Donald Hill-Eley is in his third season as a member of Georgia Tech’s football staff and his second as the Yellow Jackets’ chief of staff.
He came to Georgia Tech in 2022 as an offensive analyst for the Yellow Jackets, before being promoted to running backs coach during the ’22 campaign. He became head coach Brent Key’s chief of staff in 2023.
Hill-Eley’s extensive coaching resume includes 17 seasons as a head coach at the NCAA Division I level — 12 at Morgan State and five at Alabama State (2017-21). He compiled 80 wins in his 17 seasons as a head coach. At Morgan State, he was named the 2002 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Bears to a 7-5 record in his first season at the helm and his 59 wins rank third in school history. After taking over at Alabama State midway through the 2017 season, he led the Hornets to a pair of second-place finishes in the Southwestern Athletic Conference East Division (2017 and 2021 spring) and coached the first first-round NFL Draft pick in program history (OL Tytus Howard – 2019).
Hill-Eley’s coaching career also includes stints as an assistant at Alabama State (tight ends/special teams – 2015-17), Norfolk State (wide receivers/tight ends/special teams – 2014), Morgan State (offensive coordinator – 2001), Hampton (offensive coordinator – 1997-2000, graduate assistant – 1992-93) and Virginia Union (1991). He also spent three seasons as an assistant coach in the Canadian Football League with the Toronto Argonauts (guest assistant – 1996) and Baltimore Stallions (wide receivers – 1994-95).
Hill-Eley played collegiately at Virginia Union from 1987-90 and graduated from VUU in 1991. He received a master’s degree in counseling from Hampton in 1995 and earned a Ph.D. from Morgan State.
He is married to the former Kelley Butler and is the father of Ayinde and Jacob. Ayinde played linebacker at Georgia Tech in 2021-22 and is currently a member of the Canadian Football League’s B.C. Lions.
