DJ Durkin will be interim head coach after Auburn and Hugh Freeze part ways

Auburn will name defensive coordinator DJ Durkin interim head coach following the dismissal of Hugh Freeze, sources confirm to AuburnSports.

Freeze was fired after an ugly loss to Kentucky dropped Auburn to 4-5 overall and 1-5 in league play, ensuring a fifth consecutive losing season in conference play. Durkin will lead the Tigers for the remainder of the season, beginning with next week’s road game at Vanderbilt.

At Auburn, Durkin’s defense has been one of the team’s bright spots, ranked high nationally against the run and showing steady improvement despite offensive struggles. Statistically, Durkin’s defense this season is one of the best rush defenses in the last 20 years of Auburn football. Auburn is second in the SEC in rush defense, top six in total and scoring defense in the SEC, and top five in opponent third-down conversions, sacks and tackles for loss.

Durkin joined Auburn’s staff in January 2025 after two seasons as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Texas A&M. Before that, he was co-defensive coordinator at Ole Miss in 2020 and 2021 and a consultant with the Atlanta Falcons in 2019.

Durkin has more than two decades of college coaching experience, including head-coaching and coordinator roles across several Power Five programs. He served as the head coach at Maryland from 2016 to 2018, compiling a 10–15 record before his tenure ended following an investigation into the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair.

Before Maryland, Durkin was the defensive coordinator at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh in 2015, where his defense ranked among the nation’s best in scoring and total defense. He also spent time at Florida under both Urban Meyer and Will Muschamp, coaching linebackers and special teams before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2013 and serving as the Gators’ interim head coach for the 2014 Birmingham Bowl.

Durkin’s coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green in 2001. He later worked at Notre Dame and Stanford before ascending through the SEC and Big Ten ranks.

Durkin will now be tasked with stabilizing the program and guiding the Tigers through their final three games while the administration conducts its search for Freeze’s successor.