Ad Disclosure
Texas hiring Duane Akina as assistant coach, per report
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Texas is reportedly bringing back a familiar face to fill a staff vacancy.
According to Texas insider Anwar Richardson, former Longhorns assistant Duane Akina is returning to Austin to join Steve Sarkisian‘s staff as an assistant coach.
According to my sources, veteran defensive backs coach Duane Akina has been hired to replace Terry Joseph. Akina spent more than a decade with the Horns from 2001-2013. He coached at Arizona last season. pic.twitter.com/P3tCMQFINJ
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) February 24, 2025
Akina, 68, has a multi-decade coaching career that began in 1979 as a graduate assistant at Washington, his alma matter. He most recently had been at Arizona, receiving a promotion to defensive coordinator in 2024.
Akina served on Mack Brown’s staff from 2001 to 2013, working with defensive backs while adding responsibilities as assistant head coach (2003; 2008-13) and co-defensive coordinator (2004-07).
Texas had a staff opening with Terry Joseph’s departure to become the New Orleans Saints’ defensive pass game coordinator. It’s not the first time Sarkisian tried to bring Akina back to his old stomping grounds.
In January 2024, it was reported that Akina was expected to return to Texas as a senior analyst. It appears this time, with an on-field coaching spot to offer, Akina is coming back to rebuild DBU.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
