Will McClay

Last updated

Will McClay
Dallas Cowboys
Position:Vice president of player personnel
Personal information
Born: (1966-10-13) October 13, 1966 (age 57)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
College: Rice
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
As an executive:
Career highlights and awards
Career Arena statistics
Receptions:30
Yards:422
Touchdowns:3
Tackles:75
Interceptions:3
Head coaching record
Regular season:55–26–1 (.677)
Postseason:1–3 (.250)
Career:153–135 (.531)
Player stats at ArenaFan.com

Will McClay (born October 13, 1966) is an American football executive who is the vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys. He is also a former player and coach, primarily in various roles within the Arena Football League.

Contents

Early life

McClay was born on October 13, 1966, in Memphis, Tennessee, but he grew up outside of Houston, Texas. He attended Missouri City Jr. High and Marian Christian High School. As a freshman, he played wide receiver and contributed to the team winning the 1981 Class 3A state title. As a senior, he was the starting quarterback, leading the team to win the 1984 Class 3A state titles. [1]

He accepted a football scholarship from Rice University. He was recruited by future NFL head coach Mike Nolan to play as a defensive back. He was a four-year starter and a captain. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science. [2]

Playing career

His football career took off as a player at Rice University, where he started all four years of his collegiate career (1985-1988) as a defensive back. In 1988, he was picked up by the Arena League football Detroit Drive, where he played as a wide receiver and defensive back for four seasons (1989-1992).

His best year was his last, in 1992 when he racked up 34 tackles and one interception. By the end of his playing career he had helped the Drive win three arena league football titles in four appearances.

Coaching and front office career

After his career as a player, he got an opportunity to serve as the Drive's secondary and special teams coach (1993). He took two separate stints as a defensive coordinator for the Milwaukee Mustangs and the Florida Bobcats in 1995 and 1996 respectively.

He moved into the management side of football in 1997 where he serves as both the defensive coordinator and the director of player personnel for the Anaheim Piranhas. He took the job as an assistant head coach and director of player personnel of the Grand Rapids Rampage in 1998 and 1999.

McClay moved onto the XFL, where he became the director of player personnel, consultant, and scout for the Orlando Rage. He made the jump into the NFL as the assistant director of Pro Scouting for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2001) where his main job was to scout teams that Jacksonville did not play that year in attempt to advance scouting information.

He then moved on to the Dallas Cowboys player personnel department only to finally come full circle as the defensive coordinator for the Arena League Dallas Desperados. In 2002, he served as the inaugural defensive coordinator and that's where he would stay until the beginning of the 2004 season when he was thrust into the role as head coach just days before the season, after Joe Avezzano was hired by Norv Turner as the special teams coach for the Oakland Raiders. He would remain head coach for the next five seasons where he accumulated an overall record of 55–28–1 and a 1–3 postseason record. [3]

In 2013, he was promoted to the position of Assistant Director of Player Personnel over Tom Ciskowski, after the Dallas Cowboys where criticized in the media for their first round moves in the 2013 NFL draft. He also oversaw his first NFL Draft in 2014. In 2015, he was named Senior Director of Pro/College Scouting. In 2017, he earned the title of Vice President of Player Personnel. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Del Rio</span> American football player and coach (born 1963)

Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. is an American football coach and a former professional linebacker who is currently serving as a senior advisor to the head coach at the University of Wisconsin. He played college football as a linebacker at the University of Southern California before being drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 1985 NFL draft. He also played for four other NFL teams before retiring in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dom Capers</span> American football player and coach (born 1950)

Ernest Dominic Capers is an American football coach who is a senior defensive assistant for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the inaugural head coach of the Panthers and the Houston Texans for four seasons each. Capers is the only head coach to lead two different NFL expansion teams during their first seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Norton Jr.</span> American football player and coach (born 1966)

Kenneth Howard Norton Jr. is an American football coach and former player who is the linebackers coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1988 NFL draft.

Aaron Devone Glenn is an American football coach and former cornerback who is the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive backs coach for the New Orleans Saints from 2016 to 2020 and also served as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Browns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernie Stautner</span> American football player and coach

Ernest Alfred Stautner was a German-American professional football player and coach. He played as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also served as a coach for the Steelers, Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Boston College Eagles. Stautner was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969.

Kris Richard is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, and New Orleans Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Bennett</span> American football player and coach (born 1962)

Allen Beverly "Ben" Bennett II is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears. He also was a member of the Jacksonville Bulls, Chicago Bruisers, Dallas Texans, Sacramento Surge, San Antonio Riders, Orlando Predators, San Jose SaberCats and Portland Forest Dragons. He was a football coach in the Arena Football League (AFL), AF2, and National Arena League (NAL). He played college football for the Duke Blue Devils, earning third team All-American honors in 1983.

Corey Mayfield is a former American football offensive lineman/defensive lineman and coach of the Arena Football League (AFL). Mayfield is currently the defensive coordinator of the Texas Revolution of Champions Indoor Football (CIF). Mayfield played in the National Football League (NFL) and the Arena Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Polk</span> American football player and coach (born 1977)

Carlos Devonn Polk is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the assistant special teams coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Diego Chargers and Grossmont College.

Tom Luginbill is a former professional American football quarterback and coach. He is currently a college football analyst for ESPN.

Char-ron Dorsey was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans. He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and was selected by the Cowboys in the seventh round of the 2001 NFL draft.

Larry Lacewell was an American football player, coach, scout, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Arkansas State University from 1979 to 1989, compiling a record of 69–58–4. Lacewell was later the longtime director of scouting for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL).

Robert Lee Thomas, IV is a former American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Henderson State University.

John Morgan Garrett is an American football coach and former wide receiver. He is the former head football coach at Lafayette College, a position he assumed December 21, 2016 after spending one season as the offensive coordinator for the University of Richmond. He was also a professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cincinnati Bengals and in the World League of American Football (WLAF) for the San Antonio Riders. He played college football at Columbia University and Princeton University.

Akwasi Owusu-Ansah is a former American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Detroit Lions. He also played for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Cowboys. He played college football at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Trent John Baalke is an American football executive who is the general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Brown (gridiron football)</span> American gridiron football player (1987–2012)

Jerry Jerome Brown Jr. was an American professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL). In college, he played on the defensive line for the University of Illinois. In his professional career, he was a member of the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys of the NFL, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, and the Jacksonville Sharks and San Antonio Talons of the Arena Football League (AFL). He was signed as a free agent by the Sharks in 2011; in the team's ArenaBowl XXIV victory, he had one tackle assist, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Keller</span> American football player and executive (born 1949)

Michael F. Keller is a former American football linebacker and football executive in the National Football League (NFL). He played professional football for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foyesade Oluokun</span> American football player (born 1995)

Foyesade Oluokun is an American professional football linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Yale, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL draft. He is notable for his proficient tackling ability.

Xavier Brewer is an American football coach and former cornerback who is currently a defensive analyst at the University of Oklahoma. He was previously a graduate assistant at Clemson University, and cornerbacks coach at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He also played college football at Clemson before going on to sign with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) as a undrafted free agent in 2013. He also spent time with the Jacksonville Sharks of the Arena Football League (AFL).

References

  1. ↑ "'Who is this Will McClay?' Cowboys' mysterious NFL draft consigliere builds savvy reputation". May 3, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Dallas Cowboys | Official Site of the Dallas Cowboys".
  3. ↑ "In Will McClay, Cowboys will be covered". April 15, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Sources: Cowboys sign Will McClay to extension". March 2, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.