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Big Ten Football Coach Rankings

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A Big Ten logo on the field before the Big Ten Conference football championship game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Michigan State Spartans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A Big Ten logo on the field before the Big Ten Conference football championship game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Michigan State Spartans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 16, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins head football coach D. J. Durkin waves to the crowd during the second half of the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Xfinity Center. Maryland Terrapins defeated Ohio State Buckeyes 100-65. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins head football coach D. J. Durkin waves to the crowd during the second half of the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Xfinity Center. Maryland Terrapins defeated Ohio State Buckeyes 100-65. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

The head coach that takes the No. 12 spot on this list is Maryland’s DJ Durkin.  He was hired by the Terrapins back in December of 2015.

Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois Fighting Illini /

Illinois Fighting Illini

Durkin is another one of those head coaching hires without head coaching experience.

The coaching history of Durkin started out in 2001 with Bowling Green.  He was a graduate assistant at the time and parlayed that into a job as a graduate assistant with Notre Dame.

Durkin had multiple stops before landing as the head coach of Maryland.  The previous position he held was the defensive coordinator for the Michigan Wolverines.

This would be a great hire for a mid-major program, but a power five conference school hiring a coach with zero head coaching experience at any level is dangerous.

Durkin is also stepping into a situation that isn’t so bright.  Maryland finished the 2015 season with a record of 3-9.

On top of the bad record, the Terrapins also had a mess at quarterback.

There is a lot for Durkin to fix and I don’t know if he is the man for the job.  With the question marks and inexperience, I put Durkin as the No. 12 head coach in the Big Ten.

Next: No. 11

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