OT: ESPN Story Rips DJ Durkin

[Mikesi]

The game passed him by?

Absolutely. Isn’t it glaringly obvious? His style was nothing like a Frost or Heupel. It wouldn’t be anymore successful now than it was in 2014. A team that lost to a mediocre Penn State team coming off a major NCAA beatdown. A team that lost to a terrible UConn team and needed a Hail Mary to beat an OK ECU team. A team that was thoroughly outplayed by an average North Carolina State team until the last few minutes. Holman was erratic after the first game and then Missouri embarrassed us. Your view of the way things went down after 2013 and my view are way different.

If a guy was just coaching to do HItt a favor and for the money, basically he was a lame duck. The game passed him by. He had one foot out the door. He was done. Coaches were being poached left and right and he tried to put a conservative offensive line coach in Key as the OC and coach in waiting. That’s old school mentality.

I’m not a GOL hater...., but factually......

His conservative offensive philosophy was behind the times. He wasn’t innovative offensively. The above and the lack of a nutrition program at UCF is all that you have to use as an example of how the game passed him by. There were too many injuries due to a lack of innovative training techniques. He could not recruit and develop QBs. Bortles was an outlier.

Additionally, he did not stress a family culture amongst the players and staff that we have seen with the last 2 coaches. Quite the opposite. Not really abusive, but not a bundle of joy to be around either. He was a control freak. A crotchety old man in the end.

After the Fiesta Bowl, it all came crashing down. The 2014 team was not that good and honestly, without BB, UCF football would have been very mediocre after 2010 until 2017.

2011 was a bad year. 2012 and 2013 were mostly Taafe and Bortles. The fieldmanship Dinovo debacle in 2014 was a move of coaches from decades earlier. Don’t get caught up on his record alone.

Just look at the tape of the last 2015 FIU drive that ended in a missed field goal. If that isn’t the play calling of a coach that football passed him by, then what is? That was all on him and set the tone for 2015

GOL could not relate to college age 18-22 year olds. He turned off a lot of Florida HS coaches and would have passed over players like Otis and AK.

He didn’t understand the new generation and social media. Music at practice, etc. The game passed him by. Yes, understanding and relating to college kids is part of the game and most of the assistants that HE HIRED were just like him. He banked on Brent Key. Old school loyalty.

In the end, it burned him and the program.

 

[Mikesi]

Durkin is so done. The strength and conditioning coach resigned and the school president, in an unprecedented move, is admitting that Maryland football is responsible for the player’s death. A settlement is pending for many millions

 

[BlakNGoldAllDay]

The great teams get Coordinators poached every year. Most HCs of P5 teams were Coordinators for P5 teams. Our last 2 coaches were Coordinators at P5 schools. You move on. You don’t go winless and say that’s why.

 

[Mikesi]

The great teams get Coordinators poached every year. Most HCs of P5 teams were Coordinators for P5 teams. Our last 2 coaches were Coordinators at P5 schools. You move on. You don’t go winless and say that’s why.

I agree. They were poached, but not necessarily replaced adequately.

 

[Stormthecourt?]

The great teams get Coordinators poached every year. Most HCs of P5 teams were Coordinators for P5 teams. Our last 2 coaches were Coordinators at P5 schools. You move on. You don’t go winless and say that’s why.

The only assistant that mattered was Taafe. GOL was lucky to have him and got fired bc he couldn’t find someone adequate to replace him

 

[Mikesi]

There is another long post in another thread that disagrees with this Taafe was the biggest loss, but other losses weren’t replaced with the best of coaches. Especially at DC. Anyway, there were many, many other reasons that we dropped off in 2014 and 2015

 

[firm_bizzle]

Absolutely. Isn’t it glaringly obvious? His style was nothing like a Frost or Heupel. It wouldn’t be anymore successful now than it was in 2014. A team that lost to a mediocre Penn State team coming off a major NCAA beatdown. A team that lost to a terrible UConn team and needed a Hail Mary to beat an OK ECU team. A team that was thoroughly outplayed by an average North Carolina State team until the last few minutes. Holman was erratic after the first game and then Missouri embarrassed us. Your view of the way things went down after 2013 and my view are way different.

If a guy was just coaching to do HItt a favor and for the money, basically he was a lame duck. The game passed him by. He had one foot out the door. He was done. Coaches were being poached left and right and he tried to put a conservative offensive line coach in Key as the OC and coach in waiting. That’s old school mentality.

I’m not a GOL hater...., but factually......

His conservative offensive philosophy was behind the times. He wasn’t innovative offensively. The above and the lack of a nutrition program at UCF is all that you have to use as an example of how the game passed him by. There were too many injuries due to a lack of innovative training techniques. He could not recruit and develop QBs. Bortles was an outlier.

Additionally, he did not stress a family culture amongst the players and staff that we have seen with the last 2 coaches. Quite the opposite. Not really abusive, but not a bundle of joy to be around either. He was a control freak. A crotchety old man in the end.

After the Fiesta Bowl, it all came crashing down. The 2014 team was not that good and honestly, without BB, UCF football would have been very mediocre after 2010 until 2017.

