DJ Durkin to stay on as Auburn’s defensive coordinator

After two days of speculation, Auburn has announced DJ Durkin will officially stay on staff as Alex Golesh takes over as head coach of the football program.

Durkin will return to his role as defensive coordinator where he spent the first nine games of the 2025 season before taking over as the interim head coach.

“Coach Golesh and I have known each other long time and I’ve got a lot of respect for him, his teams and the way they work. I’m excited about what he’s going to bring to Auburn and grateful for the chance to work alongside him. I love this group of players, and it mattered to me to keep pushing forward with what they have already started. The support my family and I have felt from the Auburn community has been unbelievable. This is home for us. I’m thankful for the Auburn Family and everything they’ve shown us over the last month, and I can’t wait to get to work.”

DJ Durkin

During his introductory press conference Monday, Golesh was asked about keeping Durkin on staff, saying he hoped the plan would fall into place at some point this week.

The official news came out of Auburn Tuesday afternoon.

“Choosing to keep DJ on our staff was an easy call. Our relationship goes back more than 20 years to our roots in Ohio, we have worked with some of the same men, and we’ve competed against each other in this great league. We are fortunate to retain one of the top defensive minds in college football here on The Plains. He’s an elite leader, incredible father and husband and will be phenomenal leader on the defensive side of the ball. We have great respect for each other. Time to go to work.”

Alex Golesh

DJ Durkin at Auburn

Durkin has spent the last two seasons leading the Tigers defense, coming to The Plains in Hugh Freeze’s second season in charge.

In 2024, the Tigers posted their best rushing defense since 2010 (117.8 ypg), the best total defense since 2017 (330.8 ypg) and the best scoring defense since 2019 (19.5 ppg).

This season, Auburn ranked in the top 30 nationally in both points allowed per game and yards allowed per game.

In 21 games with Durkin officially serving as defensive coordinator, Auburn allowed just 18.7 points per game despite a 9-12 overall record.

Want more stories like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our FREE newsletter.