Gamecock Head football coach Will Muschamp defended former assistant D.J. Durkin on Saturday, accusing the media of irresponsibly sharing anonymous accounts of alleged “toxic culture” inside the Maryland football program.
“I know D.J. Durkin. He worked for me for four years at the University of Florida. He is an outstanding football coach. He’s also an outstanding husband and a father and he treats people with respect,” Muschamp said. “And I will use your word, alleged article. There’s no credibility in anonymous sources. If that former staffer had any guts, why didn’t he put his name on it? I think that’s gutless. And in any business, and in any company, and in any football team, especially right here in August, you can find a disgruntled player that’s probably not playing. So I think it’s a lack of journalistic integrity to print things with anonymous sources.
“But I know D.J. Durkin personally, and I know what kind of man he is. I know what kind of person he is. I talked to him this morning. And I don’t think it’s right.”