BREVARD, N.C. - Throughout the Fall, the Brevard College Department of Athletics will be highlighting its staff members in a tri-weekly Staff Highlight Series, giving members of the Athletic Administration and Coaching Staff the opportunity to introduce themselves to the BC community through a series of questions and biographical elements.
Next up in BC's Staff Highlight Series is Brevard College Head Football Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach Bill Khayat, a former football student-athlete at Duke University.
bctornados.com: What has been your favorite professional memory?
Coach Khayat: Times of special significance during my career as a coach cover a broad spectrum. Two examples of many include being part of the staff that brought the Black College National Championship to Tennessee State University and being an assistant during a Washington Redskins run to an NFC Wild Card playoff berth. A third, and most noteworthy to date, was being at the helm of the 2019 Brevard College Tornados when we posted remarkable, record-setting statistics and were rewarded with a first-ever bowl appearance. My getting doused with ice water after the game provided confirmation that we had just secured a history-making win.
bctornados.com: What makes Brevard College a special place?
Coach Khayat: At first consideration, location as a factor is hard to deny. While enjoying the advantages of the experiential method, the Brevard College community lives and learns in the proximate grandeur of the Western North Carolina mountains. With that as a beneficial attendant, teachers and students develop strong relationships while exploring the concepts of self-initiative and critical reflection. These are vital operating elements, the possession of which produces worthwhile outcomes no matter what the endeavor.
bctornados.com: Who has been the biggest influence in your professional career?
Coach Khayat: It is often the case that you may not be aware of the longstanding impact of what you are hearing, seeing, or being asked to do until you are the one doing the telling and the asking. In retrospect, it is evident that approach and performance are shaped by interactions with many individuals. Since many contributed to forming my personal coaching paradigm, the following is only a short "highlight reel." My high school basketball coach, Mike Keesey, made me aware of the importance of individual motivational skills and thorough preparedness. When I was a first-time member of an NFL staff, head coach Dennis Green taught me the importance of nuance, players' interactions, body language, and looking for the unexpected. Working under Hall of Fame head coach Joe Gibbs showed me the value in making strong staff hires. And of course, my father, Eddie Khayat, who enjoyed a 35-year NFL career, ten as a player and 25 as a coach, introduced me to football and establishing priorities. To a young child, his love of the game and his profession were happily compelling, but it never detracted from his more important role: being my dad.
bctornados.com: What is some advice you would give to young people looking to get into the profession?
Coach Khayat: Be prepared for hard work and the concept of continual learning. Always be aware that great ideas may come from unexpected sources. Remember that no matter what level you are coaching, you will constantly be evaluated and that your name will be on your product.
The Brevard College Tornados following their bowl championship win in 2019.
BACKGROUND
Bill Khayat hails from a football family. His father, Eddie Khayat, a member of the Tulane Hall of Fame and a thirty-five year veteran of the NFL, ten as a player and twenty-five as a coach, was the starting defensive tackle for the 1960 World Champion Philadelphia Eagles. He was subsequently named the team's head coach in 1971. His uncle, Robert Khayat, a member of the Ole Miss Hall of Fame and the Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Mississippi, was a Pro Bowl kicker for the Washington Redskins and the recipient of the NFL's Alumni Achievement Award and the National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award. Both are also members of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
PLAYING CAREER
Khayat, a First Team All-State tight end from York Catholic High School (York, Pa.), had his jersey retired in 1991, and he was later inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame. He went on to have a record-setting career at Duke University where he became the first tight end in 25 years to lead the Blue Devils in receiving. As a junior, he was an Honorable Mention All-America choice. Other honors included: Duke's Outstanding Receiver Award, two-time All-ACC (2nd team), 1st team All-Carolina, Academic All-ACC, and the Iron Dukes Academic All-Star team. He also set records for receptions and yardage in the 1995 Hall of Fame Bowl. Khayat followed up his college career with stints at the Kansas City Chiefs, Carolina Panthers, and NFL Europe's Barcelona Dragons.
Coach Khayat during his collegiate playing days at Duke University.
