Paul Finebaum: DJ Durkin should be seriously considered for Auburn job

Even in what resulted in an overtime loss, Auburn had one of its best games of the season in their first outing following the firing of Hugh Freeze. That alone has Paul Finebaum saying that DJ Durkin, the Tigers’ current interim, to be considered for the actual job.

Finebaum made that case on the radio on Monday while on ‘McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning’. He thinks, with the effort that Auburn put together in the 45-38 overtime loss at No. 16 Vanderbilt on Saturday evening, Durkin should be taken as a legitimate candidate to be the actual head coach next on The Plains.

“Well, I’ve rarely ever seen such a transformation, so I think DJ Durkin ought to be seriously considered,” said Durkin.

Again, this is little about a resumé as a head coach, as Durkin is 11-16 (.407) in his career after two seasons at Maryland and now a pair of games so far in his career as an interim with one for Florida and one now at Auburn. That’s not to take away from his stops as a defensive assistant or work on special teams at other college programs like Notre Dame, Stanford, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M or with the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL.

But, on a one-game basis, Durkin impressed by, even in defeat, seemingly galvanizing Auburn. The Tigers went on the road to Nashville and gave the Commodores all that they could handle in the midst of trying to keep their hopes alive for the CFP. And, in trying to not take another shot at Freeze, Finebaum felt it was another referendum of his tenure for that team to look as competitive as they did, namely so on offense with a season-best of 563 yards, a tie for their second-most points with 38, and their best quarterback outing with the play of QB Ashton Daniels, against Vandy.

“I know a lot of people get hung up on, well, he had to win the game. Well, in my opinion, that was a tremendous win for Auburn considering the difference in a seven-week period,” said Finebaum. “I’ve never seen that type of turnaround…I liked his demeanor. It was just complete – I mean, you know, I don’t want to, you know, pour any more dirt on Hugh Freeze, but it’s impossible not to see why this move should have been made. And, the fact that Auburn has a pulse and played a top team down to overtime is, to me, a very positive and encouraging moment.”

“I think it was also just a malaise in the program, and, sometimes, you know, it’s artificial. You see it maybe for a quarter, but, I mean, we saw it the whole game and it was remarkable,” Finebaum added.

Durkin may not even be an actual candidate here, with Auburn likely to consider some major names on this year’s coaching carousel. That said, he’ll have two more games, namely the Iron Bowl being played in less than three weeks inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, to make his case to AD John Cohen.

“I think we need to watch it very closely,” said Finebaum. “And, it’s not because it’s the convenient thing to do. It’s just potentially the right thing to do. I’ll leave it to Auburn, but I would put him into serious consideration.”

“It just doesn’t matter what has happened until this moment. I think all that matters now is just what that vibe is in that locker room, what John Cohen sees and how he decides to move forward,” Finebaum said.
“I don’t know where else he is. If he has somebody in his back pocket that he’s very comfortable with, that’s one thing. But, if he ends up making a change after the Iron Bowl and, you know, Auburn goes to a circus act, then maybe he would be better staying the course.”