Tag: DJ Durkin

Keionte Scott elected to stay at Auburn, and Wesley McGriff deserves the credit

Scott flirted with the transfer portal in January, but returns to bring experience to a depleted Auburn secondary.

Auburn’s secondary is one of the least experienced units on the defensive side of the ball, so it needs as much leadership as possible.

After the departures of [autotag]Nehemiah Pritchett[/autotag], [autotag]DJ James[/autotag], and [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag], who declared for the NFL draft, Auburn needed a player like [autotag]Keionte Scott [/autotag]in-house to provide leadership and experience to the unit. Earlier this week, Scott revealed that he almost left the program, which would have for sure delivered a blow to Auburn’s defense.

Scott entered the transfer portal for a short time in January before pulling his name out of consideration just two days later. What sparked his return? The return of defensive backs coach [autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag]. McGriff took a step back from his on-field duties last October before leaving the program to join Mike Elko’s staff at Texas A&M. The deal with Texas A&M fell through, which led him back to Auburn.

Scott says a brief chat with McGriff made the difference.

“We talked a lot throughout the process and stuff like that,” Scott said. He was able to still mentor me through the process of everything. So ultimately having him come back, that was a plus.”

Scott, who will move to cornerback this season, says that the prospective of playing in new defensive coordinator [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag]’s defense, and staying at a place he loves in Auburn, also played a role in his decision to stay.

Scott enters the 2024 season with 72 total tackles, an interception, and four pass deflections. He has also returned 29 punts in two seasons on the Plains for 356 yards and a touchdown.

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Salary details released for Charles Kelly, DJ Durkin

Details surrounding the salary of new Auburn assistant coaches have emerged, including those for Auburn’s new co-defensive coordinators.

Auburn has hired many new assistant coaches this offseason, and details surrounding new contracts are beginning to emerge.

Auburn Undercover’s Nathan King has revealed details surrounding the contract and salary of Auburn’s new defensive coaches including co-defensive coordinators [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag] and [autotag]Charles Kelly[/autotag].

Reports surfaced of Auburn’s hiring of Charles Kelly before the Tigers’ Music City Bowl game against Maryland. The hire was made official, and Kelly will now serve as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. According to King, Kelly will make $875,000 over a three-year contract, which will expand to $950,000 if he is still on staff in 2026.

Durkin, however, is set to make north of $1 million a year as Auburn’s defensive coordinator. King reports that Durkin will earn $1.2 million this season, and his salary will increase by $200,000 for every year that he is on staff.

Durkin joins Auburn’s staff after spending two seasons as defensive coordinator for Texas A&M and was part of Lane Kiffin’s staff at Ole Miss during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Kelly comes to Auburn from Colorado, where he served as defensive coordinator for Deion Sanders’ initial coaching staff in Boulder. He is well respected across the country and is known to be an elite recruiter.

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Hugh Freeze promotes Vontrell King-Williams to defensive line coach

King-Williams replaces Jeremy Garrett, who recently took a position with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] did not have to search long, or even far, to find his next defensive line coach.

Former defensive line coach [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] was named defensive line coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, and his replacement was in-house. According to a report by Brian Stultz of Auburn Rivals, analyst [autotag]Vontrell King-Williams[/autotag] has been promoted to defensive line coach.

King-Williams joined Freeze’s staff last January as an analyst, working primarily with Auburn’s defensive line alongside Garrett. Before his time at Auburn, King-Williams served as defensive line coach for Eastern Michigan for the 2022 season and was a graduate assistant for EMU from 2018-19. He previously worked on Freeze’s staff at Liberty as a defensive graduate assistant for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Garrett spoke of King-Williams last year in an interview with Auburn Undercover, saying that he knows how to build relationships with players.

“He’s a really good coach. He’s a smart coach. He’s a really good teacher. He knows the players and gets to know those guys well,” Garrett said of King-Williams. “I just think what he’s going to bring to the table, it’s going to be a dynamic duo in recruiting and teaching these guys.”

The promotion of King-Williams to the on-field staff will cause shifting among the staff. Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reports that linebackers coach [autotag]Josh Aldridge[/autotag] will now coach EDGE rushers while newly-named defensive coordinator [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag] will handle linebackers.

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Four-star Georgia commit visits Auburn, DJ Durkin on Sunday

Jadon Perlotte’s relationship with new defensive coordinator DJ Durkin may help the Tigers chances to flip from rival Georgia.

Auburn has been high on the radar of four-star linebacker [autotag]Jadon Perlotte[/autotag] for quite some time. Their stock has risen now that they have tabbed [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag] as the new defensive coordinator.

Perlotte, a Georgia pledge since December of 2022, visited Auburn on Sunday for the seventh time since the 2022 football season. One of the main reasons for his visit was to catch up with Durkin, a coach who recruited him heavily during his days at Texas A&M.

