University of Maryland Athletics

Hamilton is considered by many as the premiere developer of the QB position in NFL circles.

Hamilton is one of a few coaches in the history of the NFL to serve as the offensive play caller for three different NFL franchises over his career.

Hamilton most recently served as the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans in 2022 after serving as the passing game coordinator / quarterbacks coach for the team in 2021. He initially joined the Texans after serving as the quarterbacks coach of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020.

During his coaching career, Hamilton has been influential in the development of quarterbacks such as Justin Herbert, Andrew Luck, Jay Cutler, Alex Smith, Chad Pennington, Kevin Hogan, Shea Patterson and Ted White.

As the passing game coordinator / quarterbacks coach for the Texans in 2021, Hamilton worked closely with rookie QB Davis Mills, as he set the franchise record for passing yards by a rookie (2,664 yards). Mills had one of the most efficient rookie seasons in NFL history under Hamilton's guidance, completing 66.8 percent of his passes for the third-best completion percentage in NFL history among first-year quarterbacks. Mills recorded three games with a passer rating of 125.0 or higher, tied for the second-most among rookie quarterbacks since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. A third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Mills finished second among his draft class peers in passing touchdowns (16), passer rating (88.8) and completion percentage (66.8 percent) and finished third in passing yards (2,664) and yards per attempt (6.76 avg.). In Week 5, Mills became the first rookie in NFL history to finish a game with 300-plus passing yards, three-plus passing touchdowns and a passer rating of 140.0 or higher.

In 2020, Hamilton served as the quarterbacks coach for the Chargers and was instrumental in the development of QB Justin Herbert, who went on to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Herbert's 31 passing, touchdowns are the most by a rookie quarterback in NFL history and his 4,336 passing yards are the second-most in league history. He also set NFL rookie marks for total touchdowns (36) and passing completions (396), along with becoming the youngest quarterback in NFL history to throw 30 passing touchdowns in a season. As a unit, the Chargers offense was the ninth-best in the league (382.1 yards per game) and notched the sixth-most passing yards per game (270.6).

Hamilton also served as the head coach / general manager for the XFL's DC Defenders in 2020. He led the Defenders to a 3-2 record, including a win in the first shutout for the league, a 27-0 victory over the New York Guardians in Week 2. Hamilton coached former NFL QB Cardale Jones to throw for 499 yards and four touchdowns in the 2-0 start while completing 62 percent of his passes.

Before the XFL, Hamilton spent two seasons (2017-18) under Jim Harbaugh at the University of Michigan. While serving as Michigan's offensive play caller, he was assistant head coach / passing game coordinator in 2017 and moved to passing game coordinator / quarterbacks coach the next season. As passing game coordinator / quarterbacks coach, the team's touchdown-interception ratio improved from 9:10 to 24:9. The Wolverines went from having no quarterbacks pass for 1,000 yards in 2017 to Shea Patterson throwing for 2,600 yards and 22 touchdowns in a 10-3 season.

Hamilton worked as the associate head coach - offense for the Cleveland Browns in 2016 after spending 2013-15 with the Indianapolis Colts as the team's offensive coordinator and play caller.

He coached a Colts offense in 2014 that ranked first in passing offense (305.9 yards per game] and third in total offense (406.6), setting single-season franchise records for passing yards (4,894) and total net yards (6,506). QB Andrew Luck, who earned Pro Bowl nods in both 2013 and 2014, passed for career highs in yards (4,761) and touchdowns (40) during the 2014 season. Luck also set a team record with eight-consecutive 300-yard performances.

From 2011-12, Hamilton also served as a tutor to Andrew Luck in college, coordinating the offense and coaching quarterbacks at Stanford University. In 2012, the Cardinals went 12-2 and RB Stephan Taylor finished as the school's all-time leader in career rushing yards (4,212) while tying the school record with 44 total touchdowns. In Luck's final year in college in 2011, Hamilton coached the eventual first-overall selection to finish second in the Heisman Trophy voting and winning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year honors. The offense scored a school-record 561 points on the season, ranking seventh in the nation with 43.2 points per game. As the wide receivers coach in 2010, the team set a school record with 32 receiving touchdowns.

From 2007-09, Hamilton coached quarterbacks for the Chicago Bears. He worked with Jay Cutler in 2009 after the team acquired Cutler via trade to set single season franchise records for completions (336) and passing attempts (555).

Hamilton spent 2006 as an offensive assistant / quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers when Alex Smith became the first quarterback in team history to take every offensive snap during a season.

Before San Francisco, Hamilton spent time with the New York Jets as an offensive assistant / quarterbacks coach (2004-05) and offensive quality control coach (2003). Under his tutelage in 2004, QB Chad Pennington completed 65.4 percent of his passes, which was the second-best mark in franchise history at the time. The Jets also won 10 regular season games and a playoff game for the first time since 1998.

Hamilton began his coaching career at his alma mater, Howard University, where he served as quarterbacks coach from 1997-2001, adding the role of offensive coordinator for his final three seasons. While coaching at his alma mater, Hamilton tutored record breaking signal-caller Ted White who finished his career with 98 TD passes.

He got his first experience in NFL coaching by working as a summer coaching intern for Kansas City in 1999, Washington in 2000 and as a scouting intern for Baltimore in 2001.

A quarterback at Howard University, Hamilton won the school's scholar-athlete award in 1995 and 1996 before earning his business degree in 1997.

Hamilton was born in Charlotte, N.C. and he and his have two daughters and a son.

Updated August 12, 2025