Rafael Duk Delgado is a Mexican

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

coach and former player who is the current head coach of the Burros Blancos IPN. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

with the , winning an ONEFA national championship in 1989. As a head coach, Duk won the 2000 ONEFA national championship with the Borregos Salvajes CEM before leading the Mexicas CDMX to a win in Tazón México III in 2018.

Playing career

Duk played

with the Pieles Rojas IPN at the guard position, representing the Instituto Politécnico Nacional from 1984 to 1989. He was a part of the 1989 ONEFA national championship team under head coach Manuel Rodero.

Coaching career

Duk was hired as the first head coach of the Borregos Salvajes CEM for their debut season in ONEFA in 1994, where they began in the second-tier National Conference. He led the team to its historic first win in their opening game, beating the 39–27. Duk guided the team to a 6–1 record and an appearance in the National Conference championship game, where they lost 13–0 to the Panteras Negras UAM. After losing in the championship game again the following year, the team was successful in its third attempt, defeating the 28–6 in the 1996 National Conference championship game after an undefeated season and earning promotion to the 10 Grandes Conference – the highest ONEFA tier. In 2000, Duk led the Borregos Salvajes CEM to another undefeated season and its first-ever ONEFA national championship, defeating the Borregos Salvajes Monterrey 38–28 in the 10 Grandes Conference final. He earned five consecutive ONEFA Coach of the Year awards from 1996 to 2000. Duk quit following the 2001 season, in which his team was eliminated in the semifinals by the Auténticos Tigres UANL. Duk won a championship in 2002 as head coach of the semi-pro Pieles Rojas A.C. In 2003, he coached the Lobos UAdeC of the

Autonomous University of Coahuila The Autonomous University of Coahuila (''Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila'', or "UAdeC") is a state university founded in 1957. It is located in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. The university system has three campuses — Saltillo, To ...

, though the team finished the season with a losing record. He returned to the semi-pro ranks after that, coaching the Petroleros de

Pemex Pemex (a portmanteau of Petróleos Mexicanos, which translates to ''Mexican Petroleum'' in English; ) is the Mexican state-owned petroleum company managed and operated by the Mexican government. It was formed in 1938 by nationalization and expr ...

in 2004 and the Pieles Rojas A.C. in 2005.

Linces UVM

Duk took the reins of the Linces UVM of the Universidad del Valle de México in 2005 as the new team's first-ever head coach. In his first season, he led the team to a promotion to the top-tier 12 Grandes Conference after winning the second-tier National Conference title. Duk earned his sixth ONEFA Coach of the Year award and became the first head coach to achieve promotion to the top tier with two different teams. He was replaced by Roberto Cervantes, his defensive coordinator, following the 2012 season. Duk was subsequently offered the head coaching job of the Toros Salvajes Chapingo, but was unable to accept due to personal reasons.

Raptors de Naucalpan

In November 2015, Duk was announced as the first head coach of the

Raptors de Naucalpan Raptors de Naucalpan (English: ''Naucalpan Raptors'') are an American football team based in Naucalpan, Mexico. The Raptors compete in the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional, the top American football league in Mexico. The team plays its home g ...

, members of a new professional spring league called the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA). In the league's inaugural season in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, the team finished the season with a 4–2 record and reached Tazón México I, the first edition of the LFA championship game, where they lost 29–13 to the Mayas CDMX. In

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, Duk led the Raptors to a 5–2 record and a first-place finish in the North Division, with league MVP Bruno Márquez at quarterback. However, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after suffering a 13–10 defeat to the Dinos de Saltillo.

Mexicas CDMX

In October 2017, Duk joined another LFA team, the Mexicas CDMX, as their new head coach. In his only season with the team, he led the Mexicas to its first league championship with a 17–0 victory over the Raptors de Naucalpan in Tazón México III after finishing the regular season with a 4–3 record.

Bulldogs de Naucalpan

In September 2018, Duk was announced as the head coach of the

Bulldogs de Naucalpan The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Fútbol Americano de México), a new football league that began its inaugural season that February to compete with the LFA.

Búhos IPN

In 2019, Duk was named the sixth head coach in the history of the Búhos IPN program, which was returning to Mexican football for the first time since 1985. In his first year at the helm, he led the team to an undefeated season capped off by a 41–15 victory over the Lobos Plateados IPN to win the league title. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the Búhos returned to ONEFA, after a 36-year absence, as a member of its Center-South Conference. Duk led the team to a 3–1 record, sitting atop of the Group A standings when the rest of the season was also cancelled. The Búhos subsequently won the third-tier National Central Conference title in 2022, defeating the 20–17 in the final.

Burros Blancos IPN

Duk was named the head coach of the ahead of the 2023 season.

National team

Duk served as the offensive coordinator for the

Mexico national team The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (). It competes as a member of CONCACAF. Mexico has qualified to seventeen World Cups and has qualified consec ...

at the

1999 IFAF World Championship The 1999 IFAF World Championship was the inaugural IFAF World Championship, an international American football championship run by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). It was played in Palermo, Italy from 24 June to 4 July 199 ...

held in Italy, helping the team win a silver medal. He won another silver medal at the

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edition held in Germany, this time as an assistant head coach. As a head coach, Duk led Team Mexico to bronze medals at the 2003 and 2007

NFL Global Junior Championship The NFL Global Junior Championship was played during the week leading up to the Super Bowl, in the same city that is hosting the game. The first game was played in 1997, and only two teams played, Mexico and Europe. Mexico won the first and seco ...

s held in San Diego and Miami, respectively. He also commandeered the Mexico under-19 national team to consecutive bronze medals at the

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and

editions of the IFAF U-19 World Championship held in Kuwait and China, respectively.

Personal life

Duk studied

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

at the Universidad del Valle de México. Duk coached his son, Rafael Duk Ochoa, on the Búhos IPN.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duk, Rafael Living people 1960s births Mexican players of American football American football guards Mexican coaches of American football Universidad del Valle de México alumni