Kankakee names Ed Hazelett new football coach

As the Kankakee football program begins its next chapter, it will do so with a familiar face at the forefront.

Ed Hazelett was announced as the new Kankakee High School head football coach Monday night. Hazelett was the defensive coordinator at Kankakee during the Kays’ run to the IHSA Class 5A State championship game in 2021.

Hazelett, an Indianapolis native, played tight end and offensive line at Western Kentucky University before beginning a coaching career that has included a handful of stops across Illinois and Indiana. He was the Kays’ defensive coordinator from 2019-21 under former Kankakee head coach Derek Hart, and joined Hart on his staff in Indianapolis at North Central when Hart returned to his native Indiana in 2023.

But now, Hazelett is prepared to be a first-time head coach back at a place he fell in love with over his first tenure.

“You always look back, and if you could have done things differently in your coaching experiences, what you would have done,” Hazelett said. “I always kind of regretted leaving this place, especially because we built something special, a great family atmosphere.”

Hazelett is replacing Miles Osei, who led the Kays to a 21-3 record and back-to-back Class 6A quarterfinal appearances over a two-year stretch with the Kays. Osei was announced as the next head coach at Evanstown Township last month. Between Hart’s tenure and Osei’s, the Kays have gone 55-11 the past six seasons, winning at least one postseason game in every postseason during that stretch. There was no state series in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Kankakee athletic director Ronnie Wilcox said that the program’s recent string of success – success the football team at Kankakee had never seen before with its first state appearance and winningest six-year stretch – made them a high-profile opening with several worthy candidates. But they wanted a coach who knew Kankakee and was ready to stay there for the long haul, two things they found in Hazelett.

“Based on the last change lasting two years, one thing we wanted to look at was the potential for someone to be here for an extended time, someone familiar with the program either against or with us, and Ed checked all those boxes,” Wilcox said. “He was an integral part of our turnaround six years ago. He brings energy and knowledge on the defensive side, he has a connection with players in both how he’s able to relate to them and discipline.”

Hazelett will now look to build connections with high school players who he first met as grade school summer camp attendees during his first stop at Kankakee. With many younger brothers and cousins of the players he used to coach, Hazelett said he’s expecting the same talent and work ethic he saw during his first span with the Kays. For him, the only things that are different are the upgrades to the school’s athletic facilities.

“I think the kids are still the same,” Hazelett said. “The thing I was most impressed with is how different the school looks with the new fieldhouse, turf, all that. What’s different is the way the school looks, but the kids I compare to kids when I was previously here.”

Hazelett and his wife, Cierra, are parents to five children, sons EJ, Emari, Ervin and Edgerin, and daughter Ellie.