Duane Akina To Return To Texas
In a weird turn of events, former defensive backs coach
Duane Akina has decided to return back to Texas. Akina left the Longhorns for the Arizona
Wildcats in January, where he was expected to coach the secondary. Inside Texas
was the first to report early Monday morning that he would be back in Austin. The University of Texas and the University of Arizona have now made it
official.
"I'm not happy that I had to put both of these institutions in this situation," Akina said. "It's been a tough month for me and my family making these decisions. Any time you have younger children, it becomes a very difficult decision and that was the driving force behind this decision." Akina was originally with the Wildcats program from 1992 to 2002 before coming to Texas. It was there he and Dick Tomey were famous for the "desert swarm" defense that led the nation in both fewest points allowed and fewest rushing yards allowed. When it was announced that he would return to Arizona, Wildcats fan and alumni were thrilled. "We are disappointed," Mike Stoops said. "We were excited to have Duane on our staff. We respect his decision and wish the best for him and his family." Akina says that it just didn’t work out between him and Arizona. One would have to think the reason why is because of the Texas coaching vacancy at defensive back. "Mike and Greg have been terrific to me," Akina said. "Arizona is a wonderful place that is special to me. I came here because this is a solid program that is on the rise. Mike is an outstanding coach and I am sorry it didn't work out. He has a tremendous staff in place." Since joining the Texas staff in 2003, Akina helped the Longhorns pass defense rank in the top 10 four times. He also coached back to back Thorpe Awards winners in Michael Huff and Aaron Ross, along with Thorpe finalist Earl Thomas. Currently seven of his former Longhorn players are now playing in the NFL.
"I'm not happy that I had to put both of these institutions in this situation," Akina said. "It's been a tough month for me and my family making these decisions. Any time you have younger children, it becomes a very difficult decision and that was the driving force behind this decision." Akina was originally with the Wildcats program from 1992 to 2002 before coming to Texas. It was there he and Dick Tomey were famous for the "desert swarm" defense that led the nation in both fewest points allowed and fewest rushing yards allowed. When it was announced that he would return to Arizona, Wildcats fan and alumni were thrilled. "We are disappointed," Mike Stoops said. "We were excited to have Duane on our staff. We respect his decision and wish the best for him and his family." Akina says that it just didn’t work out between him and Arizona. One would have to think the reason why is because of the Texas coaching vacancy at defensive back. "Mike and Greg have been terrific to me," Akina said. "Arizona is a wonderful place that is special to me. I came here because this is a solid program that is on the rise. Mike is an outstanding coach and I am sorry it didn't work out. He has a tremendous staff in place." Since joining the Texas staff in 2003, Akina helped the Longhorns pass defense rank in the top 10 four times. He also coached back to back Thorpe Awards winners in Michael Huff and Aaron Ross, along with Thorpe finalist Earl Thomas. Currently seven of his former Longhorn players are now playing in the NFL.
