Woodrow Wilson High School selects Adrian Haywood as defensive coordinator
DALLAS – Woodrow Wilson High School has named Adrian Haywood as its new defensive coordinator.
Adrian Haywood was born and raised in Mesquite, TX, where he played football at Mesquite High school and was a part of the 2001 State Championship Team. Haywood started his collegiate playing career at Tyler JC before moving to SMU for the 2005 and 2006 seasons. At SMU he was a two-time All-Conference USA honoree and was named the team’s defensive MVP as a senior.
Coach Haywood brings over 16 years of coaching experience across the high school, junior college, and NCAA Division I levels. He began his coaching career in 2009 at Tyler Junior College, where he served as the defensive line coach and helped develop two first-team all-conference players.
He went on to spend three seasons coaching defensive tackles at Baylor University, mentoring several future NFL players, including All-Big 12 honoree Nicholas Jean-Baptiste. During his time at Baylor, the Bears compiled a 29-10 record and made three consecutive bowl appearances: the Valero Alamo Bowl (2011), the Bridgepoint Holiday Bowl (2012), and the Fiesta Bowl (2013).
After his time at Baylor, Haywood coached the defensive line at Navarro Junior College in Corsicana, Texas. That season, Navarro posted a 7-3 record and finished ranked No. 14 nationally.
Haywood joined the coaching staff at Southeastern Oklahoma State University prior to the 2015 season as the defensive line coach. In his first year, the Savage Storm posted a 6-5 record and ranked in the top half of the Great American Conference in all four major defensive statistical categories. The team also tied the conference-high for sacks in a game with eight against Southern Arkansas. He concluded his time at Southeastern following the 2016 season.
As his family began to grow, Coach Haywood found that his real calling was at the high school level, developing students into men of integrity with courage of conviction and high moral character. Haywood has spent the last four years (2021–2024) as defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Terrell High School, culminating in back-to-back winning seasons and three sustained playoff appearances. During this time, Terrell posted improved overall records, moving from 4-6 in 2021 to 6-5 in both 2022 and 2024, and peaking at 7-4 in 2023, anchored by a defense that allowed just 32.8 points per game in 2022 while generating about 364 total yards and averaging 83.5 tackles per game. Over the span of four seasons, Haywood was instrumental in helping 24 student-athletes advance to play collegiate football at various levels, from JUCO to NCAA Division I.
Prior to that, he served as defensive line coach at North Mesquite High School (2018–2020), where the team compiled records of 3-6, 2-8, and 2-8 respectively in the competitive 6A Region II district, laying a foundation of toughness and accountability despite limited team success.
His coaching philosophy is one that seamlessly aligns with the spirit of Woodrow Athletics: “To establish a smart and relentless defense that believes in effort, physicality, and discipline, while excelling in fundamentals.”
Coach Haywood and his wife of 9 years, Kristen, who serves in Communications for Royse City ISD, live in Terrell, TX with their 3 children: sons Zaden (14) and Adrian, Jr. (10), and daughter, Riley Faith (7).
Coach Haywood brings exceptional talent and experience to the Woodrow coaching staff. Welcome to Wildcat Nation, Coach Haywood!
