Jonathan Hayes Biography - Athletes Living with Diabetes

Jonathan Hayes Biography
January 8, 2009
dLife

Claim to Fame: NFL Tight End Coach for Cincinnati Bengals
DOB: 1962
Diabetes Type: 1

Jonathan Hayes, the football player, got his start at the University of Iowa where he was switched to tight end as a junior after spending his first two seasons at linebacker. He earned first-team All-America honors as a senior and was a team captain. He finished his college career with 50 receptions for 602 yards and 5 TDs. In 1986, he completed work at Iowa on a degree in general studies.

Hayes professional football career began in 1985 as a second-round draft pick out of Iowa with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played for the Chiefs through 1993, serving as a team captain, and closed his NFL career with three seasons in Pittsburgh (1994-96).

As a player, Hayes saw action in 184 NFL games with 122 starts, and he played all 16 games in each of his final six seasons. He played in three AFC Championship games, in 1993 with Kansas City and in ’94 and ’95 with Pittsburgh. In the 1995 season, he played in Super Bowl XXX for Pittsburgh vs. Dallas.

After 12 seasons as an NFL tight end and four years on the coaching staff at the University of Oklahoma – where he helped the Sooners obtain a four-year reacord of 44-9 – Hayes began and continues his NFL coaching career by becoming tight end coach for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Hayes, married with 2 children, co-authored a book in 1993 called "Necessary Toughness: Facing Defenses and Diabetes." In it he explained his experiences with diabetes. He has also done a short documentary film.

Hayes’ message to the dLife community: “You’ve got to be a doctor of your own body.”