The Zeitgeist List · coordinating

D.J. Durkin

Defensive coordinator across 5 programs, 8 stints, before and after wearing the head-coach hat — every season measured on the same axis, whether he personally ran the unit or someone else did.

How to read this. Coordinator seasons come from coordinator_journeys(); head-coaching-era seasons are the same unit's FBS-relative percentile for those years, regardless of who coached it, read directly from staff_assignments. A role change (a “hinge”) is a fact, never a performance verdict — only the season-by-season data itself is colored by outcome.

The Zeitgeist List · coaching

D.J. Durkin

Followed Randy Edsall. D.J. Durkin slid Maryland from National Program III to Regional Program I in 2 seasons.

Peak, then fade

12–17

2014–now · 3 stints

Florida Maryland Auburn

← all coaches

In his own words

Awaiting signal — no quotes collected from this staff yet this cycle.

Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Reached Blue Blood in his 1st career season — faster than 59% of the 100 FBS coaches who have ever reached Blue Blood (rank #1 of 100 by seasons-to-arrival).

Maryland, 2 seasons

−1.0

Regional Program I → Regional Program I.

Style position and drift

Where each stint’s offense sat between run-first and pass-first, and how far it moved from one season to the next. The band is that stint’s real season-to-season range, not a fixed-width box.

Pass rate — share of offensive plays that were pass attemptsfirst covered seasonmost recent covered seasonfull season-to-season range (3+ covered seasons)

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

1–1 against his rivals.

Rivalry record

1–1

50.0% · 1 rival

One-score games

3–2

60.0% · margin ≤8

vs. Blue Blood or better

0–2

0.0%

Rivalry ledger

Rutgers1–150%

Performance by opponent class

Blue Blood

0–2 0.0%

Power Program

2–7 22.2%

National Program

2–4 33.3%

Regional Program

3–1 75.0%

Coaching career

2025–now

Auburn

too new to grade yet

11th-best Auburn tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Recruiter or developer?

Performs about as expected for his recruiting talent on offense and outperforms his recruiting talent on defense.

Offense vs. talent

-9.1 pts

#148 of 208 · a typical amount

Defense vs. talent

+22.7 pts

#21 of 208 · more than most

Recruiting talent is team-wide (no offense/defense split exists in the source data) -- both sides are scored against the same talent input, only the outcome is side-specific.

Roster construction · portal era

A portal-built roster.

Portal arrivals

3.2★ avg rating

Portal departures

left via the portal

Net portal flow

-6

#37 of 187 FBS stints

Notable portal arrivals with a modeled NIL value

Eric Singleton Jr. On3 modeled · $1,000,000Ashton Daniels On3 modeled · $1,000,000Xavier Atkins On3 modeled · $1,000,000

On3’s modeled estimate (social reach / exposure), not money actually paid — shown per player, never totaled.

Who they bring in

Brings in bigger-than-position-typical players than most.

A typical class-year mix of incoming transfers.

Avg. size (raw)

6′1″, 240 lbs

across 19 of 21 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix

Size vs. position-typical

+12.9 lbs

#2 of 255 · more than most

Avg. class year

#146 of 255 · a typical amount

Top states: GA (4), LA (3), TN (2), MD (2), TX (2)

Who won the portal our read

Talent added

56.4

position-weighted

Talent lost

53.7

position-weighted

Net

+2.6

arrivals minus departures

Best addition: Jackson Arnold (QB) from Oklahoma

Biggest loss: Walker White (QB) to Baylor

Position-value-weighted (QB/CB weighted highest, depth-decayed within each position) — the same scoring engine as the Portal Heat feed, not a separate grade.

Where the roster comes from, by position

Buys Quarterback via the portal

75%

#5 of 206 stints

Buys Tackle via the portal

67%

#21 of 223 stints

Grows Interior line from high school

100%

#198 of 224 stints

8 NFL Draft picks: Jarquez Hunter (2025), KeAndre Lambert-Smith (2025), Jalen McLeod (2025), Keldric Faulk (2026), Keyron Crawford (2026), Connor Lew (2026), Jeremiah Wright (2026), Bobby Jamison-Travis (2026)

1–2

2016–2017

Marylandcaretaker

National Program III → Regional Program I

D.J. Durkin slid Maryland from National Program III to Regional Program I in 2 seasons.

13th-best Maryland tenure of 21 by the numbers.

Recruiter or developer?

Underperforms his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.

Offense vs. talent

-34.2 pts

#206 of 208 · less than most

Defense vs. talent

-28.9 pts

#197 of 208 · less than most

Recruiting talent is team-wide (no offense/defense split exists in the source data) -- both sides are scored against the same talent input, only the outcome is side-specific.

Followed Randy Edsall (2011–2015) · succeeded by Matt Canada (2018–2018).

Season	2016	2017
Record & result
Record	6–7	4–8
Postseason	L bowl	—
Recruiting rank	#41	#18
Style — pass rate
Pass rate	39.1	42.2
Coordinators
OC	Walt Bell	Walt Bell
DC	Andy Buh	Andy Buh
Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile
Offense	35	13
Defense	32	25
Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only)
1st-down pass%	40.3	38.4
Red-zone pass%	40.0	43.5
4th-down go%opp. territory	42.4	42.9

Where the roster comes from, by position

Grows Running back from high school

100%

#196 of 208 stints

Grows Interior line from high school

100%

#198 of 224 stints

Postseason detail2016: Lost to Boston College 30–36 Quick Lane Bowl

5 NFL Draft picks: Sean Davis (2016), Yannick Ngakoue (2016), Quinton Jefferson (2016), D.J. Moore (2018), Jermaine Carter (2018)

10–15

2014–2014

Floridainheritor

Blue Blood → Blue Blood

D.J. Durkin inherited a Blue Blood Florida and won with it.

6th-best Florida tenure of 22 by the numbers.

Succeeded by Jim McElwain (2015–2017).

Where the roster comes from, by position

Grows Tackle from high school

100%

#198 of 223 stints

Grows D-line from high school

100%

#214 of 239 stints

Postseason detail2014: Beat East Carolina 28–20 Birmingham Bowl

12 NFL Draft picks: Dominique Easley (2014), Jaylen Watkins (2014), Ronald Powell (2014), Jon Halapio (2014), Dante Fowler Jr. (2015), D.J. Humphries (2015), Chaz Green (2015), Matt Jones (2015) + 4 more

1–0