Canada is epitome of ‘interim’
Maryland’s coach, for now, tries to keep focus only on this week
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland interim coach Matt Canada faces an uncertain future, despite keeping the football team together and forging a winning record amid the chaos surrounding the program.
When this season ends, Maryland will be looking for a head coach to replace DJ Durkin, who was fired last week. Canada may be asked to apply, given that he’s juggled the job of interim coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach well enough to keep the Terrapins (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten) in the hunt for a bowl bid entering Saturday’s game at Indiana (4-5, 1-5).
Or, Canada could end up unemployed if the school hires a coach who wants someone else to run the offense.
If any of this has been weighing on Canada’s mind, he’s not telling. Asked Tuesday if he’s considered what the future might bring, Canada completely dodged the issue.
“Our focus is on today, on each other, on being able to do the best we can against Indiana,” he said. “It’s probably not the answer you’re looking for, but it’s a true answer.”
The football program has endured a myriad of deflating events since late May, when offensive lineman Jordan McNair collapsed on the field and subsequently died of heatstroke. There have been two internal investigations, one into McNair’s death and the other into the culture of the program .
Durkin was placed on administrative leave in mid-August. Canada took over, handed back the reins last Tuesday when Durkin was reinstated and regained control when Durkin was fired the following day .
All this preceded a rather predictable 24-3 loss to Michigan State.
“There were some different events — we’re going to be honest about that — but we went through them, our kids processed them,” Canada said. “We just didn’t play well enough to win the game Saturday.”
Canada has never been a head coach. Although he’s fulfilling that job description this season, the 46-year-old considers himself to the offensive coordinator with a few other obligations. The biggest change is that he no longer views the game up in the coach’s booth.
“I’ve been presented with a few things that I wasn’t expecting. Calling from the field has been a different challenge,” he said. “I try to find the good in everything, and there’s a lot of good. We’ve all maintained our jobs, we’ve all maintained our titles, we’ve all done what we had to do and we’ve kept it going.”
Throughout the season, Canada has steadfastly stuck to a day-at-a-time philosophy, absorbed the blame for the losses and foisted credit upon others for the victories.
“The story is these kids,” Canada said. “The story is how awesome they are and how special they are, how much they’re sticking together.”
PLAYOFF RANKINGS: Michigan moved into the fourth spot of the College Football Playoff rankings, behind Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame. Georgia was next at five, followed by Oklahoma. The playoff picture cleared up after a weekend where several contenders asserted themselves. The top-four teams in the final rankings on Dec. 2 will play in the national semifinals.
The Crimson Tide easily dispatched LSU from the top four, beating the Tigers 29-0. LSU, though, only dropped to No. 7 after its second loss, ahead of Washington State, West Virginia and Ohio State — all with only one loss.
WISCONSIN: Backup quarterback Jack Coan is getting ready to play this weekend at No. 21 Penn State with starter Alex Hornibrook listed as questionable because of another head injury.
NMSU: The Aggies’ Nov. 17 game at BYU now has a kickoff time, 8:15 p.m., and a network, ESPN2. New Mexico State (3-7) gets only exposure, but BYU (4-5) gets the money from the ESPN networks.
RECRUITING: Three-star wide receiver recruit Dino Tomlin, the oldest of Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s two sons and a standout senior at Pittsburgh’s Shady Side Academy, announced on Twitter that he had committed to Maryland. Dino Tomlin also had offers from Pittsburgh and several Ivy League schools.