Auburn is set to hire veteran SEC assistant DJ Durkin as its next defensive coordinator, sources told ESPN’s Chris Low on Monday.
Durkin will help fill the void left by defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, who was hired by Florida earlier this month. Auburn also hired former Colorado defensive coordinator Charles Kelly as co-defensive coordinator earlier this month.
Durkin will look to improve on a Tigers defense that finished eighth in the SEC in total defense last season.
This will be Durkin’s fourth stop as a defensive coordinator in the SEC, including the past two seasons serving under Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M. Durkin was also the co-defensive coordinator at Ole Miss from 2021 to ’22 and the defensive coordinator at Florida from 2013 to ’14, where he also spent two additional seasons as an assistant.
Durkin also was the defensive coordinator at Michigan in 2015 before serving as head coach at Maryland.
Durkin was fired at Maryland on Feb. 6, 2020. He had been reinstated by the school the day before his firing after being placed on paid administrative leave on Aug. 6, 2019 following two separate investigations into the football program and meetings and calls between the 17-member board of regents following the June 13 death of 19-year-old offensive lineman Jordan McNair from a heatstroke he suffered at a May 29 offseason workout.
Houston Texans linebackers coach Chris Kiffin was also a strong candidate for the Auburn job.