Even with the college football season creeping closer and closer the more we get into June, coaches are still fine-tuning their staffs, and Kansas just made a big hire. While the position itself may not sound like that big of a deal, it is who head coach Lance Leipold chose to fill that position that makes this such an interesting hire.
Leipold just hired veteran coach Duane Akina to be a senior analyst and the nickelback coach at Kansas. Akina brings a wealth of experience to Lawrence, with his most recent stop being with the Texas Longhorns. Akina was fired from Texas, but that was along with defensive coordinator Pete Kwaitkowski after Texas had its roughest season defensively in a while.
Kansas is hiring veteran coach Duane Akina as a senior analyst/nickels coach, a source tells @CBSSports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) June 9, 2026
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
While his last stop may not have ended well, Akina is still a huge hire for the Jayhawks, simply looking at the type of players he has produced defensively. Akina has spent time at Texas, Arizona, and had a short stint at Stanford, producing quality defensive back talent for the NFL for quite some time.
Kansas needs help defensively in the secondary and Duane Akina can help that
Akina has coached a lot of great players, including multiple Thorpe Award winners, an award givent ot eh best defensive back in the country for college football that season. As a defensive coordinator and a defensive backs coach, Akina will bring a lot to Lawrence, and the Jayhawks definitely need the help.
Looking back at last season in the Big 12, Kansas was ranked as the No. 11 total defense in the conference, allowing an average of 387.2 yards per game to opponents. In the secondary, the Jayhawks weren't horrendous with the No. 8 passing defense in the conference, allowing 214.1 yards per game to opposing quarterbacks. However, the secondary turnover game was practically non-existent for Kansas, with only four interceptions on the season.
If Kansas wants to be able to compete with these high-level offenses in the Big 12, the ones that are getting better every year, a change needs to be made. Leipold's hiring of Akina is proof of his commitment to bettering the defense.
Akina will be able to help this defensive back group as a whole, even if he is just the nickelbacks coach. Texas fans even give Akina the moniker of 'Architect of DBU,' having a wealth of experience sending guys to the next level.
While Kansas may not be worried as much about sending guys to the NFL, they do know the defense has to get better, and Akina could be the start of that. The veteran leadership he will be able to bring as a senior analyst will also be big for a coaching staff that is looking for any answer to not have another losing season this year in Lawrence.
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