Auburn officially announced the hire of new defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin in a press release Wednesday afternoon after head coach Hugh Freeze confirmed the previously reported news during a press conference at the Senior Bowl.

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to join Coach Freeze’s staff and be a part of the Auburn Family,” Durkin said in the press release. “Auburn has a well-earned reputation for hard-nosed, physical defenses. We will work extremely hard to continue that tradition and make Auburn proud. I can’t wait to get started.”

Durkin is named as the “defensive coordinator” in the release after Charles Kelly was previously hired as the co-defensive coordinator. Auburn’s website still lists Kelly’s title as co-defensive coordinator but has not been updated to add Durkin’s bio as of the release sent to reporters at 4:09 p.m. Wednesday.

“There was so much interest in (the job) from people I really like,” Freeze said during his Senior Bowl press conference Wednesday. “And man, I just loved (Durkin’s) interview. I love the time that we spent with he and his wife, Sarah. They’re great individuals and people I think are going to bring so much experience and value to our building and to our defense. So I’m really excited about having D.J.”

Durkin was the defensive coordinator at Ole Miss and Texas A&M before coming to Auburn.

He was the head coach at Maryland during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He was fired in 2018 at the end of a series of investigations surrounding the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair and the program’s culture under his leadership.

“DJ has been a successful defensive coordinator at multiple stops in the Southeastern Conference,” Freeze said in the press release. “I’ve always been impressed with his schemes and game plans, including the two times I have faced his teams in recent years. Texas A&M’s defense was fast, physical, and well coached. We are excited to have DJ join our staff here at Auburn.”

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