Darius Joiner enters his first season as an assistant defensive backs coach and defensive analyst at Texas A&M after joining Coach Elko’s staff in January of 2026.
Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Joiner played professionally for the Houston Texans in 2023 and the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in 2024.
Joiner spent the 2022 season at Duke University under the direction of head coach Mike Elko. While playing for the Blue Devils, Joiner recorded 97 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 13 games. His efforts earned him Third Team All-ACC honors and the team defensive skill player of the year award. Joiner earned CSC Academic All-America® Second Team honors and was named to the Academic All-ACC team and the NFF Hampshire Honor Society. He was also named a university scholar-athlete by the NFF Bill Dooley Chapter.
He spent the 2021 season at Western Illinois, where he earned AP First Team FCS All-America honors and finished sixth in voting for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the best defensive player in the FCS. That season he led the nation with 142 tackles, 79 solo, and 7.0 for loss in 11 games.
A native of Roanoke, Ala., Joiner started his collegiate career at Jacksonville State in Alabama. He spent four seasons with the Gamecocks, tallying 80 tackles, 4.0 TFL, one INT, three PBUs and one QB pressure in 27 career games.
Joiner earned a degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from Jacksonville State in 2021 and graduated from Duke in 2023 with a master’s