Kentucky announces hiring of defensive coordinator Jay Bateman

Things are starting to move quickly at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. Two days after the hiring of offensive coordinator Joe Sloan went official, Kentucky made the addition of defensive coordinator Jay Bateman final on Wednesday afternoon.

A new defensive play-caller has arrived in the Bluegrass.

“Jay Bateman is one of the most respected defensive minds in college football,” Kentucky head coach Will Stein said in a release. “His ability to develop players, create disruptive defenses, and consistently compete at a high level has stood out everywhere he’s been. Jay brings energy, experience, and a clear vision for how we want to play defense, and we’re excited to welcome him to Kentucky.”

Welcome to #BBN, @CoachBateman

📰🔗 – https://t.co/y2S1dSIPAS pic.twitter.com/oPnPJhzpmH

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) December 17, 2025

“In 2023, I was coaching at Florida, and we came up to Kentucky and they beat the brakes off of us,” Bateman said. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow! This is an incredible place.’ With Will Stein being one of the brightest young stars in the profession, it was a major reason I would leave Texas A&M. I’m excited to work with one of the sharpest head coaches in the country.”

After his playing career at D-III Randolph Macon (Va.) came to an end, Jay Bateman got a quick start to his coaching career by working in high school. That ultimately led to a graduate assistant opportunity at D-III Hampton-Sydney. From there, Bateman landed a job as the defensive coordinator at Siena in 1999.

The defensive coach would then spend a dozen years in FCS football.

After one year as the defensive coordinator, Bateman was promoted to head coach at Siena. He was the youngest head coach in FCS football at the time at age 26. Siena’s football program then shutdown after the 2003 season and that led to a year spent at Richmond where he worked on the same staff as Mike Elko. Bateman then moved to Elon where he became Pete Lembo‘s defensive coordinator at age 32.

Jay Bateman would spend eight years working with Lembo helping lead Elon to the FCS playoffs in 2009. The defensive coordinator followed the head coach to Ball State where Bateman got his first taste of FBS football in 2011.

After a short run at Ball State, Bateman would go on to call defenses at Army, North Carolina, and Texas A&M with a two-year pit stop at Florida serving as a linebackers coach. During his time in College Station, Bateman helped guide the Aggies to a College Football Playoff berth as head coach Mike Elko handled primary defensive play-calling duties. In Lexington, Bateman will take over the defense and will continue his recent run in the SEC.

Jay Bateman’s defensive coordinator stat profile

Year	Points Per Drive	Success Rate	EPA/Play	Yards Per Play	Red Zone TD Percentage	SP+ Ranking
North Carolina (2019)	1.94 (No. 40 nationally)	41.5% (No. 63 overall)	0.00 (No. 63 overall)	5.43 (No. 50 overall)	56.82% (No. 49 overall)	44
North Carolina (2020)	2.55 (No. 83 nationally)	41.9% (No. 61 overall)	0.08 (No. 90 overall)	5.80 (No. 74 overall)	63.04% (No. 66 overall)	53
North Carolina (2021)	2.76 (No. 105 nationally)	42.8% (No. 82 overall)	0.14 (No. 105 overall)	6.11 (No. 105 overall)	54.90% (No. 37 overall)	101
Texas A&M (2024)	1.90 (No. 36 nationally)	37.6% (No. 19 overall)	-0.05 (No. 34 overall)	5.49 (No. 62 overall)	57.89% (No. 57 overall)	20
Texas A&M (2025)	1.72 (No. 24 nationally)	35.4% (No. 5 nationally)	-0.07 (No. 18 nationally)	5.04 (No. 34 overall)	59.38% (No. 64 overall)	19

Jay Bateman did not call plays at Texas A&M in 2025 despite having the defensive coordinator title. Mike Elko handled those responsibilities. Things got sideways on the defensive coordinator at North Carolina after a solid debut season in 2019. The results were not much different at Army where Bateman’s units finished 121, 117, 73, 106, and 70 in ESPN’s SP+ rankings.

Bio Blast: Jay Bateman