Perlotte tells Caleb Jones of Rivals that Durkin sees Perlotte as a player who can be the “quarterback of the defense.” He also says that his experience as a coach intrigues him.

“(Durkin) bringing his knowledge down here is just a big deal for me,” Perlotte said in an interview with Rivals. “We went through a lot of film. He knows what he’s talking about. His backers are very versatile and the next level is the league, that’s where I wanna be at.”

Georgia is the frontrunner at this time, but Auburn and Florida State remain high in the chase. His high school teammate at Buford, [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag], signed with Georgia during the early signing period, which is important due to a quote published by Sports Illustrated last August which he stated that he and Bolden were a “package deal.”

“I’ve got to play with him,” Perlotte said in August. “Nobody has scored, pass-wise, on our side 1-2 during our whole high school careers. I’ve got to play with KJ (Bolden). Our package is just different.”

Perlotte is the No. 3 linebacker for the 2025 cycle and is the No. 25 overall player for the recruiting class. Perlotte says that he plans to visit Auburn more this year, including several times during the spring practice period.

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Auburn DL coach Jeremy Garrett to take on similar role with Jacksonville Jaguars

Garrett returns to the NFL ranks after spending one season on the Plains.

Just when we thought Auburn’s coaching staff had been finalized for the 2024 season, an unforeseen wrench was thrown into the plan.

Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reported Friday that Auburn defensive line coach [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] is expected to bolt to the NFL to take on a similar role with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The move will be Garrett’s second time as an NFL assistant coach, as he served as an assistant defensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns from 2020-21. He returned to the college ranks in 2022 as a part of Hugh Freeze’s staff at Liberty before making the move to Auburn in 2023.

[autotag]Marcus Harris[/autotag] and [autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag] are the two notable defensive linemen who were the most productive under Garrett’s leadership in 2023, his lone season at Auburn. Harris recorded 40 total tackles and led the team with seven sacks. Faulk as a true freshman made 36 tackles with a sack and a pass deflection.

Auburn’s defense ranked 12th in the SEC in total tackles last season with 752 total, and finished No. 7 in sacks with 31. Auburn defensive linemen contributed 160 tackles and 12 sacks to that total.

Head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] has reeled in defensive upgrades to his staff such as [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag] and [autotag]Charles Kelly[/autotag] this offseason. Who will Freeze talk with about filling the recent vacancy on his staff?

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Examining DJ Durkin’s top recruits of all-time

Auburn’s new defensive coordinator has a knack for finding elite talent.

Auburn has landed its next defensive coordinator in [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag].

Durkin brings a wealth of knowledge to the Plains, as he has served as a Power Five coach since 2007, with one exception. He joined the Atlanta Falcons staff as a consultant during the 2019 season before re-joining the college ranks as a defensive coordinator under Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss and most recently under Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M.

He has led defenses to produce solid numbers throughout the years, but another impressive aspect of his resume is his ability to recruit.

Throughout his time at places such as Florida, Maryland, and Texas A&M, Durkin has played a hand in several of the nation’s best athletes signing with his program. Durkin is now paired with great recruiters such as [autotag]Charles Kelly[/autotag], [autotag]Marcus Davis[/autotag], and even his new head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag], which should allow him to continue recruiting at a high level.

Here’s a look at the top 10 recruits that Durkin has had a hand in landing over the years.

Report: Auburn to hire DJ Durkin as defensive coordinator

Durkin will team up with Charles Kelly to lead the Auburn defense in 2024.

In a bit of late-night news, Auburn has reportedly found its next defensive coordinator.

Auburn Undercover reports that Auburn will hire [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag] as its next defensive coordinator. He is expected to team up with [autotag]Charles Kelly[/autotag] to lead the Tigers’ defense in 2024.

Durkin joins Auburn’s staff after spending the last two seasons as defensive coordinator under Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M. He also has SEC experience at Ole Miss (2020-22) and Florida (2010-14).

Since returning to the SEC, Durkin has led defenses to top-10 rankings within the conference. Last season, Texas A&M’s defense finished No. 3 in the SEC by allowing 316 yards per game and was No. 2 behind Florida in average plays allowed with 60.5. The Aggies finished No. 7 in the SEC in 2022 by allowing 365 yards per game.

Durkin’s hire would close out Auburn’s assistant coaching vacancies. This offseason, Auburn has tabbed former Ole Miss wide receivers coach [autotag]Derrick Nix[/autotag] as offensive coordinator, former Colorado defensive coordinator Charles Kelly as co-defensive coordinator, and has promoted former assistant [autotag]Kent Austin[/autotag] to quarterbacks coach.

