Steve Sarkisian is hiring legendary assistant coach Duane Akina to replace the departing Terry Joseph as safeties coach for the Texas Longhorns, sources confirm to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
Akina was the defensive backs coach on the Forty Acres under Mack Brown from 2001-2013, overseeing the Horns’ claim as DBU thanks to products such as Michael Huff, Aaron Ross, and Nathan Vasher.
Blake Gideon, a former pupil of Akina, led the Texas safety room in 2024. He left after the season to become the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech. That prompted Sarkisian to move Joseph from cornerback coach to safeties, but he’s taking a job with the New Orleans Saints. And that led to Akina’s return to Austin.
Akina, 68, is a Hawaii native who has spent most of the last 40 years of his career at either Arizona or Texas outside of an 8-year stint at Stanford. He was the defensive coordinator at Arizona in 2024 after rejoining the Wildcats’ staff as an analyst in 2023.
The Texas safety room loses Andrew Mukuba to the NFL, but will return Michael Taaffe, Derek Williams, and Jelani McDonald.
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