NFL coaching veteran Jay Hayes has joined the University of Arkansas football program as the new defensive line coach for the Razorbacks.
Hayes brings more than two decades of experience from the NFL, beginning his professional coaching career in 1999 with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a special teams coach. He later held a similar role with the Minnesota Vikings in 2002 before transitioning to his first defensive line assignment with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2003. Hayes spent 13 seasons with the Bengals, during which time the team reached the playoffs seven times and secured four AFC North division titles.
Following his tenure in Cincinnati, Hayes led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive line from 2016 to 2017. His most recent NFL position was as assistant defensive line coach for the Green Bay Packers during the 2018 season.
Since 2022, Hayes has worked as co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). In addition, he coached in The Spring League with the Jousters as their defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in 2021, and served as both roles for the St. Louis Battlehawks during their inaugural XFL season in 2020.
Before starting his coaching career, Hayes played college football at Idaho, earning four letters, and went on to play professionally in multiple leagues including the NFL, USFL, and CFL. He began coaching at Notre Dame as a graduate assistant under Lou Holtz during their national championship season in 1988. He was promoted to outside linebackers/defensive ends coach and special teams coordinator at Notre Dame for three seasons before moving on to positions at California (1992-94) and Wisconsin (1995-98), prior to joining Pittsburgh’s staff.
The Razorbacks are scheduled to return to action next week against Tennessee, with kickoff set for 3:15 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
