The Redskins added by subtraction during the off-season. Gone are starters Darryl Morrison (career-ending neck injury) and Tom Carter (free agency). Added were Pro Bowl cornerback Cris Dishman from the Oilers and veteran strong safety Jesse Campbell from the Giants. For the third straight season, change and developing a cohesive unit will be a top priority for Tom Hayes, now in his third season with the Redskins.
As a college coach, Hayes produced results developing future NFL Pro Bowlers Eric Turner and Carnell Lake, along with James Washington and Cowboys cornerback Kevin Smith. Hayes joined the Redskins staff after spending the four previous seasons (1991-94) as the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma. Before joining the Sooner staff, Hayes was assistant head coach at Texas A&M. His previous coaching experiences included nine seasons at UCLA (1980-88), the last seven as defensive coordinator, where the Bruins won four Pac 10 championships.
Others stops included one year as defensive coordinator at Cal State-Fullerton (1979), where his defense was ranked first in the conference after finishing dead last the year before. A two-season stay as the secondary coach at Iowa (1977-78) followed three years as a high school head coach at Kuemper (IA) High School (1974-76) and one year as the secondary coach at Coe (IA) College.
Hayes was a three-year starter as a defensive back for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was signed as a free agent by the Cincinnati Bengals. He earned his undergraduate degree in finance/insurance from Iowa in 1971. Born March 26, 1949, in Keokuk, Iowa, he attended Atlantic (IA) High School. He and his wife, Cindy, whose brother-in-law is former Kansas City Chiefs running back Ed Podolak, have three children, Andy, 20, a power-hitting first baseman at Virginia Tech, Lindsay, 16, and Sarah, 11. They reside in Sterling, VA.