Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
The New Orleans Saints have announced four Fellows that will assist their coaching staff throughout the 2025 training camp period.
All four are recipients of the Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellowship which has provided “NFL coaching experience to a diverse group of participants every year” since it was established in 1987.
This year’s recipients are Tulane running backs coach Brock Hays, whose inclusion was announced earlier this month, 2008 fourth-round draft selection Lavelle Hawkins, veteran coach Marcel Yates and 2018 fourth-rounder Kenny Young.
Hays is a New Orleans native that, before joining the Tulane coaching staff, coached at Troy State, Louisiana Tech, Southern Mississippi and Nicholls State among others.
Hawkins spent six years as an NFL wide receiver with the Tennessee Titans and the then-San Diego Chargers. He entered the high school coaching ranks after finishing his pro playing career with the CFL.
Yates was most recently the defensive coordinator/secondary coach for Texas Tech. He was also a defensive assistant with Boise State from 2005-2011, overlapping with head coach Kellen Moore from 2007-2011.
Young may be a name that sounds familiar to Saints fans, as he was a member of the Saints’ practice squad in 2022. Before that, he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens and played linebacker for six NFL clubs.
Before attending UCLA for his collegiate career, the Louisiana-native was a member of the John Curtis Christian High School football team. He returned to UCLA last year as a defensive graduate assistant.
