Former Michigan star Jabrill Peppers: Ex-coordinator DJ Durkin's tactics 'felt extreme'

Michael Singer | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Maryland officials take responsibility for Jordan McNair's death SportsPulse: University of Maryland officials held a news conference on Tuesday in which they took responsibility for the death of Jordan McNair.

Former Michigan star Jabrill Peppers, now a safety for the Cleveland Browns, said he felt some of DJ Durkin’s coaching tactics were “extreme at times” when Durkin was the defensive coordinator for the Wolverines in 2015.

Durkin, the embattled Maryland football coach, is on administrative leave as the school investigates a purported culture of fear and intimidation that ultimately may have played a role in Jordan McNair’s death.

Peppers spoke to The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday, describing Durkin’s style as “bully coaching.”

“Coach Durkin, he was a different guy, you know what I mean. His tactics were different. It felt extreme at times. I’m just as shocked reading all the stuff that’s going on now. I thought he was only like that because it was his first time coaching us. He was the defensive coordinator so he was just trying to get us to buy-in to how he wants his defense to play. I thought once he became a head coach that he would calm down a little bit, become more of a people person, a player’s coach.”

#Browns safety @JabrillPeppers played for suspended Maryland head coach D.J. Durkin while he was Michigan's defensive coordinator in 2015 and said this about his coaching style: pic.twitter.com/wCzyN9xxjO — Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) August 14, 2018

A recent ESPN story detailed how Durkin, along with since-departed strength coach Rick Court, established a culture of harassment and embarrassment at Maryland. The school on Tuesday took responsibility for McNair’s death after the offensive lineman fell ill during a supervised workout in May and subsequently "did not receive appropriate medical care."

More: Maryland officials take responsibility for Jordan McNair's death; D.J. Durkin still on leave

More: Maryland officials take responsibility for Jordan McNair's death; D.J. Durkin still on leave

“It’s just the way that he goes about getting the most out of his players. Me, being from where I’m from, I didn’t like it, but at the end of the day, I knew what the overall goal was," Peppers said.

"The way I would’ve described it was kind of like bully coaching. I don’t think he meant anything by it. It was just kind of how it comes up.”