How UB football’s Caleb Haynes is connected to Nick Saban

Caleb Haynes was out of work when Nick Saban shook up college football by announcing his coaching retirement on Jan. 10.

A month earlier, Haynes had been passed over as wide receivers coach by new Stony Brook coach Billy Cosh, a true reality check.

“The uncertainty was a little stressful at times,” Haynes said. “It challenges you to think, overcome adversity and follow the (research) process. I hope I don’t have to relive this too often.

Saban’s retirement set off a chain of events that linked him to Haynes.

January 16: New Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer has hired UB coach Maurice Linguist as co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach.

January the 21st : UB hired South Carolina special teams coordinator/assistant head coach Pete Lembo to replace Linguist.

February 9: Lembo hired Haynes to complete its UB team; Former wide receivers coach Kevin Sherman was hired as head coach at Ferrum on January 9.

Haynes could only laugh when asked how Saban’s retirement created an opportunity for him.

“It’s an honor to be associated with such a big name in college football and this profession,” Haynes said of Saban. “You see the ripple effect and I am so blessed and lucky that the ‘GOAT’ of college football has retired.”

Haynes played football at Central Methodist, an NAIA school in Fayette, Missouri, and began his coaching career there, at times serving as director of operations, junior varsity coach, co-offensive coordinator and coordinator special teams.

Haynes first worked with Lembo at Rice in 2018 – Haynes was a graduate assistant and Lembo the special teams coordinator. Haynes coached safeties, quarterbacks and receivers for five years at Stony Brook, a Football Championship Subdivision program.

After Rice, Haynes coached safeties, quarterbacks and receivers during his five years at Stony Brook, but he was back on the job market after Cosh brought Anthony Davis with him from West Michigan. Cosh was one of 31 new FBS head coaches, each of whom sparked a movement among assistant coaches.

“(Cosh) came in and already had the guy he wanted, and I understand how that works in college football,” Haynes said. “I was looking for a job and I had some opportunities and the (UB) opportunity came later in the process and I jumped at it.”

Lembo obviously knew Haynes, but Haynes and new UB offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude had never met. Lembo contacted Haynes, but said he wanted Patenaude to be “heavily involved” in the research.

“Caleb was definitely on the radar from the beginning, but we wanted to make sure we were very thorough in the process,” Lembo said. “Every time we talked about another candidate, Caleb continued to rise to the top and what set him apart from the other guys was the diversity of his coaching experience and the fact that he has coached quarterbacks and special teams. I like to hire coaches who have versatility and room to grow professionally.

Haynes said he and Patenaude knew some “mutual people,” including former Stony Brook coach Chuck Priore. Haynes and Patenaude spoke on the phone several times about their backgrounds before moving on to a formal interview about offensive football and receiver play.

If UB doesn’t work out, Haynes said he has an offer to coach safety at the University of Pennsylvania. He took the job at UB, found himself in Buffalo seven days later and lived in a hotel for a month before finding an apartment 15 minutes from campus.

“I felt it was a great connection with coach Lembo, I knew it was a place where you could win and it was great to know what (Patenaude) did with a fast, spread attack which is very friendly to a receiver and a receiver coach,” Haynes said.

The Saban effect could be a game-changer for Haynes.

“For my career, it’s a tremendous opportunity,” he said. “I’m at the FBS level as a coaching position, which has always been a goal for my next step.”