Kalen DeBoer Says Auburn is 'Playing Free' under DJ Durkin

The Tigers have scored 100 points in the last two games since Hugh Freeze got fired.

Nov 22, 2025; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers interim head coach DJ Durkin greets his team after a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Mercer Bears at Jordan-Hare Stadium. | John Reed-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— For the second time this month, Alabama will be facing an interim coach in SEC play as the Crimson Tide travels down to the Plains this weekend to take on Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Former Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze was fired after the Tigers' 10-3 home loss to Kentucky on Nov. 1.

Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin was named Auburn's interim coach on Nov. 2. In his two games as interim, Auburn nearly picked up a ranked win on the road, taking then No. 16 Vanderbilt to overtime before falling, 45-38. This past week, the Tigers beat Mercer, 62-17.

Despite the poor overall record, Durkin has developed the Tigers into one of the toughest defenses in the country all season. The only team that has scored more than 24 points on the auburn defense is Vanderbilt. Even though Durkin is a defensive coach, he says he has noticed some philosophical changes from the Auburn offense since Durkin took over.

"Obviously, they seem to be playing free and putting up a lot of points in the last two weeks," DeBoer said.

Under Freeze, Auburn had one of the worst scoring offenses in the SEC. During his six games as head coach, the Tigers averaged 15 points per game.

Auburn's offense has scored 100 points in Durkin's two games as interim. One of the games was against an FCS opponent, but Vanderbilt has a very tough defense. Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack gave a lot of credit to Auburn offensive coordinator Derrick Nix, who is now Auburn's primary playcaller. Nix was sharing playcalling responsibilites with Freeze while he was still the head coach.

"Just really happy for Derrick, and he's doing a great job," Wommack said Monday. " I mean, you can tell a noticeable difference. And some of the things they're doing, from an execution standpoint, they're playing within the framework of what their players can do. They're getting the ball to their playmakers and and creating some explosive plays both in the run and pass game. So it will be a great challenge for us as always, but certainly we are very much looking forward to the game."

It will be a tough challenge for the Auburn offense this week though going against a Tide defense that is ranked ninth in total defense and No. 10 in scoring defense at 16.2 points per game. Auburn (5-6, 1-6 SEC) will be fighting for a bowl eligibility on Saturday, while Alabama (9-2, 6-1 SEC) can punch a ticket to the SEC title game with a win the Iron Bowl.