Jay Kaiser spent four seasons as Illinois' Director of College Personnel and NFL Liason in from 2021-24. Kaiser developed and managed Illinois’ collegiate personnel department, encompassing student-athlete oversight, development, and roster management, while also acting as the Illinois football team’s liaison to the NFL and all other professional leagues and events, including the NFL Combine, and Pro Days. He also educated Illini student-athletes through the process to become a professional football player.
Kaiser was voted the 2023 NFL Liaison of the Year in recognition of his contributions to NFL scouting and performance as a pro liaison during the 2023 season. The award was voted on by NFL personnel.
Kaiser helped elevate Illinois to new expectations since Bielema's arrival in 2021. The Illini had 28 wins and 18 Big Ten wins from 2021-24, highlighted by a 10-win season in 2024 that tied Illinois' single-season record for wins. In 2024, Illinois was ranked by the CFP selection committee for a program-record four straight weeks, appeared in 12 AP Top 25 polls, and tied the program record for ranked wins with four. The Fighting Illini capped one of the best seasons in program history by beating #14 South Carolina in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, 21-17, in one of the top bowl game victories in Illinois history.
Kaiser joined Illinois with 16 years of collegiate experience, all in the Midwest, and 10 years in the NFL. He brought a strong relationship with the NFL league office to Champaign and a vast knowledge of the college-to-NFL process after recruiting and helping players like first-rounder Josh Freeman (Kansas State) and walk-on-turned-Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowler Jordy Nelson (Kansas State) during their collegiate careers.
Kaiser has worked with three National Football Foundation Hall of Fame coaches - Bill Snyder (Kansas State), Mel Tjeerdsma (Northwest Missouri State), and Dr. Ted Kessinger (Bethany College) - during his time in college football.
Kaiser spent 10 seasons as an assistant to the head coach in the NFL, including a seven-year stint with the Miami Dolphins from 2012-18. He assisted head coaches Joe Philbin (2012-15), Dan Campbell (2015), and Adam Gase (2016-18) in organizing football operations for the Dolphins. Kaiser managed several elements of Miami’s off-field agenda, involving the day-to-day schedule, player and staff communications, and the football calendar, including the offseason programs, minicamps and training camp.
In the three years (2009-11) before coming to the Dolphins, Kaiser served in a similar capacity for Raheem Morris, the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including the Bucs’ 10-6 season in 2010. The Bucs completed the best turnaround in team history, going from 3-13 to 10-6, and became the first team in NFL history to start 10 rookies and achieve a winning season.
Prior to joining the Buccaneers, Kaiser spent seven seasons (2002-08) on the Kansas State football staff as the director of recruiting operations for the Wildcats. In addition to organizing Kansas State’s recruiting efforts, he assisted with day-to-day operations and oversaw the student volunteer Powercat Pride program consisting of 90 students. Kansas State enjoyed national-level success during Kaiser’s time in Manhattan, headlined by Kansas State’s first Big XII title in 2003, before rebuilding the roster that eventually led K-State to another Big XII title in 2012, have a Heisman finalist (Collin Klein) and be ranked No. 1 in the nation with 12 starters and 19 players on the two-deep from Kaiser’s final two Wildcat recruiting classes.
Kaiser served as a graduate assistant with 2001 MAC champion Toledo, where he spent one year as the Rockets’ assistant quarterbacks and receivers coach, prior to moving to Kansas State. Toledo finished the season ranked No. 22 in final AP poll.
He also coached tight ends and special teams at Northern Iowa as an assistant coach in 2000, where he helped multiple players to the NFL including tight end Ryan Hannam, following a two-year stint as a graduate assistant at Northwest Missouri State. While on staff with Northwest Missouri State, Kaiser helped the program to an undefeated 15-0 NCAA Division II national title in 1998.
Kaiser received his start as a student coach at Bethany College from 1993-96. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Bethany in 1997 and added a master’s degree in physical education and health from Northwest Missouri State in 1998.
A native of Liberal, Kansas, Kaiser and his wife, Camille, have two children, Karson and Payton. Karson was a true freshman on the Illinois football team in 2024.
