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LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – UNLV football head coach Dan Mullen has named Adrian Mayes as the Rebels’ tight ends coach and run game coordinator.
Mayes comes to Las Vegas after spending the last two seasons at Tulsa, having joined the Golden Hurricane in 2023 as running backs coach before being promoted to run game coordinator overseeing tight ends last year.
Mayes joined Tulsa following four seasons (2019-22) on the North Texas staff, where he coached the Mean Green tight ends. In 2022, Mayes coached Freshman All-American and First Team All-Conference USA selection Var’Keyes Gumms as well as Honorable Mention C-USA performer Jake Roberts, as the duo combined for 62 receptions, 852 yards and eight touchdowns.
Before that, Mayes spent three seasons at Texas State (2016-18). He coached the offensive line in 2016 before coaching tight ends/tackles for his final two seasons. Mayes also served as the recruiting coordinator for the Bobcats.
In 2018, Mayes coached Pro Football Focus First Team All-American Keenen Brown, who caught a team-best 51 passes for 577 yards and five scores and was named First Team All-Sun Belt Conference as Texas State’s leading receiver. A year earlier, Mayes coached Second Team All-Conference tight end Gabe Schrade.
Before his stint at Texas State, Mayes was the Director of Football Recruiting at Houston in 2015. The previous year, he was an offensive graduate assistant at Ohio State when the Buckeyes won the first College Football Playoff Championship in 2014.
Mayes began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Rice for three years (2011-13). He spent his first season coaching on the offensive line and his final two seasons assisting with the defensive line for the Owls. Mayes was part of Rice’s 2013 Conference USA Championship as well as two bowl games (2012 Armed Forces Bowl and 2013 Liberty Bowl).
His coaching experience also includes completing an NFL internship with the New York Jets, working with the running backs in the spring and summer of 2013. Mayes also twice served as a coaching intern with the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers working with the tight end position during the team’s 2019 and 2022 training camps.
Mayes played his collegiate career at Kansas, where he developed into a standout offensive guard and was named the Jayhawks’ Offensive Lineman of the Year as a senior. He initially joined the Jayhawks as a walk-on before twice earning Honorable Mention All-Big 12 and playing on three bowl championship teams (2005 Fort Worth Bowl, 2007 Orange Bowl and 2008 Insight Bowl).
Mayes earned his bachelor’s degree in business management leadership and a master’s degree in sports administration at Kansas. He also served a graduate assistantship on the strength and conditioning staff.
He and his wife, Dr. Amy Mayes, have one son, Aiden.
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