Jay Hill

Jay Leroy Hill (born March 16, 1975) is an American college football coach, currently the defensive coordinator at the University of Michigan. He was previously the defensive coordinator and associate head coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 2023 to 2025. Prior to BYU, Hill served as the head football coach at Weber State University from 2014 to 2022, leaving as the program's all-time winningest head coach. He played football as a cornerback at the University of Utah from 1998 to 1999, and was an assistant coach for Utah from 2001 to 2013.

Early life and playing career Hill was born in Lehi, Utah in 1975. He played college football as a cornerback for Ricks College in 1996 and 1997, before transferring to play for Utah in 1998 and 1999. He was an NJCAA All-American at Ricks in 1997, and a second-team All-Mountain West selection in 1999 with Utah. As a senior, he led the Mountain West Conference in interceptions and was the Utah Utes Defensive MVP. In 2000, Hill signed contracts with the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants of the NFL, before briefly playing in the XFL in 2001.

Coaching career Utah Hill began his coaching career at the University of Utah in 2001 as a graduate assistant under Ron McBride. In 2004 he was an administrative assistant under Urban Meyer. In 2005, Kyle Whittingham was hired as head coach and Hill was promoted to special teams coordinator, where he remained until 2013. He also coached the tight ends, cornerbacks and running backs separately from 2005 to 2013. As a cornerbacks coach, he mentored NFL draft picks Sean Smith, Brice McCain, R. J. Stanford, Brandon Burton and Eric Weddle. In his first season, the Cougars ranked 109th in total defense (yards per game) and 99th in scoring defense (points per game). In 2024 the team improved to 13th in total and 18th in scoring, and were 35th in total and 22nd in scoring in 2025. The 2024 and 2025 BYU Cougars had a combined 23–4 record.

Michigan In January 2026, Hill was hired as the defensive coordinator by the University of Michigan, reuniting with first-year Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham.

Personal life Hill is married to the former Sara Kern. They have four children: Ashtyn, Alayna, Allie and Jacob. He attended the University of Utah, earning both a bachelor's degree in Spanish in 2000 and a master's degree in ESS/Sports Psychology in 2005.

Head coaching record