Heart attack altered Jay Hill’s routine, but his passion for coaching BYU’s defense hasn’t changed

By his own admission, former Weber State head coach Jay Hill was a creature of habit. The current defensive coordinator and associate head coach at BYU had his daily routines — such as working out around lunchtime — and rarely did he veer from them.

Of course, the heart attack Hill suffered not quite two weeks ago changed all that. It also gave the 49-year-old father of four some additional perspective on life, balancing work and family time, and so much more.

“It brings a different perspective on life when you are laying on the table and they are telling you that you are having a heart attack and they gotta go and do a quick surgery,” Hill said after BYU’s practice on Tuesday night. “… But nothing will take away my passion for the game, and my passion for my family. … Now we gotta be smart and find that balance. Honestly, I don’t know what that balance looks like. I am fighting my way through that right now.”

Speaking to reporters for the first time since he was admitted to the hospital on Aug. 29, Hill said he is feeling “much better each day” but not quite back to his old routine. He said he feels like he is “out of the woods” and close to full recovery, but is still avoiding stress and physical exertion as much as possible, while still doing everything he can to get the defense ready for Saturday’s game at Wyoming (7 p.m. MDT, CBS Sports Network).

One of those major changes is that Hill is coaching, and calling defensive plays, from the press box during games. That’s where he was two days after the heart attack when BYU beat Southern Illinois 41-13, and just more than a week later when BYU edged SMU 18-15 in Dallas.

He said he will be in the box the next three games — at Wyoming, at home against Kansas State in Week 4 and at Baylor on Sept. 28 before reassessing the situation during the bye week.

“I actually see it better up there, and it gives me a better perspective of what is coming, and the tempo of the offense,” he said.

Hill said on his “Coordinators’ Corner” program Monday that he “would have never expected” he would suffer a heart attack so early in his life.

“I thought I was in great shape and healthy and doing things mostly right, and all of a sudden you are having a heart attack and trying to figure out what the heck just happened,” he said on the program. “And then the emotions of that (kick in), and wanting to be with the players, and you have responsibilities on the field but you also have responsibilities to your family and everything. It has been a crazy juggling act that we have had to deal with.”

Hill’s father, Ferrell Hill, told the Deseret News that he too has struggled with heart issues the past few years and that it might be a genetic thing. His son, he said, has been “as fit as a fiddle” throughout his life, so the incident two days before the opener “came as a complete surprise to everyone who knows Jay.”

Another change to the defensive coach’s routine occurs at practice. Hill now watches practice — when the Cougars are outside — from the balcony attached to the Student Athlete Building that overlooks the Zions Bank Practice Fields. He sits in a tent-like contraption that blocks out the sun and has an iPad so he can watch and replay everything that happens below.

“So practice is a smidge different. I sit down and I am on a headset so they can yell at the guys, anything I see,” he said. “So that is a smidge different right now, which I don’t love, but it is better for me. On game day I am in the box, instead of down on the field, which keeps things a little more mellow and calm.

It is not what I love, but it is what’s best right now.”

Jay Hill’s wife, Sara, has been by his side at both games , and will continue to attend them. But that’s nothing new.

“She is just a good, calming influence with me. She can grab my leg if I am getting too out of hand or something,” he said. “All my years at Weber State, she traveled. She traveled all last year with us. So I don’t think that has had anything to do with anything other than I like her around and the players love her around. That’s what BYU allows her to do, and I love that.”

Safety Tanner Wall, one of the heroes of the SIU game, said it doesn’t matter to him whether Hill is on the field or in the box for games.

“I don’t really have a preference. I think wherever he is, he is doing an excellent job, and he is able to really call plays comfortably and do things at a high level, whether he’s on the sideline or in the box,” Wall said. “Having (graduate assistant) Gavin Fowler on the sideline for us, just as safeties (is helpful). Typically he was the guy who was in the box. It has been a slight adjustment, but I think we have handled it well and yeah, I think that system is working really well for us right now.”

Cornerback Jakob Robinson said the Cougars miss having Hill on the field because of the energy he brings, but understands the situation.

“I think the calls have been honestly a lot better,” Robinson said. “He is seeing what formation (opposing offenses) are in and just calling it, so I think it has been nice, too.”

Linebacker Isaiah Glasker summed it up perfectly, saying Hill’s health scare has brought the entire team closer together, while proving just how tough and determined Hill can be.

“Honestly, it has given us juice. The defense, we love Jay Hill. He is everything to us, for sure. Even being able to FaceTime him, too, and him talking to us, it has inspired us a whole lot,” Glasker said. “… I feel like these next few games, we are playing for him, for sure. We hope he has a speedy recovery and he can get back on the field with us.”