Tracy Hayworth, Defensive Line Coach

Bringing playing knowledge from the National Football League (NFL), Tracy Hayworth is in his third year as the defensive line coach for Southwest Baptist and is also the minority recruiter for admissions. He is coming to SBU after coaching five years at the University of the South.

Hayworth, an all-SEC Second-Team selection, played four years for the the University of Tennessee. As a Volunteer, he was captain of the team when they won the SEC Championship and also played in the East-West Shrine Game.

In 1990, he continued his football career as he was drafted in the seventh round by the Detroit Lions. It was at Detroit where he made the All-Madden team for his play. The defensive standout was on the field for the majority of the game, even seeing time on special teams and as the blocking back for Barry Sanders.

In six years with Detroit, Hayworth started four years. He started his rookie season on special teams and defensive end and in his first start had two sacks in the first two plays from the line of scrimmage against Green Bay’s Tony Mandrich. Another great that Hayworth played with on the Lions was linebacker Chris Spielman. The talented defense that Hayworth was part of helped the Lions to four straight NFL playoff experiences from 1992 through 1995.

Being on the field most of the game, Hayworth picked up several special teams awards for his play. One of the awards he earned was the Louis Rich “King of Beast" award for special teams.

After the NFL, Hayworth continued his playing experience in the Arena Football League. From 1997 through 1999, he was a member of the Nashville Kats. The Kats also made the AFL playoffs when he played for them. In between the NFL and the AFL, Hayworth took a year off of playing. In that one year he received his first taste of coaching as he was the head coach of the Knoxville Crusaders, a semi-pro team.

The University of the South (Sewanee) gave Hayworth his first coaching opportunity at the collegiate level in 1999 as a defensive line coach for the NCAA Division III university. The 2000 football season was his first on the field as a coach and Swanee tied for the SCAC Championship. The five years he was coaching defense, the University of the South consistently had one of the top three defenses in the SCAC. Another honor he picked up was coaching having four starting defensive linemen named all-SCAC two years in a row.

Hayworth is a 1990 graduate of the University of Tennessee with a bachelor of arts degree in industrial arts. He has been married to his wife, Lori, for seven years and they have three children: Ashton (7), Adrianna (3), and Andre (2).