Auburn football's Iron Bowl loss makes a DJ Durkin promotion senseless

AUBURN — DJ Durkin had one final chance to make his case for becoming the 33rd head coach in Auburn football history, but it wasn't enough.

Auburn lost another one-score game to another ranked opponent, falling 27-20 to No. 10 Alabama in the Iron Bowl on Saturday, Nov. 29, at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers did what they've done all season, mounting a comeback and coming close, but not doing enough to win.

The would-be feather in Durkin's ball cap never came to be, but imagine it. Had Auburn found the answers to come out on top, it would've avoided a losing season. It would've punched its ticket to a bowl game. And Durkin, well, he would've become the first Auburn coach in six seasons to beat the Crimson Tide.

Certainly that's a fitting sales pitch, both for Durkin and athletics director John Cohen, who has insisted since firing Hugh Freeze on Nov. 2 that he hoped to have a new hire in place 24 to 48 hours after the Iron Bowl.

Cohen has insisted a good bit since embarking on his latest search. He told the Montgomery Advertiser and multiple other outlets about an impressive pool of candidates. They told the AD, "'Wow, you guys are pretty damn talented,'" Cohen told the Advertiser. "I didn't have any coaches three years ago saying, 'You guys are really talented.'"

He called it a nature-changing aspect of the process. But heading into the Iron Bowl, the search seemingly stalled out at the top.

Tulane's Jon Sumrall, who had been tied to the Tigers from the get-go, reportedly withdrew his name from the search. According to FootballScoop, that was in tandem with Florida making a hot pursuit, in which the Gators promised full autonomy of the program. As for Auburn? It discussed "at length" Sumrall potentially retaining some of Freeze's staff, including Durkin.

Cohen has expressed on the record a desire to keep Durkin with the program in 2026. That's fair. He coached an effective defense that allowed Auburn to hang tough with premier competition. Six of its seven losses were by one possession. But it still lost seven games, even with the likes of Cam Coleman, Keldric Faulk and Xavier Atkins putting up conference-leading numbers.

Durkin could be vital for the sake of retention, but that's retention for a roster that went 5-7 despite its talent. After the struggles Auburn went through under Freeze, Durkin didn't miraculously turn things around. He won once and went winless against the SEC.

There's also Durkin's tenure with Maryland, both its ending and the results. His one stint as a full-time head coach ended in turmoil, and his record provided no silver lining. He went just 10-15 overall and 1-8 against ranked competition.

Kudos to Durkin, not once has he publicly stated a desire to become Freeze's successor. He maintained that postgame, deflecting when asked about conversations with Cohen.

"All that other stuff will sort itself out," he said, but good nature at the podium isn't enough to give him nod. Nor is how different Auburn may have looked and felt in moments the past four weeks. Nor is what he could do to keep the talent on the roster in place.

He could be a crucial piece on the staff of Cohen's imminent hire, but there's no reason to make him the hire. There's also no reason Auburn's search should be so impacted by him. If a candidate wanted to keep him, that's lovely. But if not, so what? Auburn just secured its fifth consecutive losing season, in part with a pair of losses on Durkin's watch.

What's so wrong with burning it all down and starting from scratch?

Maybe Cohen needs to give Sumrall a call and try to reset. Maybe he needs to throw a Hail Mary and give Kenny Dillingham a blank check.

Wherever this search ends, it's hard to argue that the best hire could be made from within. Durkin showed that after the last month, and more notably, Cohen has indicated as much from the get-go.

Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at [email protected] or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter. To support Adam's work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: A DJ Durkin promotion? Not after Auburn football's Iron Bowl loss