COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The University of Maryland has named Mark Duffner its new head football coach. Duffner replaces Joe Krivak, who resigned Dec. 6 after a 2-9 campaign and five seasons at College Park.
Duffner has coached the Division I-AA Holy Cross Crusaders for six seasons, and has the top winning percentage among active college football coaches. Duffner, who was 60-5-1 at Holy Cross, was apparently offered the job Saturday in a meeting with Maryland athletic director Andy Geiger.
Duffner was awarded a five-year contract, with a base salary of $120, 000.
'This is a tremendous opportunity for me,' Duffner said. 'I've been impressed with the people I've met from the top on down. To join with Andy Geiger, after what he accomplished at Stanford, is exciting. His commitment to making Maryland better is impressive to me.'
Duffner, 38, is a native of Annandale, Va., which is just an hour away from the College Park campus.
'I grew up in the shadow of College Park, and I appreciate the great athletic and academic traditions,' he said. 'To have an opportunity to restore the effectiveness of Maryland football is exciting.'
Duffner attended William and Mary, earning three letters as a defensive tackle. After graduation, he spent two seasons at Ohio State as a graduate assistant under Woody Hayes. He then moved on to the University of Cincinnati, where he became the defensive coordinator. He remained there before going to Holy Cross in 1981 as a defensive coordinator, and was named head coach in 1986.
The Crusaders won four straight Meadowlands-Lambert Cups for their Eastern I-AA supremacy, four Eastern College Athletic Conference Team of the Year awards and five Patriot League Championships.
'Mark Duffner's teams are well known for their enthusiastic, aggressive football,' Geiger said. 'He's fun to play for. His teams attack both offensively and defensively.
'Mark is a players' coach, an innovator who graduates well-rounded student athletes. He is a teacher in the classic sense.'
