DJ Durkin Defensive Coordinator – 3rd Season

Coaching Experience

Coaching Accomplishments

• Guided placekicker Caleb Sturgis to become a finalist for the 2011 Lou Groza Award, after going 22-for-26 in FG attempts and 31-for-31 in PAT. Sturgis was one of two kickers in the FBS to make three field goals of 50-or-more yards in 2011 and set a school record with five career 50-yarders. He ranked third in the nation with his 22 made FG, which was one shy of UF’s season record.
• Florida’s 2011 special teams unit blocked six kicks, which ranked sixth in the nation and marked the fifth time in six seasons, including both of Durkin’s seasons, that the Gators led the SEC in blocks.
• Durkin led a kickoff return unit that tied for fourth in the nation with four returns of 50-or-more yards, including 99-yard returns by Jeff Demps (vs. Georgia) and Andre Debose (vs. Ohio State), both at EverBank Field in Jacksonville. Debose has three career kickoff return touchdowns, a UF school record. On the other side of the ball, the kickoff unit did not allow any touchdowns on the season.
• As the Florida linebackers coach, Durkin was responsible for a unit which ranked ninth in the nation in total defense and 10th in pass defense. Linebacker Jon Bostic led the team with 94 tackles while fellow linebacker Jelani Jenkins was third with 75 total tackles.
• Helped punter Chas Henry win the 2010 Ray Guy Award, as Henry became the first Gator to bring home that honor, and earn consensus All-American recognition. Florida finished the season second in net punting (40.9) and tied for 14th in punt average (44.2) nationally.
• In his first season at the University of Florida, his linebacker unit helped the Gators post the 31st-ranked run defense in the nation (130.6 yards per game).
• UF led the SEC in kickoff return average (26.3) as well as kickoff return touchdowns (2), sparked by redshirt freshman Andre Debose, who ranked 14th in the country in kickoff return average (28.0) and tied for second in kickoff return touchdowns (2). Debose’s two kickoff return scores also set a single-season UF record.
• Florida’s punt coverage unit allowed just 109 return yards on 51 punts and led the nation in net punting average during the regular season (second overall including bowl games).
• One of two assistant coaches, along with Brian White, retained by Will Muschamp from Urban Meyer’s 2010 staff.
• Spent three seasons at Stanford University, where he worked with the defensive ends and coordinated the special teams’ units. Under Durkin’s guidance, Stanford’s defensive ends helped the Cardinal rank 11th nationally in sacks per game in 2007 and 2009.
• In 2009, guided Stanford’s kickoff return unit which averaged 27.5 yards per return, leading the Pac-10 and ranking No. 3 nationally, and scored three touchdowns. In addition, coverage units both ranked top-three in the Pac-10, as kickoff coverage allowed just 19.8 yards per return and punt coverage limited opponents to a 6.8-yard average.
• Returned to his alma mater, BGSU, where he worked with the defensive ends in 2005 before taking over responsibilities with the linebackers and special teams in ‘06.
• Following a two-year stay at Bowling Green, he moved to Notre Dame, where he assisted the Irish staff in all defensive aspects with concentrated duties on the defensive ends.
• Worked closely with the school’s all-time sack leader and two-time NFL Super Bowl champion, Justin Tuck, in 2004.
• Began his coaching career at Bowling Green, serving as a defensive graduate assistant on head coach Urban Meyer’s staff for two seasons (2001-02).
• In 2002, the Falcons finished with a 9-3 record and were ranked in the Top 20 in both major polls.
• In 2001, BGSU’s defense ranked first in the Mid-American Conference in total defense (319.5), rushing yards (86.3), rushing average (2.6), scoring (19.5), rushing touchdowns (five) and overall touchdowns (27).

Prominent Players Coached

FLORIDA:

• P CHAS HENRY – Ray Guy Award winner and consensus All-American, helped UF finish second in the nation in net punting.
• K CALEB STURGIS – 2011 Lou Groza Award finalist, who went 22-for-26 in FG with the third-longest FG make in the country at 55 yards. Set a new Florida record with five career made FG of 50+ yards and ranked third in the nation with 22 FG in 2011, one shy of the school record. Sturgis also converted all 31 of his PAT attempts.

STANFORD:

• DE THOMAS Keiser – A Football Writers Association of America and Sporting News first-team freshman All-American in 2008.
• WR CHRIS OWUSU – A first-team Pac-10 selection as a kickoff returner in 2009, after tallying 1,167 yards on 37 returns (31.5 avg.) and three touchdowns.

NOTRE DAME:

• DE JUSTIN TUCK – Finished his career at Notre Dame in 2004 as the all-time sack leader (24.5), while also setting school records in career tackles for loss (43) and single-season sacks (13.5).

NFL Players (round drafted)

• DE Justin Tuck (3rd) – Notre Dame ’05 – New York Giants
• DE Erik Long (7th) – Stanford ’10 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Playing Career

Four-year starting defensive end and outside linebacker at Bowling Green (1997-2000) who served as one of the team captains for two seasons. Started a total of 33 games in his career and recorded 131 tackles, including 28 for loss. Durkin led the team in sacks in 1998 and finished second in that category in 2000. Received numerous awards during his playing career, including the Ken Schoeni Award for character and toughness, the Carlos Jackson Award personifying the values of a student-athlete and the Leadership Award.

Personal Information

• Birth date: Jan. 15, 1978
• Hometown: Youngstown, Ohio
• Education: 2001 – Bachelor’s Degree in Business Marketing from Bowling Green State University; 2004 – Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from Bowling Green State University
• Family: Married to Sarah Durkin. Has one daughter, Abigail.

Bowl Games as a Coach

• 2004: Insight
• 2009: Sun
• 2011: Outback
• 2012: Gator