Former Marian, Purdue football star Kirk Barron now teaching craft as college coach

Kirk Barron knew that he did not have a future in sales.

Unless it involved selling the game that the former Marian High School and Purdue University football standout dearly loves.

Barron, after a brief stint as a salesman, is now teaching his craft on the collegiate level.

Barron has transitioned from player to coach the past couple of seasons since his playing career ended in 2020 in the XFL.

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Barron, who served as a two-time captain at Purdue, is now the Offensive Line Graduate Assistant coach at West Virginia University.

"I'm loving it here," said Barron in a phone interview earlier this week from Morgantown. "We have a really experienced team here and some very high expectations for the upcoming season."

Barron's journey from Purdue football to West Virginia

Barron served as an offensive line graduate assistant coach at Oregon last year. When head coach Mario Cristobal left to take the job at Miami (Florida), Barron was left to find a new home to continue his young coaching career.

"I was very fortunate to be at Oregon, where I learned how to coach," Barron said. "Now I feel like I'm growing as a coach at West Virginia. I'm very comfortable here."

Barron, who helped lead a turnaround in the Boilermaker program, was in training camps with Miami and Cincinnati in the NFL in 2019 before being released. He then played for Seattle in the XFL in 2020, before the season was halted at the midpoint that spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Barron then was an architectural salesman at Galaxy Sales, Inc. in Savage, Minnesota for a few months in 2020 and 2021.

"My family was relieved that I was not in sales any more," related Barron with a laugh. "I was not very good at it."

"They were fired up once I decided to pursue coaching. They have always supported me and they knew that I wanted to do this."

Barron recently made a visit back home as he helped his longtime girlfriend Amber Ackerman move to Morgantown from Minnesota. He made a stop to see parents Kirk Sr and Susan, along with younger sister Malia, who will be a senior at La Lumiere School in LaPorte this fall.

Barron actually began his coaching career with time at his alma mater in West Lafayette in February and March of 2021.

"I begged my old offensive line coach at Purdue and I ended up as a volunteer there," said Barron. "I was sleeping on the couch of Garrett Hudson (his old college roommate). Then I felt like I won the lottery when I got the job at Oregon. That was such a great opportunity to be part of a winning culture like they had there."

Barron, who has both a bachelor's degree in Technology - Organizational Leadership and a master's degree in Leadership and Innovation from Purdue, made 39 straight starts at center for the Boilermakers. He helped Purdue win 13 games his final two seasons, including a win over then No. 2 Ohio State his senior season. The Boilermakers, who totaled just nine wins in his first three seasons in West Lafayette, also made bowl game appearances after the 2017 and 2018 seasons under coach Jeff Brohm, who was hired in 2017.

A players coach

"My O Line coach at Purdue my sophomore year (Darrell Funk) put it in my ear to think about coaching," related Barron. "Since then, I knew that I wanted to coach.

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"I just love the game. When I shut the door on my playing career back in 2020 I knew that I wanted to give back what I had learned. That was my passion."

Barron, who earned Big 10 honors following his senior season, says he is a players coach.

"I try to be like an older brother to our players," said Barron, who turned 27 in June. "I'm a players coach.  There's a fine line between being a friend to them and their coach too.

"I'm passionate about mentoring guys. I want to be involved in our players lives, both on and off the field. We promise their families that we will take care of these guys and that's something that I take very seriously as a coach."

"This is a relationship driven business and I just enjoy being around the people. I enjoy the team feeling."

Barron noted that he has been able to draw from a plethora of coaches, including the likes of Darrell Funk and Dale Williams (two of his three offensive line coaches at Purdue) who have mentored him and who he has been around during his playing career. Another one of those is first-year Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. Freeman, who played at Ohio State, was the co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Purdue when Barron was there.

"You could tell when he (Freeman) was at Purdue that he had that something special as a coach, even then," said Barron. "The players there loved him."

Barron said that he's been able to take a little time off lately before things ramp up the next couple of weeks. The Mountaineers open the 2022 season at Pittsburgh on Sept. 1. Barron is one of three Offensive Graduate Assistants on coach Neal Brown's staff in Morgantown.

"We're all excited for fall camp," Barron stated. "We have a veteran team here and some very talented players."

West Virginia finished 6-7 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12 Conference last fall.

Barron also has his sights set on his future in the profession.

"I want to be a college head coach one day," summed up Barron. "I want to lead a program. I have those degrees from Purdue and I need to put them to use.

"College was my favorite time playing the game that I love. That's why I want to be a college head coach."

Seems like sales' loss will be coaching's gain.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Kirk Barron, former Purdue star, is coaching football at West Virginia