BYU football reportedly hires Preston Hadley as 10th assistant coach

BYU football may have hired its 10th assistant coach, as Preston Hadley now shows up in the university’s staff directory.

It looks like Preston Hadley is returning to BYU football. While BYU has yet to confirm anything – the university does list Hadley in its staff directory as an “assistant football coach.”

Garrett McClintock, a writer for CougarNation.com (part of the Rivals network of sites) tweeted out a screenshot of the directory.

You can also see Hadley’s name here – but it looks like someone has removed the job description.

Hadley spent 2011 and 2012 with BYU football, playing cornerback in 26 games. He amassed 117 total tackles and one interception during that time.

From 2016 to 2017, Hadley was the secondary coach and recruiting coordinator for the Weber State Wildcats. For the record, last season the Wildcats finished in the top 10 in the nation in interceptions, red zone defense and turnovers.

At this point, there’s been no indication that current cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford is going anywhere. So that would likely mean that Hadley is coaching the safeties – a group currently coached by special teams coordinator/assistant head coach Ed Lamb.

Still, the move is a surprising one considering that most expected the 10th assistant would be an offensive coach – particularly one that works with running backs.

However, some have speculated that new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes will coach the backs. Jake Kuresa made that very point on ESPN 960 a few days ago.

But even if Kuresa’s theory holds up, it doesn’t necessarily mean that BYU football’s staff shakeups are finished. The Cougars might still add pieces before spring ball begins.

In any event, we’ll stay tuned to any coaching news that comes out of Provo. One would imagine that BYU football releases a statement on Hadley’s reported hiring sooner rather than later.