Assistant coach and defensive coordinator Darian Dulin never thought twice about praying with a football team until he was the head coach at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas.
Dulin had been the coach at Coffeyville for three years. He prayed everyday after meetings, games and even practice. During his last year with the Red Ravens Dulin was called into an Administration office on a Monday morning after a loss.
“They asked me why we were praying after a game,” he said. “I said, I’ve been doing that for three years and nobody said anything about it when we were having success.”
“Sometimes people will find something to point a finger at when they are trying to make a change and that was one of the things they looked at,” Dulin said. “I’ve grown up in the church all my life. My dad’s a minister. My faith and God being on my side is really what has carried me through all my life.”
Coming to ACU and knowing that you can be open with your faith without worrying about what others say or do has been a blessing for Dulin.
“Everyone here has the same goal,” he said. “We’re all trying to live a Christian faith-based life.”
Head coach Ken Collums knew the kind of man he was getting when he hired Dulin last Spring.
“Darian is very confident in what he does and I want those kind of people in our program,” he said. “I was going after a guy that truly had a heart for this place and for what ACU stands for.”
Dulin was the head coach at Coffeyville from 2008-11. The Red Ravens were 22-19 during that span. His best best year at Coffeyville came in 2011 when the school lost to Hutchinson Junior College in the National Junior College Athletics Association Region VI semifinals.
Dulin was also the defensive backs and secondary coach for Tarleton State University from 2000-03. In 2004, he spent one season as the defensive coordinator at Butler Community College before returning to TSU in 2005.
Dulin said one of the most rewarding aspects of his job is being around the players and other coaches everyday.
“I love the brotherhood that you get with all the coaches,” he said. “You can’t get that anywhere else except for in athletics. You’re around men that have the same desires, wants and goals as you do. That’s what makes it all worth it.”
Dulin has to manage his time between being a Division II coach and being a father and husband. He has two children, a 14-year-old daughter and a 18-month-old son.
“Being a coach takes a lot of time away from your family,” he said. “But coach does a good job of allowing our families to come up and hang out with us if we need them to. This job just makes time more precious.”
Dulin’s new job has been everything he could have hoped for so far.
“Coach Collums is a great man to work for,” he said. “The other coaches are great too. We just have a great staff. That always makes this job easier.”
