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Carl Hairston
Defensive Ends
13th season as NFL coach
Second season with Packers
Carl "Big Daddy" Hairston begins his second season with the Green Bay Packers as defensive ends coach in 2007, his 32nd season in the National Football League.
Named to his position by Head Coach Mike McCarthy on Jan. 27, 2006, Hairston brings a wealth of experience to Green Bay, having played in one Super Bowl and coached in another during his three decades in the NFL.
Under Hairston's tutelage, defensive end Aaron Kampman had a monster season in 2006, leading the NFC with 15 sacks and setting a franchise record for tackles by a defensive lineman with 113, earning his first Pro Bowl bid. Third-year lineman Cullen Jenkins also blossomed, moving from tackle to end on early downs late in the year to bolster the team's run defense and eventually taking that starting spot opposite Kampman. The move, which helped produce a three-sack game from Jenkins, keyed the defensive resurgence and season-ending four-game winning streak.
Hairston joined the Packers from Kansas City, where he spent five seasons in his second stint with the club. Originally drafted by Dick Vermeil's Eagles, Hairston was on the field as either a player or an assistant coach for every game of Vermeil's NFL head coaching tenures.
Under Hairston, Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen accumulated 20 sacks from 2004-05. That figure tied for 10th in the NFL during that period but ranked first among players drafted in 2004, including 23 defensive linemen taken before Allen. Led by Allen's nine sacks as a rookie, the second-highest total by a rookie in Chiefs history, the club finished 2004 with 41 sacks, seventh in the league.
Prior to his second tour with the Chiefs, Hairston reunited with Vermeil for a memorable run with the St. Louis Rams (1997-2000). In 2000, Hairston helped a pair of players, Kevin Carter and Grant Wistrom, reach double digits in sacks. One year earlier, when the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV, his unit provided most of St. Louis' 57 sacks, which tied for the league lead. Carter's NFL-leading 17 sacks that year powered him to the Pro Bowl, where he joined his neighbor on the Rams line, D'Marco Farr. In Hairston's first year with the Rams, 1997, he assisted Leslie O'Neal to a 10-sack effort.
The 54-year-old Hairston began his coaching career under Marty Schottenheimer as Kansas City's defensive line coach (1995-96), a role in which he worked with McCarthy. Tutoring one of the league's most-feared defensive fronts, Hairston and his players helped the 13-3 Chiefs win the AFC West in 1995, when the team finished third in the NFL and second in the AFC with 47 sacks. Again, his unit produced a pair of Pro Bowl performers, Neil Smith and Dan Saleaumua.
Originally a pro scout with the Chiefs in 1994, Hairston also assisted with the defensive line during training camp that season.
Earlier, he spent three years (1991-93) as a college scout with the Phoenix Cardinals, where he had finished his playing career.
One of the finest defensive linemen of his era, Hairston played 15 distinguished seasons in the NFL. He appeared in 224 NFL contests (184 starts), posted 94 sacks among 1,141 tackles and played in 15 postseason contests, including one Super Bowl and four conference championship games ('80 NFC, '86 AFC, '87 AFC and '89 AFC).
Selected in the seventh round (191st overall) of the 1976 draft by Vermeil, then a rookie head coach with the Eagles, Hairston preceded Reggie White on the Philadelphia defensive line. Starting each of his eight seasons (1976-83) with the Eagles, he captained the defense from 1979-83 and recorded 100-or-more tackles for five straight years (1977-81).
In 1979, he led the Eagles and the NFC with a career-best 15 sacks. A year later, Hairston served as a starting defensive end in Super Bowl XV against the Oakland Raiders.
Following his career in Philadelphia, Hairston spent six years in Cleveland (1984-89) and one final campaign with the Cardinals (1990).
A four-year starter as a linebacker and defensive end at Maryland-Eastern Shore, Hairston earned all-conference honors on three occasions and also played one season of basketball. He graduated from the school in 1985 with a degree in physical education. In 2005, Hairston was inducted into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Hall of Fame.
Born in Martinsville, Va., Carl and his wife, Cindy, reside in Green Bay.
HAIRSTON AT A GLANCE
- Joined Packers Jan. 27, 2006.
- Tutored Pro Bowler Aaron Kampman to a career-best 15 sacks and 113 tackles in 2006.
- Has played in one Super Bowl and coached in another during his 31 seasons in the NFL. Among his 16 years in the league since the end of his playing career, has spent 12 seasons as a defensive line coach.
- Worked 15 years with NFL icon Dick Vermeil either as a player or assistant coach.
- Enjoyed a distinguished 15-year playing career as a defensive end with the Philadelphia Eagles (1976-83), Cleveland Browns (1984-89) and Phoenix Cardinals (1990). Recorded 100-or-more tackles for five straight seasons and posted a career-best 15 sacks in 1979.
- Played collegiately as a linebacker and defensive end at Maryland-Eastern Shore.
COACHING BACKGROUND:
| Year |
College/Pro Team |
Position Coached |
| 1995-96 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
Defensive Line |
| 1997-2000 |
St. Louis Rams |
Defensive Line |
| 2001-05 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
Defensive Line |
| 2006-07 |
Green Bay Packers |
Defensive Ends |
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