Chupacabras interim HC Jerome Haywood emphasizing structure, accountability with five games left

Jerome Haywood will be the first to tell you it happened fast.

One day he was a new assistant for the New Mexico Chupacabras, barely a couple weeks into helping out with the team’s defensive line.

The next? He was the team’s interim head coach, tasked with trying to steer the first-year Indoor Football League (IFL) franchise towards a respectable finish.

“It was just one of those things,” he said Thursday. “I was just like, ‘wow.’ I’m still shocked.”

Shock aside, there’s plenty of work to be done for Haywood, a former New Mexico assistant. After he was named the Chupacabras’ interim head coach earlier this week, he said he intends to emphasize structure, accountability and “relentless energy” with five games to go.

Haywood, who served as UNM’s defensive line coach from 2020-23, only joined the Chupcabras’ staff earlier this month due to his connection with former Lobo cornerback DeAndre Wright, the team’s defensive coordinator. He has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Cibola High School under head coach David Howes, a fellow former UNM assistant, and ran an offensive- and defensive-line training service through 8 Grady’s Sports Performance.

Despite being with the team for a short period, Chupacabras co-owner Mike Fietz said Haywood’s background as a high school and college coach and experience as a player in the Canadian Football League made him the right choice for the position.

“Sometimes it’s just good to hear a new voice, get a different perspective,” Fietz said Thursday. “And I think (with) Jerome being in town and right here with some familiarity … His history in the game, both in coaching and in playing, (he) just seemed like the perfect person to get us through the rest of the season.”

Haywood replaces former head coach Kyle Moore-Brown, a veteran IFL player and coach who led the Chupacabras to a 1-10 start before stepping down this week. The team announced Moore-Brown’s resignation Tuesday.

Fietz declined to discuss when Moore-Brown approached the team about stepping down. His departure followed a 74-18 loss last Saturday to the San Antonio Gunslingers, the team’s worst outing of the season and eighth loss in a row.

“The San Antonio game was a tough one,” Fietz said, “(a) tough one for all of us to swallow. And I think the timing seemed appropriate and we needed something fresh.”

Moore-Brown did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment.

After taking over the Chupacabras, Haywood met with the team earlier this week and asked for their input on what they wanted after a dismal start to their inaugural season.

“We got five games (left),” he said of his message to the team. “Every game is an interview, every play that you play is an interview. Whether you’re on this team or whether you’re moving on to another team in the league or you move up to a different league … There’s always somebody watching.”

When asked if Haywood would be considered as the team’s permanent coach at the end of the season, Fietz said that could be a possibility.

“We’re not focused on next year quiet yet,” he added.

Formerly known as the Duke City Gladiators, Fietz and local businessman Bob Pitre purchased the team from former owner Gina Prieskorn-Thomas last year. The franchise remained dormant for the 2025 season and was announced as the rebranded Chupacabras in August.

Since beginning the IFL’s 16-game schedule in March, the Chupacabras have compiled the worst scoring offense (27.7 points per game) and rushing offense (39.3 yards per game) in the league. The team has also cycled through multiple quarterbacks after trading Ja’rome Johnson — the 2024 IFL MVP with Moore-Brown in Las Vegas — for unspecified future considerations in May.

The Chupacabras host the Wranglers on Sunday (2 p.m.) at Tingley Coliseum.

Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.