The University of Maryland fired its football coach, D.J. Durkin, the university president announced Wednesday night. The news came one day after the school had said Mr. Durkin would be reinstated following an investigation into the death of a player last spring.

The initial decision to retain Mr. Durkin, made by the Board of Regents over the president’s objections, provoked a widespread outcry. The university president, Wallace D. Loh, said he would still retire in June, as he had announced on Tuesday, but would spend the rest of his time in office cleaning up the athletic department.

Mr. Loh said in a statement on Wednesday that Mr. Durkin’s departure “is in the best interest of the university.” He said Mr. Durkin had been told of his firing Wednesday afternoon.

Mr. Durkin was put on leave in August after one of his players, Jordan McNair, sustained heatstroke at a practice in May and died two weeks later. A subsequent report by ESPN characterized Maryland’s football program as dysfunctional and having a “toxic culture.”