DJ Durkin (Ole Miss Co-DC / Playcaller) looks like the next A&M DC.

Here are some Liucci quotes on him.

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Freeze Frame is spot on here.

The Ole Miss players would be pretty upset about it per several folks in Oxford who follow that program. And if you don't think Durkin is actually known as a top-flight recruiter in coaching circles, you're woefully misinformed.

We'll see where things go here.

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Dude is a very good DC. Wouldn't be the kind of splash hire that Chavis (disaster) or Elko (home run) was but if you just watch that group play football and consider the lack of All-SEC or NFL talent he was working with and then combine it with the year one to year two improvement in Oxford, he did a very good job. And, yes, coaching defense while working for an offense that plays and scores as fast as Kiffin and Lebby do tends to destroy certain numbers and typically keeps your defense playing tired. Was impressive enough in one year at Michigan to land a head job in the B1G and he's a guy that Coach Sumlin mentioned to me more than once as the guy he should have went with for his last DC hire. Came extremely highly-recommended by Muschamp when he turned down the job.

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HawaiiAg94 said:
Mason>Durkin

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Mason has spent nearly 95% of his snaps in a three-man front when not in short-yardage/goal line. His preferred style of play simply does NOT fit the personnel on campus. The Ags have absolutely incredible d-line talent stockpiled and have a roster that was built running out of a base two-LB set. This defense is built to win and to play at a championship level in very short order and it's built to do so out of a four-down base. Period.

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I think he will be a great hire. The Ole Miss Defense has improved dramatically this year.

The offense was going for it on 4th down left and right and putting his defense in horrible positions, and he held up great, even if the scores don't always show it.

For example, yesterday in the Sugar Bowl. The final score was 21-7 Baylor, but Baylor only scored 1 TD on a real drive. Ole Miss QB threw a pick 6 and another pick inside the 20-yard line.

People on Ole Miss Message Boards are talking about how they need to try to keep him and how improved their Defense is under him, but they seem to think he is gone.

I think he would be a good hire.

Defense

They take our win, we take their coach.

Did someone Prometheus some BL quotes from premium? You know this is the zoo, we can't pay you except with insults.

Baylor was avg like 8-9 yds a rush with a fresh QB.. why not stack box and force to pass.. doesn't seem like a great hire they were awful vs the run all year

Ole Miss was 11th in defense efficiency


11th in SEC

Not good. August and September in college station is pretty hot.

This ought to be entertaining. Half the people here will take a wait and see approach and the other half are Baghdad bob.

That is true.

I have no idea if he's good or not. But do think Jimbo has better idea than anyone positing here

Coryhub said:

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Baylor was avg like 8-9 yds a rush with a fresh QB.. why not stack box and force to pass.. doesn't seem like a great hire they were awful vs the run all year

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What are you talking about? The defense gave up 0 points and 3 first downs through 3 quarters.

Also, this isn't the only game where the D has played great this year.

Keep in mind that OM has no defensive talent, has an offense that gives the ball away (4th down, quick drives, and turnovers) all the time, and that the defense is on the field for about 40 minutes a game.

Please don't go stat crazy, just watch the games.

BMX Bandit said:

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That is true.

I have no idea if he's good or not. But do think Jimbo has better idea than anyone positing here

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This I agree with strongly.

Gave up 52 to Arkansas and 31 to Auburn.. 11th in SEC isn't a great indicator regardless of talent if you're great defensive mind you can find a way to at least be in the top 8 in D.. it's not like he's at Vandy -

Any thoughts on the corrosive culture he created at Maryland until that kid died of heat stroke?

Coryhub said:

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Gave up 52 to Arkansas and 31 to Auburn.. 11th in SEC isn't a great indicator regardless of talent if you're great defensive mind you can find a way to at least be in the top 8 in D.. it's not like he's at Vandy -

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Do you mean the Arkansas team that Ole Miss beat and we lost to?

Let's not cherry-pick games.

The Tennessee offense scored 62 against Mizzou, 60 on South Alabama, 45 on Kentucky, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Purdue. That's 6 games over 45 points. They scored 17 on Georgia, 2nd most this season to the SECCG. Point is, probably one of the best SEC offenses this year.

