Former Maryland head coach D.J. Durkin, fired in October after a lengthy investigation into the death of one of his players, has resurfaced at Alabama.

In his first foray back into football since his October firing, Durkin has been helping Alabama this past week in a consultant-like capacity, sources told AL.com. It’s unclear at this point if Durkin could have a long-term role on Nick Saban’s Alabama staff though, according to sources.

Durkin had been off the radar since Halloween, when Maryland fired him following that lengthy investigation after the death of Jordan McNair during an offseason workout and reports of a toxic culture within the football program. ESPN, citing interviews with current and former Maryland players, reported there was a culture of “bullying, verbal abuse and humiliation directed at players” during the Durkin era.

Maryland put Durkin on administrative leave on Aug. 11, one day after ESPN’s toxic culture story was published, and formed a committee to investigate the allegations. The committee determined it wasn’t a “toxic” culture but detailed multiple concerning allegations including coaches showing disturbing videos of serial killers and animals eating each other during team meals. Durkin was reinstated as head coach on Oct. 30 only for the school to reverse course and fire him a day later after significant national backlash.

"The chair of the Board of Regents has publicly acknowledged that I had previously raised serious concerns about Coach Durkin's return,” Maryland president Wallace Loh said at the time. “This is not at all a reflection of my opinion of Coach Durkin as a person. However, a departure is in the best interest of the University, and this afternoon Coach Durkin was informed that the University will part ways. This is a difficult decision, but it is the right one for our entire University.”

The school had previously determined through an independent investigation that Maryland’s athletic training staff failed to properly treat the heatstroke symptoms of McNair, who later died on June 13.

The 40-year old Durkin had been at Maryland since 2016, posting a 10-15 record during his first two seasons as the team’s head coach. Before that, Durkin was a defensive coordinator at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh (2015) and at Florida under Will Muschamp (2013-14).

Matt Zenitz is an Alabama and Auburn reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.