The Atlanta Falcons have invited disgraced former Maryland football coach DJ Durkin to be a guest coach at training camp.
Durkin was the head coach of the Terrapins when offensive lineman Jordan McNair died after suffering from heatstroke during a May 2018 workout. The coach was placed on administrative leave following reports of a toxic culture under his watch. He was reinstated, but when members of the team walked out in protest Durkin was fired a day later.
Falcons head coach Dan Quinn was a Florida Gators defensive coach alongside Durkin from 2011 to 2012.
"The fact that I know this coach firsthand, I know what his character is, and then the due diligence that goes with that, I would certainly hope that anyone covering the team or the fan base knows that I always have the team's best interest in mind and would never put anybody in a space that would be otherwise," Quinn said, according to ESPN's Vaughn McClure.
"We did all of our due diligence of calling everybody at Maryland and had our own follow-up to there. ... I think it's a huge advantage that you can have somebody of respect and can look at some certain things to help your team in the evaluation,'' Quinn added.