Keli'i Kekuewa (keh-lee-EE keh-koo-eh-vah) enters his first season with the Jacksonville Jaguars as assistant offensive line coach/run game specialist and his sixth season coaching in the NFL. He most recently served as assistant offensive line coach for the Carolina Panthers in 2024.
Kekuewa aided an offensive line that cleared the way for RB Chuba Hubbard to become the Panthers' first 1,000-yard rusher since 2019. Hubbard's 1,195 rushing yards were sixth in the NFC and eighth in the NFL. Behind Carolina's offensive line, after regaining the starting role in Week 8, QB Bryce Young completed 197-of-319 passes (61.8) for 2,104 yards and 15 touchdowns, good for an 88.9 passer rating. The Panthers' 36.0 sacks allowed in 2024 tied for sixth fewest in the NFC and 11th fewest in the league.
Prior to joining Carolina, Kekuewa was assistant offensive line coach for Seattle for three seasons (2021-23) after originally joining the staff in 2020 as an offensive assistant. In those three seasons, the Seahawks ranked second in the NFL in rushes of 20-plus yards (49) and tied second in yards per rush (4.7).
Kekuewa spent the 2019 season on Notre Dame's defensive staff as a graduate assistant before being elevated to interim tight ends coach for the 2019 Camping World Bowl. He began his coaching career at Wake Forest (2015-16) before moving on to the University of Minnesota (2017) and Henderson State (Ark.) University (2018), working mainly with the offensive line and tight ends at each program.
Kekuewa played two seasons at Bowling Green, starting all 27 games during the 2012-13 seasons. An All-Mid-American Conference center, Kekuewa was a key part of the Falcons' offensive unit that averaged more than 34 points per game. BGSU finished 10-4 in 2013 including a win in the MAC Championship Game over Northern Illinois and a bowl bid to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.
The Puna, Hawaii, native was an Academic All-MAC selection in 2013. He spent his first two seasons at Arizona Western Junior College where he led the Matadors to an 11-1 record and a berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association championship game.
Kekuewa graduated from Bowling Green in May of 2014 with a degree in environmental policy and earned his master's in liberal studies from Wake Forest in December of 2016. He is married to Namelelani (Akiona) Kekuewa.
