. That poor kid and his family.

The Falcons had a football player die in the fall of 2004. Similar circumstances, and swept under the rug. Much like the Maryland situation, except ESPN reports on Big 10 football, so the public finds out.

[MarkL]

What is it with former BG coaches this offseason? Meyer and now Durkin.

Update. Oh my gosh. I just finished the article. A player died under Durkin's watch and nobody responded medically appropriately? Wow. That is awful. That poor kid and his family.

The Falcons had a football player die in the fall of 2004. Similar circumstances, and swept under the rug. Much like the Maryland situation, except ESPN reports on Big 10 football, so the public finds out.

Not similar circumstances. I was thinking about that when reading the article. Can't remember the kid's name.
No, he had some medical condition that wasn't known until too late. He wasn't worked to death. He had a problem that nobody knew about. It was a tragedy. But to blame it on the coaches and call it sweeping under the rug is false.

[commonsense]

What is it with former BG coaches this offseason? Meyer and now Durkin.

Update. Oh my gosh. I just finished the article. A player died under Durkin's watch and nobody responded medically appropriately? Wow. That is awful. That poor kid and his family.

The Falcons had a football player die in the fall of 2004. Similar circumstances, and swept under the rug. Much like the Maryland situation, except ESPN reports on Big 10 football, so the public finds out.

Not similar circumstances. I was thinking about that when reading the article. Can't remember the kid's name.
No, he had some medical condition that wasn't known until too late. He wasn't worked to death. He had a problem that nobody knew about. It was a tragedy. But to blame it on the coaches and call it sweeping under the rug is false.

Was made fun of, called soft, not believed for exiting a workout. Definitely had a medical condition. Very sad and similar to Maryland situation. Not exact, but similar.

[Tony4BG]

Durkin placed on paid administrative leave.

[able1]

The player in question was Aaron Richardson. He was a walk on and became ill at the beginning of his first practice. It was discovered later he had sickle cell anemia. They were running interval sprints when he became ill. He was taken to the locker room and 911 was called. He was declared dead at the hospital less than an hour later. Doesn't sound like there was much delay in getting him help. I'm not defending anyone's coaching methods in this discussion, but it's a big stretch to blame that situation on the staff. That could have happened anywhere. Sickle cell is relatively rare and according to his friends and family, he never showed any symptoms as a multi sport high school athlete. Without any symptoms or a diagnosis, he was a time bomb.
For what it's worth, sickle cell screenings for infants did not become required in every state until 2006. NCAA screenings became required for student athletes in 2010.

[Flipper]

Working out until you puke isn't a big deal....I've been close to that a few times just pushing myself through a really tough HIIT work out. I used tot rain in a gym where we did a group workout. The owner was a friend of mine and she would say things like "this new girl pissed me off so I made her puke"... Crossfit used to market "Pukie the Clown" merchandise. Almost like it's a badge of courage to push it that hard. You have to be smart enough to stop right there

Where you have to be careful is when you start ignoring the signs of something more ominous and life threatening .... Rhabdomylysis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdomyolysis" target="_blank

One of the early signs of rhhabdo is vomiting...so pushing past that point is a really stupid idea...especially if it's accompanied by intense muscle soreness, confusion and/or an irregular heartbeat

[jpfalcon09]

What a terrible situation. That 2002 BG staff has turned out to include some bad actors. Beckman will never coach again after what happened at Illinois. Seems like Durkin is headed towards a similar fate. We all know about Meyer's current situation.

I get that some people could get sick if they're being pushed to their physical limitations, but the coaches have a duty to protect players' health and safety. Choosing to ignore that and having a player die on your watch that was found not to have a medical condition is 100% grounds for termination, and perhaps criminal action should McNair's family choose to go that route.

[kdog27]

Yeah the Meyer coaching tree is taking quite a dive.