B ill Clay is entering his third season as an assistant coach on the Samford football staff. He coaches the team's linebackers and special teams.
Under Clay's tutelage, Samford's Bryce Smith was named first-team All-SoCon, and he led the nation in solo tackles per game in 2009.
Clay comes to Samford with a tremendous amount of coaching experience. Before coming to Samford, he spent the last two seasons coaching safeties at Texas
A&M. Before his time at A&M, he spent the 2005 season coaching inside linebackers at Louisiana Tech.
Clay has served as the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State (2001-04), UAB (1997-2000), Texas-El Paso (1996), Mississippi State (1991-95), Temple (1988), SMU (1981-86) and Southern Mississippi (1980-81).
Clay worked at Mississippi State as an assistant coach in 1989, and he was offensive coordinator at MSU in 1990 before being named defensive coordinator in 1991. He was also an assistant coach at Southern Mississippi from 1976 to 1979 before his promotion to defensive coordinator in 1980.
In 1975, Clay was an assistant coach at the University of Virginia, and during 1973-74, he served as an assistant coach at South Carolina. He worked as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech in 1972 and again at Virginia from 1969 to 1971.
Clay began his coaching career at Ganby High School in Norfolk, Va., during 1965-68. He also has experience coaching professional football. He was an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1987.
Clay has coached in 12 bowl games. He coached in the 1980 Independence Bowl, 1981 Tangerine Bowl, 1982 Cotton Bowl, 1983 Sun Bowl, 1984 Aloha Bowl, 1991 Liberty Bowl, 1993 Peach Bowl, 1994 Peach Bowl, 2002 Houston Bowl, 2003 Cotton Bowl, 2004 Alamo Bowl and 2006 Holiday Bowl.
A native of Marianna, Ark., Clay is a 1963 graduate of the University of Arkansas. He and his wife, Marimarlene, have four children, Christina Long, Kim Bennett, Amanda Donahue and Kelly Atwood, and five grandchildren.