OM, with no real talent on D, held them to 2 more points than Bama. It was one of 3 games after they started clicking that ut's offense didn't score at will(along with Georgia and Bama)

Try adding talent, and see what happens.

eb93 said:

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Any thoughts on the corrosive culture he created at Maryland until that kid died of heat stroke?

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I think we don't know enough about that situation to have a legitimate opinion.

There's a very real chance that this incident was nobody's fault. Then it happens and everyone wants to put their anger on someone.

We as fans don't have enough information about the situation.
If Jimbo trusts him, I trust him.

TnAg23 said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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That is true.

I have no idea if he's good or not. But do think Jimbo has better idea than anyone positing here

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This I agree with strongly.

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Put me in the meh/wait and see category. He and Mason are both that way for me. The reality is both have only been true DC's for a few years. Durkin is considered a better recruiter, so all things equal…

Outside of going with some up and comer (Houston guy) there really wasn't a big name option. There was no Elko equivalent and certainly no upgrade, but with the talent coming in it won't matter too much assuming they pan out.

I am just glad we can count on the Texags board to be level headed on the hire. As we are level headed and wise on all things football. No one will claim he is better than Elko without a doubt. None will claim he sucks and likes to kill kids.

Texags will patiently let it play out. We are the best.

eb93 said:

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Any thoughts on the corrosive culture he created at Maryland until that kid died of heat stroke?

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I've seen multiple reports on the situation. One will say he created a toxic culture and another one will say there is no evidence he did. One report will have players saying they hated him and the other will say they loved him.

I do think that Elko appeared to hit a ceiling, even though it was a very high one. I hope Durkin is a DC that can do more with more. He had that reputation at Michigan before he was a HC.

Not so fast Ole Miss is probably giving him a big raise, we will see.

Source: Durkin leaning toward to staying at Ole Miss.

No final decision made as of yet.

— AggiesToday (AT) (@AggiesToday) January 2, 2022

AggieBucksJB said:

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Not so fast Ole Miss is probably giving him a big raise, we will see.

Source: Durkin leaning toward to staying at Ole Miss.

No final decision made as of yet.

— AggiesToday (AT) (@AggiesToday) January 2, 2022

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Eh. Not so sure he's right on this one

This appears to be a gifted coach wanting a chance to earn a return to a head coaching gig.

I don't know if I trust AT on coaching search information.

He is a high school kid. He has real connections with recruits, so his recruiting information is pretty legitimate. But I have doubts that he has connections that would put him in the loop on coaching hires.

That's fair.

that's probably based on the rant thread where they said the Ole Miss is trying to renegotiate his deal. I think we were pretty far along in our deal so who knows.

So does that mean we are going for an DC elsewhere rather than promoting from within for sure?

My understanding is our next DC will be an internal candidate already on Jimbo's staff.

SECTAMU#1 said:

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My understanding is our next DC will be an internal candidate already on Jimbo's staff.

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Then what took so long?

SECTAMU#1 said:

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My understanding is our next DC will be an internal candidate already on Jimbo's staff.

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Source: It was revealed to me in a dream.

Honestly: speculation sometimes creates outcomes that make hiring harder. But I don't really care what Jimbo does. I only care we keep developing and recruiting well.

OM defense that supposedly couldn't contain the run was lights out against us. We could've used some of that a few games this season. I trust Jimbo in this one.

TnAg23 said:

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DJ Durkin (Ole Miss Co-DC / Playcaller) looks like the next A&M DC.

Here are some Liucci quotes on him.

Quote:

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Freeze Frame is spot on here.

The Ole Miss players would be pretty upset about it per several folks in Oxford who follow that program. And if you don't think Durkin is actually known as a top-flight recruiter in coaching circles, you're woefully misinformed.

We'll see where things go here.

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Quote:

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Dude is a very good DC. Wouldn't be the kind of splash hire that Chavis (disaster) or Elko (home run) was but if you just watch that group play football and consider the lack of All-SEC or NFL talent he was working with and then combine it with the year one to year two improvement in Oxford, he did a very good job. And, yes, coaching defense while working for an offense that plays and scores as fast as Kiffin and Lebby do tends to destroy certain numbers and typically keeps your defense playing tired. Was impressive enough in one year at Michigan to land a head job in the B1G and he's a guy that Coach Sumlin mentioned to me more than once as the guy he should have went with for his last DC hire. Came extremely highly-recommended by Muschamp when he turned down the job.

