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AUBURN — DJ Durkin is Auburn football’s new defensive coordinator.
The Tigers made thing official with the former Maryland coach Wednesday. It’s the last hire coach Hugh Freeze had to make for his on-field staff this offseason, as Auburn has filled all 10 spots available to it. All told, the unit had six retentions and four departures, including a change at both coordinator spots.
Freeze’s staff for Year 2 naturally has some Ole Miss flavor, as seven of the 10 assistants have either played for the Rebels or worked for them in some capacity during their respective careers. Freeze spent five seasons as the coach at Ole Miss from 2012-16, and three of Auburn’s current staff members worked with him there. Another was a player from 2004-07, overlapping with Freeze’s time as an assistant in Oxford from 2006-07.
Here’s a look at Freeze’s staff with spring practice just around the corner:
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Derrick Nix (OC/RBs coach)
Originally hired by Houston Nutt in 2008 and then surviving three coaching changes from Nutt to Hugh Freeze to Matt Luke to Lane Kiffin, Derrick Nix has left Ole Miss after 16 years with the program to become the offensive coordinator/running backs coach at Auburn. Nix’s first 12 seasons with the Rebels were spent coaching receivers. He then transitioned to focusing on RBs for the last four.
DJ Durkin (DC)
Now on his fourth stint as an SEC defensive coordinator, DJ Durkin remains in the conference after working under coach Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M for the last couple of seasons. He was with Kiffin at Ole Miss before that, and his time with the Rebels served as his return to collegiate coaching following his ouster from Maryland in relation…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/auburn-football-coaching-staff-2024-222440463.html
Author : The Montgomery Advertiser
Publish date : 2024-01-31 22:24:40
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