Martin Bayless' Professional Biography

A veteran coach with more than 26 years of experience in the professional ranks, Bayless was named as the defensive coordinator / special teams coordinator for the 2011 season after just completing his second season in the UFL with the Sacramento Mountain Lions as special teams coordinator / secondary coach having served as the defensive backs coach with the California Redwoods in 2009. In 2010 special teams were a bright spot in Sacramento where in his first year as the special team coordinator Bayless’s units set several UFL league records. The kickoff return & punt return units showcased rookie Aaron Woods who lead the league in total combined net yards gained and was the only player in league history to have a kickoff return (96 yards) and punt return (60 yards) for a touchdown. Punter Tom Malone lead the league in yardage (37 at 1,539 yards) and inside - 20 punts with 12. The kickoff coverage unit set a league record for most coverage tackles inside -20 with 8.

 He spent 2008 with the Minnesota Vikings as an assistant defensive coach after two years with the Houston Texans as the assistant defensive backs coach were he tutored one of the NFL’s top young corner backs in Dunta Robinson.

A former fourth-round selection of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1984 NFL Draft, Bayless was also a first-round pick by the Memphis Showboats of the USFL.  During a 14-year NFL career, Bayless played in 192 games and started 153 games making 1,186 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and 12 career interceptions.  A college football standout at Bowling Green, he was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1989 and still ranks second in the NCAA record books for career interceptions with 27.

 Bayless retired from playing in 1998 and then moved to the Buffalo Bills’ front office as director of player development / special projects.  He began his coaching career at Castle Park High School in San Diego and then at to the University of North Carolina as a coaching intern.

Bayless was defensive backs and special teams coach with the Barcelona Dragons and Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe for the 2003 season before joining the Carolina Panthers as quality control / defensive assistant for the team’s Super Bowl XXXVIII season.  Bayless also coached in Oakland, serving as special teams assistant / defensive assistant  for the Raiders from 2004-05 were both of the top special teams performers were pro bowl punter Shane Lechler and  kicker Sebastian Janikowski. Bayless also had the opportunity to work with two of the NFL’s elite corners in Nnamdi Asomugha and Charles Woodson.

He established the Martin Bayless Free Football Camp in 1986 in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio and more than 140,000 youths have since participated in the camps which span from Ohio to California. His camps have produced three Heisman Trophy Winners (Reggie Bush, Ricky Williams and Rashaan Salaam) and two first overall picks in the NFL Draft (Alex Smith and Dan Wilkinson). For his accomplishments both on and off the field, Bayless was voted San Diego Chargers NFL Man of the Year in 1990 and 1991 and the Kansas City Chiefs NFL Man of the Year in 1996 and was honored in 2008 with the San Diego Hall of Champions’ Ernest H. Wright Sr. Humanitarian Award.