Haley is entering his second season in Austin.
Defensive line coaches don’t always like doing interviews, but Texas Longhorns defensive line coach Brick Haley puts in a nice effort in his “5 Questions with Michael Huff” segment, which you can watch above.
Huff, the former ‘Horns defensive back, has interviewed several members of the coaching staff, and begins by asking Haley how he got the name ‘Brick.’
Haley grew up in a housing project in a small Alabama town. The youngest of 10 children, he had six older brothers. When Haley finally got old enough to join in a pickup football game, he hit his head on the side of a building after diving to catch a touchdown pass.
“My brother comes over and says my head is bleeding,” he says. “So we looked down at the side of the building and there was a chip in the brick. It kind of went from there.”
Haley coaches the defensive line now but actually played linebacker, and has coached linebacker for about half of his coaching career. As a player, the Texas defensive line coach starred at Alabama A&M before coaching at schools including Clemson, Georgia Tech, Baylor, and Mississippi State before heading to the Chicago Bears.
Prior to joining head coach Charlie Strong in Austin, Haley spent five years coaching the defensive line at LSU.
When recruiting a defensive lineman, Haley says it’s important to look for size and speed, but more importantly “twitchy,” meaning a player who has quickness at the line of scrimmage.
Going into the season, Haley says he’s looking to build depth and see who will be able to contribute right away at the position.
Huff’s last question is about what Haley does outside of football.
“I don’t really have a lot of hobbies,” Haley says. “I do have a motorcycle. I ride my bike a little bit. But my real passion is that I like to do yardwork. Some days I can spend eight or 10 hours in my yard. It’s my way of getting some relief, my safe haven. It’s something I take pride in. I like to be the guy with the nicest yard on the block.”