2011 was a bad year. 2012 and 2013 were mostly Taafe and Bortles. The fieldmanship Dinovo debacle in 2014 was a move of coaches from decades earlier. Don’t get caught up on his record alone.

Just look at the tape of the last 2015 FIU drive that ended in a missed field goal. If that isn’t the play calling of a coach that football passed him by, then what is? That was all on him and set the tone for 2015

GOL could not relate to college age 18-22 year olds. He turned off a lot of Florida HS coaches and would have passed over players like Otis and AK.

He didn’t understand the new generation and social media. Music at practice, etc. The game passed him by. Yes, understanding and relating to college kids is part of the game and most of the assistants that HE HIRED were just like him. He banked on Brent Key. Old school loyalty.

In the end, it burned him and the program.

GOL was a terrible coach and would be nothing without being saved by Ralph Friedgen and Charlie Taffe.

 

[Mikesi]

GOL was a terrible coach and would be nothing without being saved by Ralph Friedgen and Charlie Taffe.

I know you hated GOL, but that’s a little strong of a statement.

 

[Knight_Light]

There is another long post in another thread that disagrees with this Taafe was the biggest loss, but other losses weren’t replaced with the best of coaches. Especially at DC. Anyway, there were many, many other reasons that we dropped off in 2014 and 2015

And that's when the loss of 19 scholarships due to NCAA Probation really showed lack of depth, let alone the recruiting restrictions that the NCAA placed on UCF Football (basketball too) that limited/restricted on and off campus recruiting for multiple years.

It's hilarious yet sad to see what the NCAA did to UCF Football for a player who never suited up for a game while programs like UNC and others get less for DECADES of cheating involving dozens and dozens and dozens of players.

PS. Maybe O'Leary's best ever play call was when he convinced Dr Hitt that UCF's Bowl Ban was outside the scope of possible penalties and UCF became one of the first ever football programs to get that penalty reversed, which allowed UCF to play in the Fiesta Bowl.

 

[firm_bizzle]

I know you hated GOL, but that’s a little strong of a statement.

The record doesn't lie. He's something like 44-80 without those guys.

 

[Stormthecourt?]

And that's when the loss of 19 scholarships due to NCAA Probation really showed lack of depth, let alone the recruiting restrictions that the NCAA placed on UCF Football (basketball too) that limited/restricted on and off campus recruiting for multiple years.

It's hilarious yet sad to see what the NCAA did to UCF Football for a player who never suited up for a game while programs like UNC and others get less for DECADES of cheating involving dozens and dozens and dozens of players.

PS. Maybe O'Leary's best ever play call was when he convinced Dr Hitt that UCF's Bowl Ban was outside the scope of possible penalties and UCF became one of the first ever football programs to get that penalty reversed, which allowed UCF to play in the Fiesta Bowl.

I agree with the NCAA comment about them only coming down hard on non blue bloods.

The loss of scholarships was under GOLs reign so he takes some blame.

Why is it assumed this was GOLs idea about appealing the bowl ban? He tell you personally? Could have been a lawyer in the athletic departments idea or could have been Hitts himself.

 

[Mikesi]

Maybe O'Leary's best ever play call was when he convinced Dr Hitt that UCF's Bowl Ban was outside the scope of possible penalties and UCF became one of the first ever football programs to get that penalty reversed, which allowed UCF to play in the Fiesta Bowl.

100% agree with this!

 

[mattropolis]

The record doesn't lie. He's something like 44-80 without those guys.

You can't cherry pick stats to try and prove a point. He gets judged on his overall record (133-101) and hardware (4.3 Conference titles/Played for two more conference titles/1 NY6 Bowl win in one try), like any coach should. There are tons and tons of coaches who wish they could have achieved that over their career. Does it put him in "legendary" status? No, not even close but he was a solid coach and laid a great foundation for what we have now.

So is Bill Belichik really one of the greatest coaches ever? He only went 36-44 in Cleveland, so had the game passed him by at that point? By the same argument, you could say he's only good because Brady is the QB in New England. The real answer is, he's good....real good, like it or not. His overall record speaks for itself.

 

[BlakNGoldAllDay]

You can't cherry pick stats to try and prove a point. He gets judged on his overall record (133-101) and hardware (4.3 Conference titles/Played for two more conference titles/1 NY6 Bowl win in one try), like any coach should. There are tons and tons of coaches who wish they could have achieved that over their career. Does it put him in "legendary" status? No, not even close but he was a solid coach and laid a great foundation for what we have now.

So is Bill Belichik really one of the greatest coaches ever? He only went 36-44 in Cleveland, so had the game passed him by at that point? By the same argument, you could say he's only good because Brady is the QB in New England. The real answer is, he's good....real good, like it or not. His overall record speaks for itself.

He is only good because of Brady. The last time they didn’t win Division was when Brady got hurt.

