Former Husky QB Akina Reportedly Gets Another Coaching Job

For those encouraged to wager on college football these days, it's a sure bet that Duane Akina is nowhere near done coaching the game.

The former University of Washington quarterback and Warren Moon back-up reportedly will join Kansas as a senior analyst and nickelbacks coach -- providing him with a 47th consecutive season of standing on the sideline or sitting in the press box somewhere -- according to CBS Sports.

Five months from his 70th birthday, Akina reportedly will add the Jayhawks to a long list of football employers who include the UW, Hawaii, CFL's Calgary Stampeders, Stanford, Arizona and Texas, drawing multiple stints with the Wildcats and Longhorns.

The Honolulu, Hawaii, product has coached at his alma mater for legendary Husky coach Don James as a graduate assistant, for former UW coach Steve Sarkisian as a defensive game passing coordinator at Texas and for current Husky coach Jedd Fisch as an analyst at Arizona.

It's sort of like Bill Murray in the film Ground Hog Day, with Akina continually popping his head up and looking around.

Kansas is hiring veteran coach Duane Akina as a senior analyst/nickels coach, a source tells @CBSSports.

Was defensive pass game coordinator at Texas last year and defensive coordinator at Arizona in 2024. Has coached more than 40 future NFL DBs and three Thorpe Award winners. pic.twitter.com/AjvoDuqebJ
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) June 9, 2026

Akina joined James' first UW team as a 6-foot-3, 182-pound freshman in 1975 along with Moon, who was a junior-college transfer, plus holdovers in Chris Rowland and Cliff McBride, to fill out the quarterback competition.

He served as a reserve throughout his time in Montlake, getting just one real chance to become the starter in 1978 after Moon had used up his eligibility, but luck was not on his side.

After beating out Tom Flick and Tom Porras in Fall Camp, Akina suffered knee and ankle injuries in practice that prevented him form playing when the season began.

Then Arizona Wildcats defensive coordinator Duane Akina celebrates a play against Northern Arizona in 2024. | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

In his four seasons with the Huskies, he completed 14 of 35 passes for 137 yards and no touchdowns, getting intercepted three times.

Akina obviously was meant to be a football coach all along and he handled a variety of responsibilities.

In his first time in Tucson, he spent 14 consecutive years at Arizona with Dick Tomey's staff, working his way up to offensive coordinator.

Then it was on to Texas for a 13-year run, where he became the co-defensive coordinator for Mack Brown's staff

Throughout his nearly five full decades of coaching, Akina really has had just once chance to become the head guy. In 2007, he was one of five candidates considered to replace June Jones, who left for SMU, but Greg McMackin got the job.

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