Jimbo Fisher "Excited To Welcome" D.J. Durkin As Aggies Defensive Coordinator

Texas A&M officially welcomed their new defensive coordinator to College Station on Friday

Matt Galatzan | Jan 21, 2022

Texas A&M has officially welcomed its next defensive coordinator, D.J. Durkin, to the program

On Friday, the Aggies publicly announced their hiring of former Ole Miss defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin to the same position in College Station

“We are excited to welcome D.J. [Durkin] as our new defensive coordinator,” Fisher said. “He has done a tremendous job being multiple in his looks that cause problems for opposing offenses. In addition to being an excellent recruiter, D.J. has done a great job of developing his players and has experience in the SEC.”

The terms of their deal have not yet been announced, but it is expected to be for three years, running through the 2024 season.

Durkin was hired by Fisher and the Aggies just one month after former defensive coordinator Mike Elko was lured away to the ACC to become the new coach for the Duke Blue Devils.

“I look forward to working with Coach Fisher, the Aggie football staff and the excellent players Coach has assembled,” Durkin said. “I know the 12th Man supports Aggie football. I was at Kyle Field for Texas A&M’s first SEC home game back in 2012 and the atmosphere was electric. We will play with great effort that the 12th Man will be proud of.”

Under Elko, the Aggies were one of the best defensive units in all of college football, ranking No. 3 in the country in scoring defense, where they gave up just 15.9 points per game, and No. 14 in total defense, surrendering just 327.5 yards per contest.

Durkin, who came to Oxford following a stint as the coach at Maryland, was a godsend for the Rebels in 2021, helping to transform their defense from one of the worst defensive units in program history (117th in scoring defense), to a solid and respectable SEC unit, that gave up just 24.7 points per contest (51st in scoring defense).

Durkin will have to deal with a substantial turnover on the defensive side of the ball, with standouts such as Leon O'Neal, DeMarvin Leal, Michael Clemons, Jayden Peevy, Aaron Hansford, and Tyree Johnson all headed to the NFL.

On the other side of that coin, however, the Aggies have also assembled one of the best defensive recruiting classes in the history of the modern recruiting era, with talents such as Walter Nolen, Harold Perkins, Denver Harris, Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, Anthony Lucas, and others coming in.

Fisher also announced changes to the titles of other defensive staff members, with Elijah Robinson moving to the head coach/run game coordinator/defensive line coach position, and Tyler Santucci being named the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

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Published Jan 21, 2022

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns In SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks with the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com for 247Sports. He then moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, ex Longhorns Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, FOX News and former ESPN host Will Cain, as well as countless other recruits and former players for each of the teams he has covered. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.