D.J. Durkin now appears to be the frontrunner for the Auburn head coaching position

November 28, 2025 – AUBURN – Multiple sources now are reporting that Auburn interim head Coach D.J. Durkin is now the favorite to be named the Auburn head coach.

A week ago, various internet sites were reporting that Auburn had zeroed in on Tulane and former Troy head Coach John Sumrall to be the next head coach at Auburn. Earlier this week Auburn Athletics Director made a point of saying that Durkin was still very much in consideration.

Florida fired head Coach Billy Napier weeks ago. LSU fired head Coach Brian Kelly when he failed to reach their lofty expectations. Both schools zeroed in on Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin even though Mississippi is playing for a playoff spot and needs only to finish off Mississippi State today to get the coveted invitation to the twelve team college football playoff (Ole Miss was leading 31 to 13 in the fourth quarter at the time of this writing). LSU and Florida have engaged in a bidding war and both have flown Kiffin's family to Baton Rouge and Gainesville.

Kiffin has stopped answering phone calls from Florida. Realizing that Kiffin was no longer interested in going to Florida – which has never really competed at a high level in the SEC unless Steve Spurrier or Tim Tebow were there – Florida's AD has switched the focus of his coaching search to John Sumrall. Florida has reportedly offered Sumrall $9.5 million a year to go to Gainesville – significantly more than the number that Auburn was discussing with Sumrall.

If these reports are true, Florida could announce that Sumrall is their new coach as early as Sunday. This has narrowed Auburn's options with Durkin being the most likely finalist.

Durkin – age 47 - is an accomplished defensive coordinator and the former head Coach at Maryland where he went 10 and 15. He played wide receiver and outside linebacker at Bowling Green from 1997 to 2000, and served as a team captain both of his last two seasons there. He was also the interim head coach at Florida winning his one game with as head of the Gators.

As interim coach, Durkin fixed Auburn's struggling offense, losing his first game as head coach in overtime to Vanderbilt and standout quarterback Diego Pavia (who has beaten Auburn three years in a row at two different schools). Durkin got his first win last week against Mercer. Both redshirt Senior starter Ashton Daniels and five-star freshman Deuce Knight have been impressive at quarterback under Durkin.

Auburn fired third year coach Hugh Freeze after an embarrassing home loss to Kentucky 10 to 3. Freeze's inability to get the offense right contributed to his short tenure with the Tigers.

Auburn has not won seven wins in a season since 2019.

The Tigers (5 – 6) play Alabama (9-2) at home Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium at 6:30 p.m. Auburn has lost to Alabama five years in a row. If Alabama wins, they will go to the SEC Championship Game and will play next week in Atlanta for an automatic bid to the playoffs. If Auburn wins, they will be bowl eligible. Auburn last went to a bowl in Freeze's first season (2023).

An announcement that Auburn has hired Durkin could come as early as Friday evening. This situation remains very fluid, but it seems likely that Auburn will make a decision before the Iron Bowl.

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