What Gameday Operation Adjustments is DJ Durkin Making as Auburn's Interim Head Coach?

DJ Durkin will continue to call Auburn's defense, while trying to manage the entire team as the interim head coach.

Auburn Tigers interim head coach DJ Durkin will still call the defensive plays. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AUBURN, Ala.- Auburn Tigers interim head coach DJ Durkin spoke Thursday afternoon about how operations will run on gameday for Saturday's matchup against the Vanderbilt Commodores. 

When Hugh Freeze was the head coach at Auburn, Durkin would make his defensive adjustments next to his players on the bench while the offense was on the field. But now that he has stepped up into the interim head coach role while still being the Tigers' defensive play-caller, he cannot focus solely on the defensive side of the ball. 

“The plan is right when the defensive series is over, I’ll get through my work on the iPad quickly and give the adjustments to the staff to go make so that I can go watch (the offense)," Durkin explained on Thursday. "Usually I'm not even watching the offense, I’m on the bench with the (defensive) players. Communication will run a little differently. But in terms of us getting together right at the end of the series, that’ll stay the same.“ 

Auburn’s defense comes into this week as one of only three teams in all of FBS to allow 24 or fewer points in every single matchup this season. Two of those teams sit in the top two of the latest College Football Playoff rankings, while Auburn sits at 4-5 and well out of contention for a CFP berth. 

While the defense has been dominant this season, the changes combined with a high-powered Vanderbilt offense could prove troublesome for Auburn.

Vanderbilt's offense currently averages 37.6 points per game with 45 total touchdowns on the year. As a result of his new duties, while hoping to keep Auburn's defense as efficient as it has been, Durkin will continue to rely heavily on his staff, while trying to manage the Auburn offense that has struggled all season. 

“We got a good staff of guys… My big thing was not to change what we are doing," Durkin said. "We have a good flow of how we do it on that side of the ball, so I think they all understand it, and we will be good.”

With a new system in place, Auburn will have to navigate an unfamiliar path to try to achieve victory. Offensive playcalling duties have been given to offensive coordinator Derrick Nix, but Durkin will now have to be present and listen in to what is going on with the offensive side of the ball.