By Michael GallagherShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberLast week, Steven Godfrey of the Washington Post reported that Auburn was set to hire Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall as the successor to recently fired Hugh Freeze.
“Jon Sumrall's going to Auburn,” Godfrey stated. “… As of right now, Jon Sumrall is going to Auburn. I've heard conflicting schedules on how Auburn would handle a Tulane playoff run. But yeah, if you're Auburn right now, you need to be cheering against Tulane (qualifying for the College Football Playoff).”
However, just days later, it appears that’s far from a done deal — if it happens at all.
Multiple reports indicated on Friday that Sumrall was the new favorite to take the vacant Florida Gators head-coaching gig after it was revealed that Lane Kiffin had narrowed his decision down to Ole Miss and LSU.
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Florida is reportedly pulling out all the stops to entice Sumrall to come to Gainesville, and if he decides to take Florida up on its offer, that leaves Auburn scrambling to find a Plan B.
While Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea are no longer in play after signing contract extensions with their respective schools, there’s still plenty of solid options still on the market including Georgia Tech’s Brent Key, James Madison’s Bob Chesney, former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, and former New York Giants HC Brian Daboll, among others.
But a new, under-the-radar favorite appears to have emerged for the Auburn job if Sumrall is, indeed, off the table: Auburn defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin.
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Durkin’s odds of landing the Auburn gig jumped to 28% by Friday night as Sumrall’s odds dropped 23 percentage points. This isn’t the first time Durkin’s name has been mentioned in connection with the Auburn job either.
Just two weeks ago, On3’s Pete Nakos reported Durkin was a legitimate option to get the permanent position.
“Another serious contender and name to know in the search is Auburn defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin,” Nakos reported. “… Sources have told On3 that Durkin has impressed in how he’s handled the interim job and his defense all season.“More important is the belief he could keep Auburn’s recruiting class and roster together. The Tigers’ 2026 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 25 in the nation according to the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.”
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