It’s been two and a half weeks since Maryland president William Loh addressed the media and took moral and legal responsibility for the death of Jordan McNair.

It’s been nearly three weeks since DJ Durkin was put on paid administrative leave following an explosive ESPN report that he created a “toxic culture” at Maryland, which cited former/current players and former assistants blaming the Terps head coach for McNair’s death.

Perhaps most importantly, it’s been 3 months since McNair had a heat stroke in practice that landed him in the hospital, and ultimately killed him.

And still, we somehow don’t know Durkin’s fate.

Durkin, director of athletic training Steve Nordwall and head athletic trainer Wes Robinson — the one who reportedly yelled for players to “drag (McNair’s) ass across the field” before he died of the heatstroke — are still being investigated.

Loh said that he wanted to give them “due process.” That apparently included hiring Walters Inc. to investigate Maryland externally with a target conclusion date of Sept. 15 (Maryland did announce it assumed control of the investigations). In other words, no, we shouldn’t expect a resolution on Durkin’s status until after the season starts.

My question is simple. Why?

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I’m not voting against due process. Everyone deserves that. I’m voting against the process of Maryland’s investigation.

It’s been horribly, horribly flawed from the start.

All you need to know about that is that it took an ESPN report for Maryland to put a coach, trainer and strength and conditioning coach on administrative leave. It wasn’t a player’s death that prompted that action.

Maryland officials were asked about that, and specifically why ESPN’s external investigation uncovered more in a 2.5-month stretch than the university’s internal review. They cited it being a grieving time for players. I get that. You know what it also should’ve been?

A time when Maryland said, “Players dying in May workouts isn’t normal. If we’re at fault in ANY way, we have a massive lawsuit on our hands, and our staff will probably be at the center of it.”

It would’ve been like the police investigating a woman’s murder case and NOT going to the husband immediately.

That’s the obvious measure to take. Maryland should’ve been interviewing past and current players like ESPN was. It would’ve still had a lawsuit on its hands, but at least it wouldn’t have looked even more negligent than it already was. Based on Loh’s comments of that — it was stunning to hear him reveal McNair’s temperature wasn’t taken during his heat stroke — it’s inevitably in for a massive settlement with the McNair family.

And oh, by the way, they want Durkin fired. Why wouldn’t they?

It’s obvious that Maryland doesn’t want to take that measure. Otherwise it would’ve done so simply after confirming the claims made in the ESPN report. I realize that’s easier said than done.

I’m not going to cite Durkin’s win-loss record as a reason as to why he should or shouldn’t survive this. This isn’t about that, nor is it about making sure Maryland’s problems are resolved before the season starts.

This is baffling because this was something that occurred in May on university property. There were no shortage of witnesses both on the field that day and in every meeting/training season at Maryland. I’m not trying to dismiss the complexity of this investigation because there’s admittedly more to it than I can comprehend.

But man, over 3 months to review something so serious seems so wrong on so many levels.

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You hope that at no stage of this did Maryland officials think “let’s take our time and hope this blows over.” Considering this timeline, it’s hard to dismiss that. After all, it was only because of ESPN’s report that any sort of action was taken.

It’s worth noting that there are two investigations going on here. One of those investigations was based on the findings of the ESPN report. The other was to investigate if proper protocol was taken by Maryland’s staff in the workout that led to McNair’s death.

No matter what Loh said, those things are connected. Who knows if they’ll be able to prove that, though. ESPN’s report did connect the two. Shoot, that’s what prompted them to dig into the “toxic culture” in the first place.

I’ve had a theory in this whole thing, and frankly, it doesn’t sit right, either.

If and when Maryland fires Durkin, it has another issue on its hands. Maryland will likely try and fire Durkin with cause, which he obviously won’t be on board with. He’d rather get that $6.5 million buyout, even if it means dealing with a lawsuit. And Maryland, which appears to be heading in a direction of a hefty settlement with the McNair family, would rather not settle with Durkin, too.

Maybe Durkin would even file a defamation lawsuit, as well, because if he is fired with cause, his odds of getting another head coaching job are unlikely. Maryland officials and an external investigative team might have authority on whether Durkin is fit to coach at Maryland, but it’s a different legal matter when lawyers get involved.

Is it possible that Maryland is trying to do whatever it can to avoid that legal headache by making sure that it did its proper due diligence, even if it means extending the timeline? Sure.

I’d say that scenario is more likely than the one where Maryland weighs its investigative findings against letters from high-level donors advocating for Durkin to keep his job. This shouldn’t and won’t come down to that. Loh’s press conference made that perfectly clear.

What’s still not clear is the ultimate “why.” Why did something that should’ve been priority No. 1 in May not feel like it was worthy of Maryland’s undivided attention until mid-Augus? Why is something that should’ve been resolved in mid-July dragging out until mid-September?

I don’t know those answers, and I’m not sure we’ll get them when Maryland releases its final report of its findings.

But we do know one thing.

The McNair family and everyone involved is long overdue for some answers.