COACHING CAREER
Khayat began his coaching career as the tight ends coach at Tennessee State University. During two separate turns at TSU (2000–2003, 2013–2015), his coaching achievements included: two All-America and four All-OVC tight ends, an All-America/Walter Payton Award finalist and All-OVC running back, two All-OVC offensive linemen, and one All-OVC kick returner.
Khayat's NFL coaching experience includes three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals (2004–2006) as offensive quality control coach and assistant offensive line coach where he was part of an offense that led the NFL in passing yards and one that produced the NFL's leading receiver. From 2007 to 2009, he served as the offensive quality control coach and assistant tight ends coach for the Washington Redskins, whose tight end was named to the Pro Bowl in 2008 and 2009.
Khayat went on to coach two seasons in the United Football League as the tight ends coach and assistant offensive line coach for the Sacramento Mountain Lions where he coached two players to NFL rosters. His last stop before Brevard was Scottsdale Community College where he coached running backs and was a special teams assistant.
Over the course of his career, he has been invited to coach in six prestigious college all-star games, including offensive coordinator roles in the Players All-Star Classic and the East-West Shrine Game, as well as back-to-back duties as tight ends coach in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. Most recently, he was named head coach of the Tropic Bowl where he also assumed the multiple roles of offensive coordinator, quarterback coach, and tight ends coach. A second invitation for head coaching duties at the Tropic Bowl was extended at the same time as his being named head coach of the Tornados. It was an offer he chose to decline. His energy and expertise would be focused solely on the rebuilding of the Brevard College football program.
Career Record: 16-14
Postseason Record: 1-0
2019: 8-2, 5-2 USAS (2nd place) (5-1 Road Record: Best in BC NCAA-Era History; 8-2 Overall Record: Most wins in School History; .800 Overall Winning Percentage: Best in Program History; 2019 ECAC Scotty Whitelaw Bowl Champions: First postseason appearance/win in Program History)
USA South Conference Defensive Rookie of the Week: Tae Sullivan
USA South Conference Special Teams Player of the Week: Jaxon Youngblood
USA South Conference Defensive Rookie of the Week: Joc Pledger
USA South Conference Defensive Rookie of the Week: Rook Tate
USA South Conference Offensive Rookie of the Week: Gerald Hines
USA South Conference Special Teams Player of the Week: Brandon Norris
D3Football.com Team of the Week: Quentin Jackson
D3Football.com Team of the Week: Jaxon Youngblood
D3Football.com Team of the Week: Rook Tate
D3Football.com Team of the Week: Jerome Bass
USA South Conference All-Conference First Team: Dante Anderson
USA South Conference All-Conference Second Team: Steffon Canady
USA South Conference All-Conference Second Team: Louis Williams III
USA South Conference All-Conference Second Team: Justin Parker
USA South Conference All-Sportsmanship Team: Brandon Whitfield
2019 ECAC Scotty Whitelaw Bowl Most Valuable Player: Steffon Canady
2019 ECAC Scotty Whitelaw Bowl Champions: 2019 Brevard College Tornados Football Team
2018: 4-6, 3-4 USAS (4-1 Home Record: Best in BC NCAA-Era History)
USA South Conference Offensive Rookie of the Week: Dalton Cole (2x)
USA South Conference Special Teams Player of the Week: Trevon Charles
USA South Conference Defensive Player of the Week: Quentin Jackson
USA South Conference Defensive Rookie of the Week: JeQwan George
USA South Conference Offensive Rookie of the Year: Dalton Cole
USA South Conference All-Conference First Team: Bubba Craven
USA South Conference All-Conference First Team: Quentin Jackson
USA South Conference All-Conference Second Team: Axel Easter
USA South Conference All-Conference Second Team: Ralph Roman III
USA South Conference All-Sportsmanship Team: Martigus Henley
2017: 4-6, 3-2 road record (first winning record in BC's NCAA-era history)
D3Football.com Team of the Week: Tyler Gregory
USA South Conference All-Sportsmanship Team: Bubba Craven
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-BC-