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Former Texas A&M defensive coordinator DJ Durkin has found a new home

Former Texas A&M defensive coordinator DJ Durkin with still in the SEC and join Hugh Freeze at Auburn to run his defense

With a few of the higher profile names from the Jimbo Fisher era finding jobs relatively quickly, one name that lingered out there for a while was the former Texas A&M defensive coordinator DJ Durkin. Bobby Petrino landed in a familiar place to him, returning to Arkansas as their offensive coordinator, and Elijah Robinson left for Syracuse University to join his longtime friend, Head Coach Fran Brown.

The veteran coordinator has officially found his next job and didn’t go far staying in the SEC. Per Chris Low, Durkin will be the next DC for the Auburn Tigers once the 2024 season starts. After a rough start in College Station, Durkin turned the Aggies into one of the better defenses in the conference over the last two seasons. If he had better talent in the secondary, they might have been one of the better defenses in the country overall.

This closes the door on the bigger-named assistant coaches from Jimbo’s staff and we can turn the page to fully concentrate on the stellar job new Head Coach Mike Elko is doing so far. That is until Jimbo decides to get back into the coaching game.

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Paul Finebaum shares thoughts on Auburn’s recent coaching changes

The SEC Network analyst believes that Auburn is moving in the right direction, but Freeze should explain his methods.

The month of January for Auburn football has been filled with staff changes across the board.

Several have been replaced while others have been promoted. Among the changes are the departures of former Tiger players [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag]. Changes such as those have caused an uproar from the Auburn fanbase, and an SEC analyst feels that it is only right for head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] to address their exits.

Radio show host Paul Finebaum was a guest on Monday morning’s edition of McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on Jox 94.5 in Birmingham, where he discussed the recent moves within Auburn’s coaching staff. He says that Freeze could lower confusion within the fanbase by explaining the moves, especially the one concerning Auburn’s interim head coach during the final two games of the 2022 season.

“When you have one of the most famous players in your history depart without explanation and then another one who is, I believe a captain and very popular, you have to explain these things, or if you don’t you’re going to lead people to wonder,” Finebaum said. “I don’t need to remind you (Cole Cubelic) because you were at the epicenter of the Cadillac Williams thing on national television 14 months ago how popular he was and what an emotional story that is.”

Even though the loss of Williams and Etheridge stings Auburn fans, Finebaum understands that those moves are expected due to the need to hire new coordinators. Despite the change, Finebaum still feels that Auburn is on the right track with its recent hires.

“I think that’s part of it. I think when you unload your top two coordinators and there’s change and there’s chaos, you really are going to draw the wrath of the crowd,” Finebaum said Monday. “Having said all that, I think some of the changes have been positive. I think Hugh Freeze realized he needed an upgrade and I think he’s got it. I still think the sour taste at the end of the season is pretty hard to deal with, but I would still argue that if you take a deep breath and look forward, Auburn is in very good shape.”

Auburn has hired [autotag]Derrick Nix[/autotag] to serve as offensive coordinator while [autotag]Charles Kelly[/autotag] returns to his alma mater to take over the co-defensive coordinator role. Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reported Sunday that former Texas A&M defensive coordinator [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag] is a target to work alongside Kelly in a coordinator role.

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DJ Durkin emerges as a candidate for Auburn’s defensive coordinator job

Durkin has several years of experience working in the SEC, most recently with Texas A&M.

Auburn may be on the verge of adding a defensive coordinator with SEC experience.

According to Matt Zenitz of 247Sports, former Texas A&M defensive coordinator [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag] has become a target to replace [autotag]Ron Roberts[/autotag] on Auburn’s staff. If hired, Durkin would split defensive coordinator duties with [autotag]Charles Kelly[/autotag], who returns to his alma mater after most recently spending a season on Deion Sanders’ staff at Colorado.

Under Durkin’s leadership, Texas A&M has posted a top-five defensive within the SEC over the last two seasons. The Aggies ended the 2023 season with the conference’s fifth-best defense, allowing 22.1 points and 316.2 yards per contest. Texas A&M’s defense was considered to be better than Ole Miss, South Carolina, and LSU last season.

Before his time in College Station, Durkin was defensive coordinator for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The Rebels’ defense progressed in his two seasons, moving from No. 14 in the SEC in 2020 to No. 8 in 2021. He also served as defensive coordinator at Florida from 2013-14, where he coached the Gators’ defense to a No. 3 ranking in the SEC in 2013. In between stops in SEC country, Durkin led the Maryland Terrapins as head coach from 2016-18, where he failed to win more than six games during his stay.

Head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] has added three assistant coaches to his staff since the end of the 2023 season. Joining Kelly is [autotag]Derrick Nix[/autotag], who joins Auburn’s staff as offensive coordinator and running backs coach after spending 16 seasons at Ole Miss. Freeze has also promoted [autotag]Kent Austin[/autotag] to quarterbacks coach after he spent last season as an assistant to Freeze.

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