When the New Orleans Saints regroup for training camp on July 22, they’ll have a new coach in their midst — Brock Hays, the running backs coach for the Tulane Green Wave just across town. The school announced that Hays was selected as this year’s participant in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, a program aimed at putting minority coach candidates in position to gain NFL experience and advance their careers.
Previous participants for the Saints include former players like Jahri Evans, Ty Warren, and Sio Moore; Evans, the All-Pro guard, currently works as the team’s assistant offensive line coach.
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As for Hays? Before coming to Tulane he coached running backs at Louisiana Tech and Troy, where he was named to the AFCA 35 Under 35 list as one of the nation’s up-and-comers. He played a big part in developing Mahki Hughes last season when he ran for 1,401 yards and 15 touchdowns with the Green Wave. Before that, Hays coached up Los Angeles Chargers sixth-round pick Kimani Vidal at Troy.
Good luck to him this summer with the Saints. In addition to running backs coach Joel Thomas (who returned to New Orleans after a few years with the New York Giants) and run game coordinator T.J. Paganetti, Hays will be working with a group that includes Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Velus Jones Jr., and Cam Akers along with rookies Devin Neal and Marcus Yarns. First-year head coach Kellen Moore has made his intentions to run the football well-known, and anything Hays can do to help them establish it is worthwhile. At the same time, you’d hope he learns some things this summer that can help advance his own career later down the line.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Tulane running backs coach Brock Hays joins Saints for training camp