Darian Hagan (born February 1, 1970) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach, currently serving as the

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

s coach of the

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The university fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's, 11 women's) in National Collegiate Athle ...

. He is a former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played college football as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado Boulder. The university sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden ...

, earning national player of the year and

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 1989. From 2005 to 2022, Hagan was an assistant coach for his alma mater, the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

College career

As an option

at Colorado from

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, Hagan produced impressive offensive statistics operating coach Bill McCartney's "I-Bone" offense. Due to veteran quarterback Sal Aunese being stricken with cancer, he took over the starting duties as a sophomore. When Aunese died, Hagan and the rest of the Buffaloes dedicated their season to their fallen comrade. In that 1989 season, he burst on the college football scene, and became the sixth player in the history of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division I-A to gain more than 1,000 yards passing and more than 1,000 yards rushing in the same season. He was the starting quarterback in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

when Colorado won the

NCAA Division I-A national football championship A national championship in the highest level of college football in the United States, currently the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), is a designation awarded annually by various organizations to their selection of the best co ...

, and in 1989 to 1991 when Colorado was the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...

champions. His record as quarterback for Colorado was 28–5–2 (20–0–1 in the Big Eight). In

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

voting he was 5th in 1989 with 242 points, 17th in 1990 with 17 points and 20th in 1991 with 12 points. Hagan was inducted into the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002. He is also considered by many alumni as the best football player in CU history. He finished his career with 3,801 passing yards and 2,007 rushing yards.

Professional career

After college, Hagan was drafted by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

in the ninth round of the

1992 NFL draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott M ...

, but never played for the team. He played five years in the

for three teams: the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

(1993–94), the

Las Vegas Posse The Las Vegas Posse were a Canadian Football League (CFL) team, that played at the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, in the league's 1994 CFL season, 1994 season as part of the Canadian Football League in the United States ...

(1994), and the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

(1995–96). He mostly played as a defensive back and on special teams.

Coaching career

Before his last season, he graduated from Colorado with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. When his professional football career ended, Hagan turned to jobs in marketing and then in coaching. He became the defensive technical intern in 2004 for Colorado. The following year, he was hired by

Gary Barnett Gary Lee Barnett (born May 23, 1946) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Fort Lewis College (1982–1983), Northwestern University (1992–1998), and the University of Colorado at Boulder (1999–2005) ...

as an offensive assistant coach. In 2006, he was one of only two assistant coaches kept by new head coach

Dan Hawkins Dan, Danny or Daniel Hawkins may refer to: * Dan Hawkins (American football) (born 1960), American football coach and former player and sportscaster * Daniel Hawkins (politician) (born 1960), American politician in the Kansas House of Representat ...

as the running backs assistant coach where he coached through the 2022 season. On January 27, 2023, following the hiring of

Deion Sanders Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American American football, football coach with the Colorado Buffaloes football, Colorado Buffaloes. Sanders is also a former professional football and baseball player, having played in the N ...

as Colorado's new head football coach, Sanders announced he would be retaining Hagan, giving him the new title "Executive Director, Community Engagement & Outreach/Football Ambassador" Hagan, along with Director of Player Personnel Chandler Dorrell, were the only two members retained by Sanders from Colorado's 2022 staff. On December 5, 2023, Hagan announced he would be accepting the role of running backs coach at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

, following new head coach Sean Lewis, who had previously served at Colorado's offensive coordinator.

References

External links

San Diego State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagan, Darian 1970 births Living people American football quarterbacks Canadian football defensive backs Colorado Buffaloes football coaches Colorado Buffaloes football players Edmonton Elks players Las Vegas Posse players San Diego State Aztecs football coaches Toronto Argonauts players Locke High School alumni Players of American football from Lynwood, California Players of American football from Los Angeles Players of Canadian football from Los Angeles Sports coaches from Los Angeles Coaches of American football from California African-American coaches of American football