Xavier Atkins Vocal About Who Auburn's Next Head Coach Should Be

As the Auburn Tigers search for their next head coach, one top defender claims the best candidate is already on the Plains

Auburn's next head coach could be the one currently leading the team | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

AUBURN, Ala.- The Auburn Tigers fired their head coach, Hugh Freeze, on Nov. 2, 2025. Since then, Auburn has been searching for its next head coach. However, Auburn’s defensive coordinator and current interim head coach, DJ Durkin, has been holding the reins of the football program and appears to have turned things around for the better. 

Auburn linebacker and the SEC’s leading tackler, Xavier Atkins, has been very vocal about wanting to make Durkin the permanent head coach on the Plains.

“It’s great, man,” Atkins stated about how the football program has been under Durkin’s command. 

“To lead a team, get us fired up every week, and every day, just coming out there and being hard on us. Practicing with urgency and intent, just having that type of leader that is coming out, knowing what we were supposed to be doing, everything, and what we are supposed to bring, and what is the standard here at Auburn University.”

Without a doubt, the locker room has responded to Durkin’s challenges. Players from every position group have rallied behind Durkin and all want to turn the season around to build a better foundation for next season.

In particular, the Auburn offense found new life in the Tigers’ last outing against Vanderbilt. Prior to the Vanderbilt game, the Auburn offense struggled immensely against SEC opponents. In particular, Auburn only scored three points against the Kentucky Wildcats. That three-point outing led to Freeze being fired the very next day. 

The very next game under Durkin, the Auburn offense exploded onto the scene with 38 points, at the expense of its defense, giving up 45 points, the first time the Auburn defense gave up more than 24 points all season. 

"The thing about DJ Durkin is just being honest, man,” Atkins continued about Durkin. “Just telling you, like, what it is, what you have to do to get on the field, and coming here knowing you have to work for everything you want. And with him recruiting me out of high school, he is the same person he was three years ago… he’s going to make sure you practice with a purpose.”

Although Auburn only has two games remaining, it presents Durkin with the opportunity to make his bid to become the Tigers’ next head coach. Auburn is set to host the Mercer Bears this Saturday and then host the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl.