The Auburn Tigers are having to rebound and pick themselves up from yet another defeat this past weekend. But this time brought some renewed optimism in the first game of the DJ Durkin era.

For the first instance all season, the offense looked competent as they were able to put up 38 points on the road against Vanderbilt.

Despite the loss, the sudden change has some very real chatter about whether or not Durkin has a chance at being named to the permanent job.

Though his defense — which has been elite all season — suddenly falling off a cliff is a major red flag, should Durkin win the Iron Bowl, he’ll certainly have a larger segment of the fanbase rooting for him.

It sounds like that might be his focus too. During a speaking engagement, Durkin made it seem like that is his plan as well.

“I’m very involved,” Durkin said when asked at the Monday Morning Quarterback Club in Birmingham about how involved he is in working to keep the roster intact next year.

“I have a full-time investment in this program and this place and plan on being here for the long-term, so those are ongoing discussions all the time. The biggest thing to me is that you can look at how our players responded and played together. I think that tells a lot about how they feel about one another and this program.”

This quote certainly reads like Durkin making his case to become the permanent head coach, and while there will still be a nationwide search, it seems the administration is going to at least give him a chance to prove why.

Whether Durkin is made head coach or not though, it seems that retaining him as defensive coordinator is on the table. He has two more games to prove why he should be the guy though, and while the Mercer matchup may be a throwaway, the Iron Bowl could very well decide who the next head coach at Auburn is.