Auburn Expected to Hire Another Former SEC DC to Staff

With his latest target, Alex Golesh is set to have three SEC defensive coordinators from last year on his first staff at Auburn.

Auburn is set to have three SEC defensive coordinators from 2025 on its staff in 2026. | Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Auburn Tigers have targeted a former SEC defensive coordinator to be its safeties coach.

Former Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks is set to reunite with Alex Golesh as part of his first staff at Auburn, according to 247 Sports' Nathan King. The two were coordinators together for the Volunteers from 2021-22. Banks parted ways with Tennessee on Monday.

Before his stint at Tennessee, Banks was a co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Penn State (2016-20), defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Illinois (2012-15), co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Cincinnati (2010-11) and the defensive coordinator at Central Michigan (2007-09).

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At Tennessee, Banks led a turnaround of the Volunteers' defense with a No. 2 and No. 3 ranking in the SEC in 2023 and 2024, but the unit took a step backwards in 2025 with a No. 14 ranking in scoring defense.

In 2024, he was the first defensive coordinator in program history to be a finalist for the Broyles Award, which is given annually to the nation's top assistant coach.

Banks also had stints at Bowling Green as a graduate assistant (1996), running backs coach (1999), and defensive backs coach (2000); a stint at Ferris State as the defensive backs coach (1997-98); a stint at Memphis as the outside linebackers coach (2001) and defensive backs coach (2002); and a stint at Maryland as the inside linebackers coach (2003-05) and defensive backs coach (2006).

With Banks' expected hiring, Golesh will have three defensive staff members who were defensive coordinators in the SEC last season. Auburn is retaining defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin and recently hired former Mississippi State defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler to coach the Buck linebackers and edge rushers.

Rounding out Golesh's defensive staff is cornerbacks coach DeMarcus Van Dyke, who followed Golesh from South Florida, and defensive line coach Vontrell King-Williams, who was retained from Hugh Freeze's staff.

Additionally, former USF analyst Brad Wilson is expected to join the staff and help Durkin coach the linebackers.

Offensively, Golesh announced the hirings of Joel Gordon as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and Tyler Hudanick as the run game coordinator and offensive line coach. The Tigers are also expected to hire Larry Porter as the running backs coach.