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Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze has never been one to shy away from controversy.
In fact, some might say that controversy is the biggest reason that Freeze is even a household name. Take, for instance, resigning from Ole Miss in shame after he was found to have called an escort service from a university phone.
But now Freeze is back in the SEC, and he’s doubling down on the controversy with his latest defensive coordinator hire.
Hugh Freeze is hiring DJ Durkin to be @AuburnFootball’s DC, sources tell ESPN. It will be Durkin’s fourth different stint as a DC in the SEC. He was at Texas A&M the past two seasons, Ole Miss the two seasons prior to that and Florida in 2013-14.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) January 30, 2024
ESPN’s Chris Low reports that Freeze hired former Maryland head coach DJ Durkin, who most recently served as the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M.
Hugh Freeze Hires Defensive Coordinator Associated With Death Of Former Player
Why is Durkin no longer a head coach, you ask? Well, in part because he just wasn’t very good at it.
But more so, because Durkin was the head coach at Maryland when offensive lineman Jordan McNair passed away after showing signs of heatstroke and exhaustion while participating in a team workout. McNair was just 19 years old.
A further investigation by ESPN revealed that Durkin had created a dangerous, “toxic culture” around the Maryland program.
Among the findings, ESPN discovered that:
– “There is a coaching environment based on fear and intimidation. In one example, a player holding a meal while in a meeting had the meal slapped out of his hands in front of the team. At other times, small weights and other objects were thrown in the direction of players when (strength and conditioning coach Rick) Court was angry.”
– “Extreme verbal abuse of players occurs often. Players are routinely the targets of obscenity-laced epithets meant to mock their masculinity when they are unable to complete a workout or weight lift, for example. One player was belittled verbally after passing out during a drill.”
Not a great look for Durkin!
But Freeze doesn’t seem to care about that. He’s just trying to win football games. And after a 6-7 first season with the Tigers, it appears that he’s willing to do almost anything to do so.