U-M's Durkin leaving to become Maryland coach D.J. Durkin ran one of the nation's most prolific defenses as U-M defensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh

Mark Snyder | Detroit Free Press

The Michigan football program is just four days removed from the end of its regular season and it already has lost a major piece of its coaching staff.

U-M defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin was named Maryland's new head coach tonight. The news was first reported by Sports Illustrated.

A Michigan official declined comment following the initial report. Michigan has a policy of allowing other institutions to announce their personnel moves.

Durkin, 37, vaulted U-M into one of the top defenses in the country this season, finishing the regular season ranked No. 4 nationally in total defense (281.3 yards per game), No. 3 in third-down conversation percentage (25.6%) and No. 11 in scoring defense (17.2 points).

Durkin also had success coordinating defenses at Florida in 2013 and 2014. He led the Gators to a win in the Birmingham Bowl as the interim head coach at the end of the 2014 season.

He is known as an outstanding recruiter, with deep Florida roots, and has an extensive resume despite his young age, having worked for Urban Meyer at Bowling Green and Florida and for Jim Harbaugh at Stanford and Michigan.

“We began this search looking for a candidate with qualities that aligned with our vision for the football program, and throughout the process it became clear D.J. was the perfect fit,” Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson said in a released statement. “He has had success at some of the nation’s most preeminent football programs, is recognized as one of the top recruiters in the country and is widely respected as one the top young coaches across the college football landscape.”

Durkin will be formally introduced at 11 a.m. Thursday in a news conference set to air on the Big Ten Network.

Yahoo Sports reported last week that he interviewed for the position. Durkin refused to comment at the time, only saying he was focused on the Ohio State game.

Many expected Durkin's first job to be at his alma mater, Bowling Green, but he apparently reached higher than that.

He's just the latest Harbaugh assistant to become a college head coach, joining David Shaw (Stanford), Willie Taggart (Western Kentucky, South Florida), Scott Shafer (Syracuse), Brian Polian (Nevada) and Derek Mason (Vanderbilt). One of Harbaugh's former NFL assistants, Jim Tomsula, succeeded him as San Francisco 49ers head coach.

If Durkin doesn't coach U-M in its bowl game, Michigan could slide former defensive coordinator and current line coach Greg Mattison into the role for the next month.

As for a long-term plan, a few former Harbaugh assistants could be interesting, starting with Shafer, who was fired late this season as Syracuse's head coach. He was Harbaugh's first defensive coordinator at Stanford in 2007 and left to become, coincidentally, Michigan's first defensive coordinator under Rich Rodriguez in 2008.

Another possibility is Baltimore Ravens cornerbacks coach Matt Weiss. He doesn't have coordinator experience but worked with Durkin and under Harbaugh at Stanford.

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin also has worked at Michigan, but he might have outgrown college. He interviewed for NFL head coaching jobs after last season.

Contact Mark Snyder: msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark__snyder.

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