Reports: A&M Hires Ole Miss’ D.J. Durkin as Defensive Coordinator

OXFORD, Miss. — Reports say Ole Miss defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin has now been hired for the same position at Texas A&M.

Billy Liucci of Texags.com was the first to report the Aggies’ hiring of Durkin Wednesday afternoon:

DJ Durkin to A&M a done deal. Defensive coordinator officially making the SEC West move from Ole Miss to Aggieland.

— Billy Liucci (@billyliucci) January 5, 2022

For the last two seasons, Durkin has served as the co-defensive coordinator for the Rebels with Chris Partridge.

The Rebel Walk heard rumors last week that A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher had Durkin on a short list of candidates — and that Fisher was impressed with the job done by the Ole Miss defense in the Rebels’ 29-19 win over the Aggies November 13 in Oxford.

Reports also suggest Durkin will be signing a three-year deal.

Sources: D.J. Durkin is finalizing a three-year deal to become the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M. Durkin spent the last two years as the defensive coordinator at Ole Miss.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 5, 2022

After Durkin arrived in Oxford in 2020, the Ole Miss defense finished the all-SEC season with a win over Indiana in the Outback Bowl to go 5-5 on the year. The Rebels’ defense gave up 38.3 points per game and ranked 118th in the nation with opponents averaging 519.0 yards per game.

In 2021, Ole Miss improved to 10-2 in the regular season with Durkin’s unit giving up an average of just 24.7 points per game and holding five opponents to under 20 points. The Rebels had not give up fewer points per game across the entirety of a season since 2015 — when Ole Miss defeated Oklahoma State in the Sugar Bowl.

With Durkin leaving, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has lost both his offensive coordinator (Jeff Lebby to Oklahoma) and Durkin to A&M. Kiffin has hired Charlie Weis Jr. to replace Lebby.