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By Matt Audilet
Contributing Sports Writer
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Alex Golesh took the podium for his introductory press conference with the Auburn Tigers on Monday, beginning his tenure as the program's new head coach.
Golesh replaces now-former Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, who was fired on Nov. 2 following the Tigers' fifth loss to the 2025 college football season.
Auburn operated under interim head coach D.J. Durkin, the team's defensive coordinator, for the final three games of the Tigers' regular-season campaign. Though the team went 1-2 over that span, they put up valiant efforts against two of the SEC's strongest teams: Vanderbilt and Alabama.
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After this strong finish to the season, many Auburn fans hope Durkin will stay with the team as a member of Golesh's staff.
During his introductory press conference, Golesh announced that the team is working on a plan regarding Durkin's future with the program.
“We’ve got a plan,” Golesh said. “We’re working through steps to execute the plan. My hope is that in the next—call it—24 or 48 hours, that gets finalized and we have some clarity with which direction we’re going.”
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Durkin clearly has some serious support from the Auburn players.
“The best four weeks of my life,” Tigers defensive end Kendrick Faulk said. “The last four weeks felt like college football. From Vanderbilt to now as just a different atmosphere within the whole team. It was just different. I’m grateful.”
Regardless of who's leading Auburn's defensive unit in 2026, Golesh plans to roll out one of the grittiest teams in college football.
“What you’re going to get from me, from our staff and as we get rolling our players, is the hardest-working, toughest, grittiest program in the entire country,” Golesh said. “We’re going to find wins at every single margin we can find.
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“… Defensively, we’re going to be just as fun to watch. We’ll be aggressive, create negatives, create turnovers. We’re going to be the most violent freaking team on the football field every single Saturday.”
On Tuesday evening, Auburn announced its official decision to retain Durkin as the program's defensive coordinator.
“Choosing to keep DJ on our staff was an easy call,” Golesh said in a statement. “Our relationship goes back more than 20 years to our roots in Ohio, we have worked with some of the same men, and we’ve competed against each other in this great league.
"We are fortunate to retain one of the top defensive minds in college football here on The Plains. He’s an elite leader, incredible father and husband and will be phenomenal leader on the defensive side of the ball. We have great respect for each other. Time to go to work.”
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