ALERT: Auburn has CLEAR reason to do everything it can to keep DJ Durkin on staff

Locked On Auburn - Daily Podcast On Auburn Tigers Football & Basketball

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4.6 • 652 Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Auburn faces mounting pressure to keep DJ Durkin on staff, as speculation swirls around the Tigers’ head coaching search. Can John Cohen make the major hire fans crave and still retain Durkin’s defensive expertise? Zac Blackerby and Ben Taylor break down why keeping Durkin as defensive coordinator is a top priority, how Saturday’s loss influences the coaching landscape, and debate whether Durkin’s true strength lies in his DC role. Key topics include John Sumrall’s status as frontrunner for Auburn’s head coach, the financial and cultural challenges of staff retention, and which offensive minds could reshape the Tigers’ future. Insightful discussion touches on player stability amid NIL and transfer portal chaos, the significance of beating Alabama, and the pressure to create a staff that balances leadership, continuity, and innovation. Are the Tigers poised for bold change, or will chemistry and cost determine Auburn’s next move?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Auburn must have DJ Durkan on staff at all costs, but as defensive coordinator.
0:10.6	You are Locked on Auburn, your daily podcast on the Auburn Tigers.
0:17.2	Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.
0:22.1	Yes, welcome on in to Lockdown Auburn, your daily Auburn Tigers podcast.
0:27.0	I'm your host, Zach Blackerby.
0:28.5	And thank you so much for making Lockdown Auburn, your first listen.
0:31.1	Every single day, we are joined by the Ben Taylor, host of Auburn-O-Blocker this morning
0:36.2	over the Auburn Network family of stations.
0:38.9	We'll talk about the potential impact that this could have to the Auburn roster, but
0:42.8	more and more chatter about Auburn's head coaching search and you're hearing all the same
0:48.4	names from all the different places.
0:51.7	And I've seen the chatter about DJ Durkin being Auburn's next head coach
0:57.4	sizzle out just a little bit. And I think it's more than just the loss this past Saturday.
1:02.6	I think some of it has to do with, I think John Cohen wants to make a splash. And I think
1:10.2	they have a unique situation where in a lot of these instances, some of it
1:14.9	depends on who they bring in.
1:16.8	But I think DJ Durkin staying on as coordinator is something that Auburn would like.
1:21.7	I think it's something that DJ Durkan would like.
1:23.9	And I think it's something that most of these potential head coaches would like,
1:28.8	it's just got to fit culturally and from a personality standpoint, Ben,
1:32.5	but keeping Durkin on staff as defensive coordinator should be a priority in this search.
1:38.2	I think that that is one of the first things that the new head coach that comes in should reach it.
	...

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