The Jacksonville Jaguars today announced additions to both the coaching staff and scouting department. By way of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, the Jaguars have hired Martin Bayless (special teams) and Kiel McDonald (running backs). Through the Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellowship, the Jaguars have hired added Aashon Larkins and Byron Archambault.
Bayless played in the NFL for 13 seasons (1984-96) and had stints with the St. Louis Cardinals, Bills, Chargers, Washington Football Team and Chiefs. He played college football at Bowling Green (1980-84) and was inducted into the Bowling Green State University Hall of Fame in 1989. After his football career, he joined the Bills front office as a director of player development before transitioning to coaching. He has coached for several NFL teams in various roles. Most recently, he was the special teams coordinator and safeties coach for the Los Angles Wildcats of the XFL.
McDonald is currently the running backs coach for the University of Utah, where he has been for four seasons. Under McDonald's guidance, Utah led the Pac-12 in rushing in 2019 behind senior RB Zack Moss' 1,416 yards on the ground, Moss' third career 1,000-yard season with McDonald as his coach. McDonald's collegiate playing career started at Sacramento City College, where he was an honorable mention All-NorCal Conference cornerback as a sophomore. He transferred to Sacramento State, where he played in 2005, before graduating with honors in the spring of 2006. McDonald finished his career at Idaho, tallying 31 tackles (two for loss), an interception and five pass breakups in 2006.
Larkins is the director of recruiting at the University of Michigan where he helps with the Wolverines' recruiting and player development efforts. Prior to his time at Michigan, he served as the special teams and recruiting coordinator at Bethune Cookman from 2015-19. He also served as the cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator at Jacksonville State University and spent eight seasons with The Citadel where he held several roles, including coaching linebackers and special teams. Larkins graduated from Lehigh University in 2003.
Archambault currently serves as the director of national scouting for the Montreal Alouettes. Prior to his stint with the Alouettes, he worked for the University of Montreal Carabins from 2017 to 2019, as the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach. He played two years in the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after being a second-round pick (17th overall) in the 2015 CFL draft. He was a First Team All-Canadian in 2014 and was named the Quebec Conference Outstanding Defensive Player after recording 49.5 tackles in his senior year. The Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship was designed as a vocational tool to increase the number of full-time NFL minority coaches, all 32 NFL clubs participate each year. Specific aspects of the program including hiring, compensation and coaching duties, which are administered on a club-by-club basis.
The Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellowship, created by the NFL in January 2015, exposes interested and qualified candidates to a career in professional scouting. The program will give participants a unique glimpse into Player Personnel by introducing them to various areas related to college and pro scouting within a club.
Bayless, McDonald, Larkins and Archambault will be with the team for the duration of training camp.
