Jay Hayes

Jay Hayes enters his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2016, where he coaches the team’s defensive line. Coach Hayes comes to Tampa Bay following 13 seasons (2003-15) as the defensive line coach with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he helped bring about a line that in recent years has gained acclaim as one of the league’s best. His unit played an important role in helping the Bengals to playoff berths in six of the past seven seasons, including five consecutive years from 2011-15. While with the Bengals, Hayes helped develop defensive tackle Geno Atkins from a fourth-round pick in 2010 to one of the league’s most dominant interior defenders, as the defensive tackle earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2012 and 2015 and Pro Bowl nods in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. Hayes’ success with developing players led to a rare distinction in 2012, as three of his linemen won AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Since the inception of the awards in 1985, there had only been six prior instances of three separate winners from the same team and position group in one season. Prior to his time with the Bengals, Hayes worked as special teams coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1999-2001 and then in the same capacity with the Minnesota Vikings in 2002, where the team tied for fifth in punt coverage. Before entering the NFL coaching ranks, Hayes spent 11 years coaching collegiately with Notre Dame, California and Wisconsin. Coach Hayes played defensive end at the University of Idaho, earning all-conference honors in 1980 and 1981 before spending time in NFL camps and eventually playing professionally in the USFL for the Michigan Panthers and Memphis Showboats. Hayes is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and attend South Fayette High School. He and his wife, Suzanne, have three children: son, Jesse, a former linebacker at Wisconsin; daughter, Jazmin, a former basketball player at Lafayette College; and son, Miles, a defensive back at William & Mary..