How is DJ Durkin being evaluated for Auburn football head coach job? What John Cohen said
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AUBURN — John Cohen has already spoken to at least seven candidates to replace Hugh Freeze as Auburn football‘s next head coach, but one name Cohen already has in consideration is currently coaching the program.
DJ Durkin, who was elevated to interim head coach after Freeze’s firing, is “absolutely” being considering for the full-time gig, the Auburn athletics director said Nov. 3. On Wednesday, Nov. 12, Cohen provided a little more insight into what stands out about Durkin as a candidate.
“We’ve been watching him coach for several years now, so I have a real familiarity with his style, with his energy, with his sense of discipline, his preparation,” Cohen told the Montgomery Advertiser. “We feel very comfortable with DJ Durkin and his lineage, the great head coaches he’s worked for in the past. We think DJ is somebody who’s very worthy of consideration here.”
Prior to joining Freeze’s Auburn staff in 2024, Durkin worked for Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M and Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss. Coming up as an assistant, Durkin worked at Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame and Stanford for coaches such as Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer.
Durkin has only been a head coach once, when Maryland hired him in 2015, and his tenured ended in turmoil. Following the death of a player ahead of the 2018 season, he was placed on administrative leave. Allegations of a toxic culture within his program ensued, and on Oct. 31, 2018, he was fired.
The interim has yet to say outright that he’s interested in the full-time position. However, he’s stated he plans on being at Auburn “for a long time.”
Durkin’s interim debut on the Plains resulted in another one-score loss to a ranked opponent, with Auburn losing to then-No. 16 Vanderbilt 45-38 in overtime last weekend. He’ll have two more chances at a win, when Auburn hosts FCS Mercer on Nov. 22 and in the season finale Iron Bowl on Nov. 29 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.To support Adam’s work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: What John Cohen said about DJ Durkin for Auburn football coach opening
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