Since Texas A&M has parted ways with former defensive coordinator and now-Duke head coach Mike Elko, the Aggies have been on the hunt to fill his role.

On Wednesday, Jan. 5, D.J. Durkin, former Ole Miss co-defensive coordinator, finalized a three-year deal to join the Aggies as their new defensive coordinator.

Durkin has held positions on the coaching staff at Bowling Green, Notre Dame, Stanford, Florida and Michigan before landing the head coaching position at Maryland in 2016. Following his time at Maryland, he consulted with the Atlanta Falcons for a year before finding his way back to the Southeastern Conference, obtaining the co-defensive coordinator job at Ole Miss. 

During his time at Ole Miss, his defense led the SEC in tackles and finished No. 3 in number of sacks in the conference.

At A&M, Durkin will be stepping into a talented room of defensive athletes; however, head coach Jimbo Fisher has made it clear the 4-2-5 defensive scheme he has set will not change, despite Durkin playing with different schemes in the past.

“Defensive coordinators don’t bring in new schemes,” Fisher said. “You ain’t changing everything. We’re going to run what we run.”

Not only does Durkin have years of experience coaching defense, he is an elite recruiter as well. 

While at Florida, the defensive mastermind helped reel in four consecutive top-11 recruiting classes, and in 2012, he was named the Rivals’ Recruiter of the Year.