Every year, a handful of coaches take three new jobs in an offseason. No one ever sets out with the goal of taking and then leaving multiple jobs in a span of weeks, but that's how life goes sometimes.
In the 2020-21 cycle, no one has traveled quite as far and quite as fast as Jay Valai. When the calendar flipped from 2020 to '21, Valai was preparing for his second season as Texas cornerbacks coach. Six weeks later, he's worn four different teams' colors.
Here's a timeline of Valai's 2021 so far:
Jan. 3: Texas fires Tom Herman. While not certain, Valai, along with most of Herman's staff, is most likely out of a job.
Jan. 20: Houston announces Valai as cornerbacks coach.
Feb. 1: Valai leaves Houston for Philadelphia Eagles.
Feb. 12: Valai reportedly leaves Philadelphia for Alabama, according to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg.
The first month and a half of 2021 are only a microcosm of Valai's entire career. The 32-year-old worked as a trainer for five years out of college before joining coaching as a quality control coach at Georgia in 2016-17.
From there, he spent 2018 in a similar role with the Kansas City Chiefs. After one year there, he joined Chris Ash's Rutgers staff as cornerbacks coach, then went to Texas for 2020.
And now, after all of two seasons as a full-time position coach, Valai can say he's worked in the NFL and for Nick Saban.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.