Duane Akina

Duane Akina
Sport(s)	Football
Current position
Title	Defensive Backs Coach
Team	Texas
Biographical details
Born	c. 1958 (age 52–53)
Place of birth	Honolulu, HI
Playing career
1976-1979	Washington
Position(s)	QB
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2011-present January 2011 2008-2010 2005-2007 2003-2004 2001-2002 1996-2000 1992-1995 1987-1991 1986 1984-1985 1983 1981-1982 1979-1980	Texas (DBs coach) Arizona (DBs coach) Texas (Asst. head coach/DBs coach) Texas (Co-defensive coord./DBs coach) Texas (Asst. head coach/DBs coach) Texas (DBs coach) Arizona (DBs coach) Arizona (Defensive coord.) Arizona (DBs coach) Calgary Stampeders (DBs coach) Hawaiʻi (DBs coach) Hawaiʻi (OLBs coach) Hawaiʻi (DBs coach) Washington (Grad. assistant)

Duane Akina (born c. 1958) is the assistant head coach and defensive backs coach for the Texas Longhorns football team.

In 28 years of coaching football, Akina has coached three Thorpe Award winners in Darryll Lewis (1990), Michael Huff (2005), and Aaron Ross (2006), as well as five finalists for the award, among them Chris McAlister. Twenty of his defensive backs have also gone on to play in the NFL.

He was an assistant coach to Dick Tomey at the University of Arizona for 14 years, serving as defensive backs coach and co-defensive coordinator. Akina helped oversee the "Desert Swarm" defense with Mac Duff, and formed a unit that led the nation in fewest points allowed (8.9 per game) in 1992 and led in fewest rushing yards allowed (30.1) in 1993. He was named Arizona defensive coordinator in 2000, but decided to leave for Texas to become the team's defensive back coach.

Akina was promoted to co-defensive coordinator and retained his duties as defensive backs coach for the Longhorns from 2005-2007. In the 2007 season, he shared the defensive coordinator position with Larry Mac Duff, but called the defensive plays.^[1] After a frustrating season, in which the Longhorns defense allowed a school-record 4,498 total yards, Akina could have faced dismissal following the 2007 Holiday Bowl.^[2] However, not Akina, but Larry Mac Duff resigned.^[3] Akina was nonetheless demoted to secondary coach after Will Muschamp was hired as the new defensive coordinator.

Following June Jones' resignation at Hawaiʻi, Akina was considered to be one of the candidates for his replacement.^[4]

In January of 2011, it was announced that Akina would be leaving the Longhorns to be the defensive backs coach at the University of Arizona. One month later, his replacement at Texas, Jerry Grey, left the Longhorns to become the defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans. A few days later, Akina announced that he would be returning to Texas to resume his defensive backs position with the Longhorns due to family considerations.^[5]

References

1. ^ Halliburton, Suzanne (2007-01-12). "Akina, Mac Duff each earn $300,000". Austin-American Statesman. http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/longhorns/entries/2007/01/12/akina_mac_duff_each_earn_300000.html. Retrieved 2007-03-03. 
2. ^ Dallas Morning News: Holiday Bowl may be last shot for Texas' Akina
3. ^ Austin American-Statesman: Assistant coach Mac Duff leaves the Longhorns' staff
4. ^ Could Akina be headed to Hawaii?
5. ^ Dallas Morning News: Akina returning to Texas football staff

Persondata
Name	Akina, Duane
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1958
Place of birth	Honolulu, HI
Date of death
Place of death