Jay Hayes, a 23-year veteran of major college and NFL coaching, is in his ninth season as Bengals defensive line coach. In 2010, Hayes weathered some significant injury problems in his unit and guided the development of some of the team’s most promising young players.
Jay Hayes, a 23-year veteran of major college and NFL coaching, is in his ninth season as Bengals defensive line coach. In 2010, Hayes weathered some significant injury problems in his unit and guided the development of some of the team’s most promising young players.
By season’s end, the spotlight was on DE Carlos Dunlap, Cincinnati’s second-round draft choice. Dunlap opened the year as the team’s youngest player, in need of some NFL maturity, and he was held back in the early going by a knee strain. But he was one of the NFL’s top pass rushers in the season’s second half, posting a Bengals rookie-record 9.5 sacks in the final eight games, with 8.5 sacks in the final six contests. He finished second among NFL rookies in sacks, just a half-sack behind Detroit DT Ndamukong Suh, who was drafted 52 spots sooner and played considerably more snaps.
Also showing strong potential in 2010 were third-year DT Pat Sims, second-year DE Michael Johnson and rookie DT Geno Atkins. Their contributions were much needed, as the Bengals had four veteran linemen go to the Reserve/Injured list during the season. Starting DE Antwan Odom was limited to four games and starting DT Tank Johnson played only seven. And two veteran DEs due for significant playing time—Jonathan Fanene and Frostee Rucker—missed 19 games between them.
Meanwhile, mainstays Domata Peko at NT and Robert Geathers at LDE made steady contributions, each starting every game.
Hayes works with various options of line combinations, as game situations dictate.
“It’s my job to pick somebody to get a spark, so we can have the chemistry and keep it running hot,” Hayes says. “We want to keep getting after people and not let them find room to breathe. If we can continue doing that, we can be successful.”
Hayes came to the Bengals from the Minnesota Vikings, where he was special teams coach in 2002. The ’02 Vikings tied for fifth in the NFL in punt coverage.
Hayes was special teams coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1999-2001. In 1999, under Hayes’s direction, Steelers rookie kicker Kris Brown set an NFL record for most consecutive field goals made to start a career (13).
Before entering the NFL coaching ranks with the Steelers, Hayes coached 11 years at the major college level — at Notre Dame, California and Wisconsin.
He began his coaching career in 1988 as a graduate assistant at Notre Dame, and for the next three seasons, he coached outside linebackers and special teams for the Irish. He moved to California as outside linebackers coach in 1992, and he also held that job in ’93 before adding special teams responsibilities in ’94.
Hayes’s last college assignment before entering the NFL was from 1995-98 at Wisconsin, where he was outside linebackers and special teams coach. Hayes’s Badgers were consistently among the top special teams units in the Big Ten.
Hayes played DE at the University of Idaho and earned all-conference honors in 1980 and ’81. He spent some time in NFL camps before moving on to play in the USFL, for the Michigan Panthers in 1984 and the Memphis Showboats in ’85.
Hayes’s younger brother, Jonathan, is Bengals tight ends coach.
Hayes was born March 3, 1960 in Pittsburgh, and attended South Fayette High School. He and his wife have three children. In February of this year, his son Jesse, a defensive end, was awarded a football scholarship at Wisconsin.
PLAYING AND COACHING HISTORY - 1978-81: Played defensive end at Univ. of Idaho. 1984: Defensive end, Michigan Panthers (USFL). 1985: Defensive end, Memphis Showboats (USFL). 1988-91: Assistant coach (AC), Notre Dame. 1992-94: AC, California. 1995-98: AC, Wisconsin. 1999-2001: AC, Pittsburgh Steelers. 2002: AC, Minnesota Vikings. 2003-present: AC, Bengals.
