A Hall of Fame athlete at Mentor High School, he was a tight end at Miami University from 1963-1965. He got his first head coaching job in 1969 at the young age of 25. He coached the Chillicothe High School Cavaliers for four seasons before returning to the Miami RedHawks in 1973 as an assistant. In his only season with the RedHawks, the team had an undefeated 11-0 season. Miami finished the year with the 17th overall ranking and defeated the Florida Gators 16-7 in the Tangerine Bowl. This season also began a 11 year relationship between head coach Bill Mallory and Durchik.