Reports: Will Stein hiring Texas A&M defensive coordinator Jay Bateman at UK
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- Will Stein reportedly hires Texas A&M DC Jay Bateman to lead Kentucky defense.
- Bateman joins after two seasons with Mike Elko; Aggies ranked 19th in yards allowed.
- Veteran coordinator known for aggressive, multi-front schemes and strong sack production.
Will Stein is reportedly pulling from the staff of a playoff team for his first Kentucky football defensive coordinator.
Texas A&M defensive coordinator Jay Bateman is the pick to join Stein’s staff in the same role, according to a report from On3 Sports. Bateman has served as Mike Elko’s defensive coordinator for two seasons in College Station but did not call plays for the Aggies this year with Elko taking over those responsibilities.
Texas A&M, the No. 7 seed in the playoff, ranks 19th nationally in yards allowed per game (309.8) and 41st in points allowed per game (21.9).
A Virginia native and former head coach at FCS Siena, Bateman held the defensive coordinator title at Sienna (1999), Elon (2006-10), Ball State (2011-13), Army (2014-18) and North Carolina (2019-21) before his stint at Texas A&M. His work at Army drew national praise. He was one of five finalists for the Broyles Award — which goes to the top assistant in college football — at Army in 2018, when the Black Knights ranked eighth nationally in yards allowed per game and 10th in points allowed per game.
Bateman has spent the past four seasons in the SEC with a stop as linebackers coach at Florida from 2022 to 2023 before Elko hired him at Texas A&M.
In previous stops as a defensive play-caller, Bateman has been known for aggressiveness. His 2020 North Carolina defense ranked fifth nationally in sacks. His 2018 Army defense ranked 18th nationally in havoc rate, a measure of tackles for loss, passes defended and forced fumbles per play.
While Elko’s defenses have been described as using a base 3-4 formation, in interviews Bateman has downplayed that distinction, instead focusing on the ability to use multiple fronts.
“The main thing I try to do is find who our best 11 players are and play those guys,” Bateman told TarHeels247 in 2018. “...You need to have enough multiplicity in your defense that you can manipulate your coverages, your run fronts, however you’re trying to defend people, with who’s available to you.”
This story was originally published December 11, 2025 at 9:50 AM.