 

[firm_bizzle]

You can't cherry pick stats to try and prove a point. He gets judged on his overall record (133-101) and hardware (4.3 Conference titles/Played for two more conference titles/1 NY6 Bowl win in one try), like any coach should. There are tons and tons of coaches who wish they could have achieved that over their career. Does it put him in "legendary" status? No, not even close but he was a solid coach and laid a great foundation for what we have now.

So is Bill Belichik really one of the greatest coaches ever? He only went 36-44 in Cleveland, so had the game passed him by at that point? By the same argument, you could say he's only good because Brady is the QB in New England. The real answer is, he's good....real good, like it or not. His overall record speaks for itself.

Let's see how he does without Brady. There is plenty of evidence of GOL with/without Friedgen and Taffe. Once GOL gives up the offensive iron fist his teams thrive.

 

[mattropolis]

Let's see how he does without Brady. There is plenty of evidence of GOL with/without Friedgen and Taffe. Once GOL gives up the offensive iron fist his teams thrive.

So what you're saying is teams are good because they have good coaching staffs, and good players....just crazy

 

[firm_bizzle]

So what you're saying is teams are good because they have good coaching staffs, and good players....just crazy

No. I'm specifically saying that GOL is good only because of Friedgen and Taffe.

 

[Stormthecourt?]

So what you're saying is teams are good because they have good coaching staffs, and good players....just crazy

Can we get back to GOL. I love how the guy gets all the credit for these things:
1. Getting an OCStadium
2. Appealing the bowl ban which turned into Fiesta
3. Supposedly wanting to retire after Fiesta but Hitt begging him to return

But never any blame for NCAA sanctions which cost us dozens of scholarships, two winless seasons, and possibly the worst - poisoning relationships with local high schools across central florida

 

[Knight_Light]

Why is it assumed this was GOLs idea about appealing the bowl ban? He tell you personally? Could have been a lawyer in the athletic departments idea or could have been Hitts himself.

Because most believe Dr Hitt and even then AD Stansbury who all said it was O'Leary's idea to challenge that sanction even BEFORE it was finally reversed.

It wasn't a secret...O'Leary felt the strongest that the NCAA went outside their scope in hanging down a bowl ban and he was proven right.

Any UCF Fan from 2012-2013 knows about this.

 

[Stormthecourt?]

Because most believe Dr Hitt and even then AD Stansbury who all said it was O'Leary's idea to challenge that sanction even BEFORE it was finally reversed.

It wasn't a secret...O'Leary felt the strongest that the NCAA went outside their scope in hanging down a bowl ban and he was proven right.

Any UCF Fan from 2012-2013 knows about this.

You have a link to this? Or was it GOL inner circle chatter?

This article has GOL giving the credit to Hitt
https://today.ucf.edu/knights-bowl-eligible-after-ncaa-grants-ucf-appeal/

 

[mattropolis]

Can we get back to GOL. I love how the guy gets all the credit for these things:
1. Getting an OCStadium
2. Appealing the bowl ban which turned into Fiesta
3. Supposedly wanting to retire after Fiesta but Hitt begging him to return

But never any blame for NCAA sanctions which cost us dozens of scholarships, two winless seasons, and possibly the worst - poisoning relationships with local high schools across central florida

In the NCAA sanctions findings (http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources...tral-florida-cited-recruiting-violations-lack), GOL did not get a "show cause" but Tribble, Donnie Jones and Kelly did. GOL got a letter of reprimand for the problems occurring underneath him. That means he was not cited for doing anything wrong. So yes, he gets blame because he was the coach. My guess is Tribble was the main issue here. My guess is he knew what was going on and probably let it slide. He always did act like a cars salesman whenever I saw him.

I also think the NCAA hung us out to dry and made us a scapegoat for their own shortcomings (https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...y-still-wonders-what-ncaa-said-he-lied-about/) We got hammered while schools like UNC cheat across their entire athletics for like 10 years and get nothing.

I don't blame GOL for 2004. He took over a complete sh_t-show, and on top of it, let's face it, he was taking a job at UCF....a fledgling D-1 program that had done nothing, and had no history. We were 13-19 in the previous three seasons (2001-2003) and our best win was...I don't know you tell me: Tulane, UAB, Liberty, La-Monroe, Akron, La-Lafayette, Western Michigan, Buffalo, Kent State, Miami (OH), Ohio, FAU, or Central Michigan. Wow, high caliber stuff! Yeah, we were bad...these were our only wins. Let's not kid ourselves about exactly what we were at that time...a football team and not a football program.

2015 is on him because he was the guy in charge, although I think there is plenty of blame to go around throughout our whole athletics dept (including Hitt) in underestimating how difficult it is to have a lame duck coach and staff, and if you can avoid it, you do it. I hope we've learned our lesson.

As far as his relationships with high schools, I don't really care. If that bothers you, then so be it. He recruited just fine in my opinion. Him and his staff did whatever and contacted whomever they thought would help them. A new young, energetic, successful head coach (Frost) rectified those relationships in the likes of two years, so did it really matter that we had such a "strained" relationship with so many high school coaches? He did things his way. Our newer staffs do things a different way and they are all fine. Kids just want to play where they can win.

 

[Poolside Knight]