Rising Tulane Football Star Coach Lands Valuable NFL Bill Walsh Fellowship
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The Tulane Green Wave football team will kick off the 2025 college football season with a new starting quarterback and running back, among others.
The Green Wave lost quarterback Darian Mensah and Makhi Hughes in the transfer portal, among several key departures.
With more consistency on defense, the eyes will be on the offense, and the coaching staff has their work cut out for them in fall camp.
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That’s no different from last season, with an entirely new coaching staff and group of players under them.
Running backs coach Brock Hays has a talented group of players to replace Hughes.
Tulane’s running backs and defensive line were the positions that were most strengthened in the portal, at least through spring camp.
Several backs who have committed to the program all credit Hays, both on and off the field, as a significant reason for their decision.
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When that position hits the field in the 2025 season, they’ll have a coach who gained valuable experience in the NFL ranks.
The Green Wave football team announced on their social media accounts Wednesday that Hayes was named to the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.
The graphic includes a New Orleans Saints logo, indicating his landing spot for the opportunity in this year’s fall camp.
Congrats to @coachbhays for being named to the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship! #UptownFootball pic.twitter.com/md0C3EPVnl
— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) July 9, 2025
The Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship was established in 1987, and it is designed to increase the number of full-time NFL minority coaches.
Late Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Bill Walsh pioneered the concept when he brought aspiring minority coaches to training camp with the San Francisco 49ers.
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The intent is to expose talented minority coaches from the college and high school ranks, as well as former players, to the methods and philosophies of NFL coaches.
The program can take place during OTAs, minicamp, or training camp, which Hays will presumably join the Saints’ coaching staff ahead of the NFL preseason.
Hays will split time between that fellowship and his second fall camp and season as the Green Wave’s running back coach.
He joined the staff alongside head coach Jon Sumrall after two seasons with the Troy Trojans, where he developed future NFL star draft pick Kimani Vidal.
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Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com