Jared Wangler proves Durkin, who said he'd "never play here," wrong

Submitted by reshp1 on October 9th, 2018 at 7:17 AM

Exhibit #234 of DJ Durkin being an asshole.

Apparently in 2015, he told Wangler he'd never play at Michigan. IIRC Wangler was a walk-on at the time, so Durkin is basically shitting on a kid that isn't even on scholarship and is literally volunteering his time for the team.

https://247sports.com/college/michigan/Article/2018-Michigan-football-Jared-Wangler-proves-DJ-Durkin-wrong-123075543/

I'm so glad we traded him in for Dr. Blitz when we did.

ldevon1

October 9th, 2018 at 7:56 AM ^

Do you guys remember what Harbaugh said to Speight on that video from HBO sports? Coaches say things to motivate kids and to get kids attention. I remember my coaches saying shitty things to me. Michael Jordan got cut. Sports are tough sometimes. This world we live in now is kinda soft. Coaches don't have to stroke kids and tell them everything is gonna be OK, just keep trying. 

jtmc33

October 9th, 2018 at 8:18 AM ^

In Bo’s first year, The first time Bo met Dan Dierdorf he grabbed his stomach and told him he was too fat to play.... 

IIRC, Dierdorf was already a starter 

Motivating kids isn’t a bad thing. 

Of course, if Durkin said that to Jared while making him watch Death Videos while demeaning him.... 

Diagonal Blue

October 9th, 2018 at 8:38 AM ^

Pretty sure Bo said this to every kid he coached at one point or another. People have gone soft today. If Wangler stayed at linebacker he never would have seen any meaningful snaps. Good for him for carving out a role on this team and using what Durkin said as motivation, but this is hardly an indictment on Durkin's character.

Brimley

October 9th, 2018 at 2:12 PM ^

That's pretty good and I gave you an upvote.  Now to be all serious and shit, my grandfather was an orphan at 13 and had to work the lumber camps in northern Michigan to feed himself (ending his education).  He moved on to factory work, got fired for refusing to buy War Bonds in 1918, and then drove a street car.  He died in 1943, just in time for my dad to go to war for a couple of years (the silver lining being that it paid for his UM engineering degree).  My life has been blissful.  Would my grandfather or dad say I'm soft?  No.  They'd say, "Thank God you didn't have to do the shit we did.  That's exactly what we hoped for."

End rant.

bronxblue

October 9th, 2018 at 12:14 PM ^

He said something along the lines that he was trying to tell Speight how to do the drill correctly, and if Speight was just going to give him attitude he could do it on some other team.  That's a far cry, in my opinion, from telling someone he'll never play a down at the school.

bronxblue

October 9th, 2018 at 12:11 PM ^

The world is not "soft", and even if it was maybe a little softness wouldn't have led to the death of a kid at Maryland.  Maybe it was a motivating ploy by Durkin, but it's a shitty thing to say to someone and is the equivalent to yelling and screaming.  It doesn't make the kid listen to you more, or motivate him to be better at his job.  It makes him feel shitty and pissed off at you, and maybe for a couple of people that'll get them to work harder in the short term, but few people find themselves drawn to someone who is an asshole.

yossarians tree

October 9th, 2018 at 3:39 PM ^

Somebody like Bo could get away with this stuff because it was so over the top he was almost like a caricature. Guys like that are so charismatic and treat everyone equally that it works because the players kind of band together. And then one day he'll do something nice like ask how's your mother and you feel like you're 10 feet tall. It's pure psychology, and it's the difference between being a guy you'll run through a wall for and an asshole. 

spiff

October 9th, 2018 at 7:33 AM ^

No, see berating and belittling kids is a tactic. And clearly was just what this young man needed. That, and watching animals devouring each other while you eat some waffles at team table. 

/s

CRISPed in the DIAG

October 9th, 2018 at 7:36 AM ^

I'm not trying to be that guy, but this sort of thing is (or was) a pretty common thing for coaches to say to a player. Bo told quite a few contributing players they would "never play another down of football for Michigan again." 

PopeLando

October 9th, 2018 at 8:52 AM ^

As a millennial myself, albeit old enough that I have to add "just barely"...

I get really really tired of pointing out that it wasn't my generation that invented participation trophies and started handing them out.

Also, thanks for the economy, the government,  and the retirement crisis. I know it's not your fault personally, but if you're going to generalize my generation, I'll generalize yours. Cheers.