Auburn linebacker Austin Keys already had a familiarity with new Auburn defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin from their time together at Ole Miss. But in a short time together re-united at Auburn, Keys took a subtle criticism at last year’s defensive staff.

“When I first got here we talked and he was asking what do you see in me that would help,” Keys said during a meeting with local reporters Tuesday before spring practice. “And I remember saying, last year we didn’t have a person that just knew how to turn the switch on or off. Being off the field, he knows how to control his emotions. You can come to him as a person. And on the field, he knows how to switch it back on and coach football. That’s one of my biggest things that stood out with Coach Durkin.”

Last year’s defensive coordinator Ron Roberts departed the staff for reported ideological differences. Roberts is now at Florida as the executive head coach and co-defensive coordinator.

He spent one year as the defensive coordinator at Auburn on head coach Hugh Freeze’s first staff. Freeze has said several times that he’s not made the right hires for his assistants right away at previous jobs.

There were reported disagreements within last year’s coaching staff that impacted the temporary stepping away for cornerbacks coach Wesley McGriff. McGriff briefly left Auburn for a job with Texas A&M, but within two weeks of his departure and after it became clear Roberts was going to Florida, McGriff returned to Auburn.

Early returns on Durkin at Auburn is a high-energy coach who runs intense practices.

“The thing I like most about Coach Durkin’s coaching style is the aggressiveness,” Keys said. “We always talk about how aggressive we want the defense to be and he never wants to back down from anyone or anything. Just Durk being who he is and giving people the opportunity to be aggressive without thinking, I feel like it will open the defense up more for opportunities to get the ball back for our offense.”

Durkin came to Aubrun after a stint as the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M after the same job at Ole Miss. Both SEC coordinator positions came after he was fired as the head coach at Maryland in 2018 in the wake of the tragedy and investigations surrounding the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair who collapsed during a Maryland practice in May 2018.

The fallout from his tenure at Maryland has not been a point of discussion for head coach Hugh Freeze. Durkin largely sidestepped questions during his introduction to local reporters at Auburn when asked about second chances as a coach and how he’s changed since Maryland.

“I think there’s evolution always, I think in life and in coaching,” Durkin said on March 13. “I think I’m different this year than I was last year. I think you always learn. You look back, reflect and say what are things I could have done differently, done better. That’s part of the improvement. We always do it with our players, coaches do it for ourselves too — evaluate how we do things better and differently. If you’re not growing or learning as a person, what are you doing?”

Auburn’s A-Day spring game is set for next weekend, April 6, with a 1 p.m. kickoff.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]