Omar Hales spent one season as Nebraska’s director of player personnel - high schools in 2023. Hales has previous Big Ten experience at Rutgers, and he served on Matt Rhule’s staffs at Temple, Baylor and the Carolina Panthers.
Hales came to Nebraska after spending the 2022 season as Eastern University’s special teams coordinator, the first person to hold that title in the history of the program. In 2021, Hales worked with the Carolina Panthers as part of the Bill Walsh Coaching Fellowship program, which provides NFL coaching experience to talented minority college coaches, high school coaches and former players.
Hales spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons at Baylor. In 2019 under Rhule, Hales served as a defensive quality control coach. That season, the Bears went 11-3 and ranked 19th nationally in scoring defense. Under Dave Aranda in 2020, Hales served as Baylor’s director of scouting.
Hales gained Big Ten experience as a recruiting assistant at Rutgers in 2017 and 2018. He held the titles of director of recruiting communications and director of player personnel during his two seasons with the Scarlet Knights. Before Rutgers, Hales spent two seasons (2015-16) on Rhule’s staff as a graduate assistant and recruiting assistant at Temple. The Owls won 10 games both seasons and won the program’s second conference title in 2016.
Prior to his collegiate stops, Hales coached in the Pennsylvania high school ranks. He was the defensive coordinator for powerhouse Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia from 2010 to 2013, and the Panthers posted a 38-5 record during his tenure and allowed fewer than 10 points per game while producing multiple FBS scholarship players.
As a player, Hales was a linebacker who began his career at Lackawanna College before transferring to Temple. Hales was a two-year letterwinner with the Owls in 2007 and 2008, playing in 18 games with 10 starts. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2010.