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HawaiiAg94 said:
Mason>Durkin

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Mason has spent nearly 95% of his snaps in a three-man front when not in short-yardage/goal line. His preferred style of play simply does NOT fit the personnel on campus. The Ags have absolutely incredible d-line talent stockpiled and have a roster that was built running out of a base two-LB set. This defense is built to win and to play at a championship level in very short order and it's built to do so out of a four-down base. Period.

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I think he will be a great hire. The Ole Miss Defense has improved dramatically this year.

The offense was going for it on 4th down left and right and putting his defense in horrible positions, and he held up great, even if the scores don't always show it.

For example, yesterday in the Sugar Bowl. The final score was 21-7 Baylor, but Baylor only scored 1 TD on a real drive. Ole Miss QB threw a pick 6 and another pick inside the 20-yard line.

People on Ole Miss Message Boards are talking about how they need to try to keep him and how improved their Defense is under him, but they seem to think he is gone.

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Settle down, everyone, and answer this simple question …

If Durkin is so great as a DC, then why is Ole Miss 97th in the country in total defense? The Ags are 14th. What's his draw on "recruiting" if his results on the field which matter more are so terrible?

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/22/p2

mm42 said:

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I am just glad we can count on the Texags board to be level headed on the hire. As we are level headed and wise on all things football. No one will claim he is better than Elko without a doubt. None will claim he sucks and likes to kill kids.

Texags will patiently let it play out. We are the best.

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Ags 14th in total defense
Rebs 97th in total defense

It ain't even close. It'll be a really bad move if we hire wonder boy so early in his career. I'll be glad to eat crow if I'm wrong.

TexasAggie81 said:

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TnAg23 said:

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DJ Durkin (Ole Miss Co-DC / Playcaller) looks like the next A&M DC.

Here are some Liucci quotes on him.

Quote:

---

Freeze Frame is spot on here.

The Ole Miss players would be pretty upset about it per several folks in Oxford who follow that program. And if you don't think Durkin is actually known as a top-flight recruiter in coaching circles, you're woefully misinformed.

We'll see where things go here.

---

Quote:

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Dude is a very good DC. Wouldn't be the kind of splash hire that Chavis (disaster) or Elko (home run) was but if you just watch that group play football and consider the lack of All-SEC or NFL talent he was working with and then combine it with the year one to year two improvement in Oxford, he did a very good job. And, yes, coaching defense while working for an offense that plays and scores as fast as Kiffin and Lebby do tends to destroy certain numbers and typically keeps your defense playing tired. Was impressive enough in one year at Michigan to land a head job in the B1G and he's a guy that Coach Sumlin mentioned to me more than once as the guy he should have went with for his last DC hire. Came extremely highly-recommended by Muschamp when he turned down the job.

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Quote:

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Quote:

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HawaiiAg94 said:
Mason>Durkin

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Mason has spent nearly 95% of his snaps in a three-man front when not in short-yardage/goal line. His preferred style of play simply does NOT fit the personnel on campus. The Ags have absolutely incredible d-line talent stockpiled and have a roster that was built running out of a base two-LB set. This defense is built to win and to play at a championship level in very short order and it's built to do so out of a four-down base. Period.

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I think he will be a great hire. The Ole Miss Defense has improved dramatically this year.

The offense was going for it on 4th down left and right and putting his defense in horrible positions, and he held up great, even if the scores don't always show it.

For example, yesterday in the Sugar Bowl. The final score was 21-7 Baylor, but Baylor only scored 1 TD on a real drive. Ole Miss QB threw a pick 6 and another pick inside the 20-yard line.

People on Ole Miss Message Boards are talking about how they need to try to keep him and how improved their Defense is under him, but they seem to think he is gone.

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Settle down, everyone, and answer this simple question …

If Durkin is so great as a DC, then why is Ole Miss 97th in the country in total defense? The Ags are 14th. What's his draw on "recruiting" if his results on the field which matter more are so terrible?

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/22/p2

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Look at his history of recruiting and look at the talent he had at Ole Miss. Also look at his year 1 to year 2 improvement