Steve Sarkisian, Texas hire Duane Akina to coach safeties

Hours after the news of Terry Joseph’s move to the New Orleans Saints went public, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian has filled the vacant defensive coaching staff position with the architect of some of the top secondaries in school history.

Sources told On Texas Football on Monday that the Longhorns have hired Duane Akina as their safeties coach, a move first reported by Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods. Most recently, the defensive coordinator at Arizona, the 68-year-old Akina was the Texas defensive backs coach under Mack Brown for 13 seasons (2001-13).

Texas won the 2005 national championship, two Big 12 titles (2005 and 2009), a Rose Bowl (2004) and a Fiesta Bowl (2008) during Akina's first stint in Austin. The Longhorns also produced two Jim Thorpe Award winners under Akina: Michael Huff (2005) and Aaron Ross (2006).

Akina coached some of the top defenses in school history, including the 2001 group, which led the nation in total defense (236.2 yards per game and 3.8 yards per play allowed). The four starters in Akina's first Texas secondary (Rod Babers, Ahmad Brooks, Quentin Jammer and Nathan Vasher) played in the NFL; Jammer was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2002 draft, while Vasher was a Pro Bowl selection and an All-Pro for the Chicago Bears.

Jammer was one of six first-round picks Akina coached during his time with the Longhorns. Along with Jammer, Huff (2006) and Ross (2007), Michael Griffin (2007), Earl Thomas (2010) and Kenny Vaccaro (2013) were first-round picks; like Jammer, Thomas was a finalist for the Thorpe Award, headlining a 2009 Texas defense that led the nation with 25 interceptions.

Huff, Ross and Griffin joined 2006 second-round pick Cedric Griffin and 2007 fifth-round selection Tarell Brown to form arguably the best defensive backfield in school history in 2005. Those five helped lead the charge on defense en route to the Longhorns winning their most recent national championship.

Akina coached or recruited 15 NFL draft picks and eight All-Americans in his first stint on the Texas staff.