Durkin considers every workday a job interview

Auburn athletic director John Cohen may be in a furious quest to find the Tigers’ next coach, but the current guy is working just as hard to keep the job.

DJ Durkin, who was promoted from defensive coordinator to interim head coach on Nov. 2, said Monday afternoon that he hasn’t yet been offered a formal interview for the full-time job. That doesn’t seem to bother Durkin one bit; he’s approaching every day as a chance to make a good impression.

“I view every day here on the job as an interview,” Durkin said during his weekly press conference. “I think you’re getting a good glimpse of what I would be as head coach here — I just treat it that way.”

THE SEARCH WIDENS

Cohen has spoken with a handful of coaches during the past 10 days. He faces an unofficial deadline of Dec. 1 since the early signing period for Class of 2026 football recruits begins Dec. 3. The Iron Bowl is scheduled for Nov. 29.

That leaves precious little time for Auburn to get Hugh Freeze’s successor hired and in place long enough to make meaningful decisions about the program’s currently committed players.

Cohen already has held discussions with Tulane coach John Sumrall, Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea, Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz, South Florida coach Alex Golesh and a few others.

Will Durkin be next in line?

If Cohen wants to have that conversation, Durkin says he’ll be ready. Until then, he said, he’ll keep coaching and preparing to win the Tigers’ upcoming games against Mercer and Alabama.

“There’s conversations almost daily with him and our administration about a lot of things in the program that might not be the norm anyway,” Durkin said. “That’s how it is. Our focus is solely on this team right now, preparing for the game this week. That’s it. Those things, I think, will play out in the end themselves as we go.”