Uncertainty still hangs over the Tigers’ sideline, and it starts under center. Interim head coach D.J. Durkin walked into Iron Bowl week keeping his quarterback cards close to the vest, even after freshman Deuce Knight lit up Mercer while Ashton Daniels sat to preserve his redshirt.
Publicly, Durkin has hinted that Daniels is in line to start against Alabama, praising how the veteran handled sitting out and insisting he will “be fine” sliding back into the groove. At the same time, the staff clearly loves Knight’s upside, and Durkin has teased the idea of using both passers in some capacity on Saturday.
Behind the scenes, the bigger decision is about who will be calling plays from the head coach’s office in 2026. According to On3, Auburn has zeroed in on Tulane’s Jon Sumrall as its preferred target, a choice that fits neatly with the Alabama native’s résumé of two league titles at Troy and a live College Football Playoff push this season.
But Florida and Ole Miss are also doing their homework on Sumrall as they chase Lane Kiffin, and if they miss on Kiffin, his name keeps surfacing for those jobs, too. Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, who have the Commodores flirting with a CFP berth, remain in the mix as well. And if Durkin shocks the SEC by knocking off Alabama in the Iron Bowl, On3’s reporting makes clear he cannot be ruled out as a serious contender either.
Durkin has already shown he is willing to speak bluntly about the modern landscape. In the lead-up to the Iron Bowl, he said transfer-portal tampering with his roster had hit an “all-time high,” calling out the constant contact and distractions circling his players while stressing that Auburn’s leadership core is doing everything it can to keep the locker room focused on Alabama.
Put it together and Auburn’s coaching search looks like a three-lane road: chase Sumrall as the proven program-builder, monitor other Power Five names if the carousel spins out, and leave a door open for the interim if he turns Iron Bowl chaos into a signature win.
One afternoon against the Tide could reshape not just the Tigers’ bowl fate, but the entire direction of the program.
