The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Former Longhorn assistant football coach Darryl Drake passes away
08.11.2019 | Football
Drake spent six years coaching Texas' wide receivers on Mack Brown’s staff from 1998-2003.
Former University of Texas assistant coach Darryl Drake passed away Sunday morning in Pittsburgh. He was 62 years old.
"Coach Drake was a mentor of mine and someone I kept in constant contact with over the years," said Tom Herman, who was on staff with Drake at Texas in 1999 and 2000. "He was a tremendous coach and awesome man who impacted so many great players and coaches. Coach Drake was loved by many and will be dearly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Sheila, his daughters and his entire family. We will do anything we can to support them."
As a member of Mack Brown's Texas staff from 1998 to 2003, Drake coached a group of wide receivers that included three of the Longhorns top-10 all-time leading pass catchers in Roy Williams (2000-03), Kwame Cavil (1997-99) and B.J. Johnson (2000-03). In his first year coaching at UT in 1998, he helped Wane McGarity become UT's first-ever 1,000-yard receiver with 58 receptions for 1,087 yards and nine TDs. One year later, Cavil became the first Longhorn to record 100 receptions in a season and the second to post a 1,000-yard receiving campaign (1,188). Williams is one of only two receivers in UT history to twice register 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sheila, the girls and his family," Brown said. "Darryl was a man who had a great spirit about him and was beloved by the kids, the staff and everyone that came in contact with him. He was a tremendous coach who recruited and developed some of the best receivers in Texas history. He was a man that loved his family, his team and always brought a smile to your face. There are a ton of great stories and memories, and the impact he had on so many is a legacy that will live on forever."
In his six seasons at Texas, the Longhorns posted a 59-18 overall record, winning at least 10 games three times, including a pair of 11-win campaigns in 2001 and 2002. UT finished in the Top 25 all six years, topped off by a No. 5 final ranking in 2001 and No. 6 in 2002.
Including his time at Texas, Drake spent 21 seasons in college coaching prior to entering the NFL ranks. He made stops at Western Kentucky (1983-91), Georgia (1992-96) and Baylor (1997) prior to joining the Longhorns in 1998. He spent the past 16 years in the NFL with the Chicago Bears (2004-12), Arizona Cardinals (2013-17) and was in his second season as the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers coach.
