Longtime Pac-12 Conference coach Keith Heyward was announced as the Rebels’ new defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach in March 2022.
Heyward, who came to Las Vegas after spending the 2021 season coaching outside linebackers at Cal, spent 16 of the last 17 seasons coaching in the West, including at five Pac-12 schools. Before moving to Berkeley, he served as the assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach for back-to-back conference championship squads at Oregon. He was the Ducks' safeties coach for four seasons (2017-20) while adding co-defensive coordinator duties for his last three campaigns at Oregon and assistant head coach for the final two. Heyward reunites with Arroyo at UNLV as both were members of the Oregon staff from 2017-19.
“Keith Heyward is an outstanding addition to our defensive staff,” said Arroyo. “He identifies and recruits winners. Over a 14-year career, he has helped develop nearly two dozen NFL defensive players and coached in 12 bowl games, including both the Rose and Fiesta bowls. With his big-game experience at several Pac-12 programs, Coach Heyward will lead our defense and demand the high standard of excellence he has always expected, and received, from his players. He is an awesome coach and teacher. In addition, we could not be more excited about his wife, Cameo, and their daughters being in our family!”
Overall, Heyward has been on staff of a pair of teams that won 10 or more games -- at Oregon in 2019 (12-2) and Oregon State in 2006 (10-4) -- while four others won nine (Oregon State, 2008; USC, 2014; Louisville, 2016; Oregon, 2018). He’s coached for a team ranked in the AP Top 25 at some point in the season in 13 of his 17 campaigns and has made a dozen bowl game appearances, including nine over the last decade.
Heyward has coached 19 players who have been selected in the NFL Draft, including four first-rounders: Washington's Desmond Trufant (2013 – Atlanta) and Marcus Peters (2015 – Kansas City), USC's Adoree' Jackson (2017 – Tennessee) and Louisville's Jaire Alexander (2018 – Green Bay).
He has been the position coach for three All-Americans in Trufant (2012 – Pro Football Focus), USC's Su'a Cravens (2014 – AP First Team) and Alexander (2016 – Pro Football Focus Second Team); three Freshman All-Americans and 20 players who earned all-conference honors from either the league's coaches or a media outlet.
During his stop at Oregon, he helped a Ducks defense that allowed 41.4 points per game and ranked 126th nationally the year before his arrival in 2016 to yield only 16.5 points and rank ninth nationally in his third season in Eugene in 2019. Oregon made other tremendous improvements in the national rankings on defense between the year before his arrival and his third season, improving from 126th (518.4 yards per game) to 22nd (329.1 YPG) in total defense, 121st (246.5 YPG) to 13th (108.9 YPG) in rushing defense, and 113th (271.9 YPG) to 53rd (220.1 YPG) in passing yards allowed. Oregon picked off 59 passes during his four seasons as coach and was the only team in the country with at least 15 picks for three straight campaigns from 2017-19.
Heyward moved back west after coaching at Louisville for one season in 2016 for a squad that was 9-4 overall and ranked No. 3 in the nation as late as mid-November after a 9-1 start, while finishing 14th nationally in total defense.
Before joining the Cardinals, Heyward made back-to-back two-year stops at USC (2014-15) and Washington (2012-13) after spending his second stint at Oregon State as defensive backs coach for four seasons (2008-11).
Heyward started his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant on the defensive side of the ball at his alma mater Oregon State (2005-06) as he worked with the defensive line in his first season and cornerbacks in his second before taking his first full-time coaching job as linebackers coach at Cal Poly (2007).
The product of Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California, started the final 35 games of his four-year collegiate career for the Beavers (1997-2000) and earned honorable mention honors at cornerback when he picked up four interceptions as a 2000 senior for a squad that was 11-1 overall, won the Fiesta Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 4 in the AP Top 25.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in communications from Oregon State in 2000, Heyward played professionally with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (2001), the Scottish Claymores in NFL Europe (2002) and the Los Angeles Avengers in the Arena Football League (2004).
HEYWARD’S COACHING EXPERIENCE
2022-PR UNLV – Defensive Coordinator, Cornerbacks
2021 California – Outside Linebackers
2019-20 Oregon – Assistant Head Coach, Co-Defensive Coordinator, Safeties
2018 Oregon – Co-Defensive Coordinator, Safeties
2017 Oregon – Safeties
2016 Louisville – Defensive Backs
2014-15 USC – Passing Game Coordinator, Defensive Backs
2012-13 Washington – Defensive Backs
2008-11 Oregon State – Defensive Backs
2007 Cal Poly – Linebackers
2005-06 Oregon State – Graduate Assistant
POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE
2020 Fiesta Bowl (Oregon)
2019 Rose Bowl (Oregon)
2018 Redbox Bowl (Oregon)
2017 Las Vegas Bowl (Oregon)
2016 Citrus Bowl (Louisville)
2015 Holiday Bowl (USC)
2014 Holiday Bowl (USC)
2013 Fight Hunger Bowl (Washington)
2012 Las Vegas Bowl (Washington)
2009 Las Vegas Bowl (Oregon State)
2008 Sun Bowl (Oregon State)
2006 Sun Bowl (Oregon State)
