Early coaching career Hazell began his coaching career as the
running backs coach under head coach Don Hunsinger, at
Oberlin College in
Oberlin, Ohio. Hazell spent two seasons at Oberlin before accepting the position of running backs and wide receivers coach at
Eastern Illinois University in 1988. While at Eastern Illinois, Hazell worked under former Purdue starting quarterback
Bob Spoo, who was in his second year with the program. The following year however, Hazell returned to Oberlin where he was given the opportunity to become the
offensive coordinator. After leaving Oberlin for a three-year stint at
Penn, Hazell returned to the D-I ranks where he spent two years as WR coach at
Western Michigan University under Hall of Fame Coach
Al Molde. In 2001, Hazell accepted the wide receivers coach position at
Rutgers University under new head coach,
Greg Schiano.
Ohio State In 2004, Hazell accepted the wide receivers coach position at
Ohio State University. Under head coach
Jim Tressel, Hazell earned Tressel's trust and was promoted to Assistant Head Coach in addition to his wide receiver duties in 2005. Hazell would remain with Ohio State until 2010.
Kent State 2011 In December 2010, Hazell was named the head coach at
Kent State University. In Hazell's first season, the team had two three-game losing streaks, but also had a five-game winning streak in the latter half of the season. Kent State dropped their first three contests, which included losses at eventual BCS national champion
Alabama and
Kansas State and a home loss to
Louisiana-Lafayette. Hazell's first win at Kent State came on September 24, in a 33–25 win over
South Alabama at
Dix Stadium. The team then dropped their first three MAC games before defeating
Bowling Green, which was the start of a five-game winning streak that included a 35–3 win over arch-rival
Akron at
InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field, Kent State's first win in Akron since 2003. The season ended with a 34–16 loss at
Temple. The Flashes finished third in the MAC East with a 5–7 record overall and 4–4 in the MAC.
2012 The 2012 season began with a 41–21 win over
Towson at Dix Stadium, followed by a 47–17 loss at
Kentucky. Following the loss, the Flashes defeated
Buffalo at
University at Buffalo Stadium and followed that with a come-from-behind 45–43 win over
Ball State in Kent. A 31–17 win over
Army at
Michie Stadium was the first victory for Kent State over a non-conference team on the road since 2007. The winning streak reached six, the longest for Kent State since 1940, after a 35–23 win over undefeated and 18th-ranked
Rutgers at
High Point Solutions Stadium. The win was the Flashes' first over a ranked opponent after entering the game 0–22 against ranked teams. The win earned Kent State votes in the October 28, 2012
AP Poll,
Coaches' Poll, and the
Harris Interactive College Football Poll. The team continued winning, beating
Akron in the
Battle for the Wagon Wheel game at Dix Stadium, followed by a 48–32 win over the
Miami RedHawks at
Yager Stadium. The win over Miami set a new team record for consecutive victories in a season at eight and tied the
1973 team for most wins in a season at nine. On November 11, the Flashes were ranked 25th in the weekly AP poll, their first time being ranked since November 5, 1973, when they were ranked 19th for one week. Kent State clinched their first-ever MAC East Division title and spot in the
2012 MAC Championship Game with a 31–24 win over
Bowling Green at
Doyt Perry Stadium on November 17. Following the win over Bowling Green, the Flashes rose to No. 23 in the AP poll and entered the Coaches' and Harris polls at No. 25. Kent State was also ranked for the first time in the
Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings at No. 23. The team climbed as high as 17th in the BCS standings following their regular season-ending win over
Ohio at Dix Stadium on November 23, which clinched their first-ever undefeated season in MAC play and set a record for most wins in a season with 11. They were also mentioned as a potential
BCS Buster. Kent State, however, fell in overtime to
Northern Illinois in the
MAC Championship Game. Following the loss to NIU, Kent State accepted the invitation to play in the
2013 GoDaddy.com Bowl. Hazell accepted the head coaching position at
Purdue on December 5, but Purdue granted Hazell permission to coach Kent State in the bowl game, the first bowl appearance by the Flashes since the
1972 Tangerine Bowl.
Paul Haynes, a Kent State alum who had previously been an assistant at
Arkansas, was hired December 18. Kent State fell to
Arkansas State 17–13 to finish 11–3 overall.
Purdue 2013 On December 5, 2012, Hazell was announced as the 35th head coach in
Purdue University's history. Hazell's contract with Purdue was for 6 years and $12 million. In Hazell's first career game at Purdue, the Boilermakers lost 7–42 to the
Cincinnati Bearcats. The following week against
Indiana State, Hazell won his first game at Purdue 20–14. After the Boilermakers started 1–3, and
Rob Henry continuing to struggle in the team's 4th game,
Danny Etling was thrust into a game with Purdue trailing 27–10 to
Northern Illinois. Etling finished the game with 241 yards passing while throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions. During the ensuing week, Etling was named the starter for the Boilermakers. With Etling at quarterback, Hazell showed he was playing the 2013 season to gain experience for younger players. The Boilermakers finished the 2013 season with a 56–36 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers. Their 1–11 record was one of the worst seasons in Purdue history.
2014 After yet another preseason quarterback competition, Etling beat out
Austin Appleby for Purdue's starting quarterback job. Purdue opened the 2014 season with a 43–34 victory over
Western Michigan. Etling would lead Purdue to a 2–3 record of the first five games of the season, before Hazell turned to Appleby to start Purdue's 6th game against
Illinois. Appleby led Purdue to a 38–27 victory, Hazell's first
Big Ten Conference victory. After starting the season 3–3, Purdue lost a close game to
Minnesota at the
TCF Bank Stadium to start a season-ending 6-game losing streak (ending with 23–16 loss to Indiana Hoosiers), finishing the year 3–9.
2015 During the offseason, quarterback Danny Etling transferred to
LSU. Austin Appleby beat out
David Blough and Elijah Sindelar to win the starting quarterback job. The season started with a narrow loss against
Marshall, but the team bounced back with an easy win over their FCS opponent,
Indiana State. After throwing six interceptions through three games, Appleby was replaced as starting quarterback by David Blough, making it four starting quarterbacks in the four seasons since 2011. Despite occasional flashes of competitive play (like a 24–21 loss to No. 2
Michigan State), Purdue continued to lose, finishing the season with a 54–36 home loss to Indiana Hoosiers, bring the team's record to 2–10.
2016 The season opened with a 45–24 win over Eastern Kentucky, but was followed by a 38–20 loss to Cincinnati. After a bye week the Boilermakers escaped with a 24–14 win over Nevada and were then defeated in a blow-out loss by Maryland 50–7 in their first Big Ten contest of the year. On October 16, 2016, after a loss to Iowa, Purdue University fired Hazell with a 3–3 record on the season. Hazell was 9–33 (3–24 in the Big Ten) during his three-and-a-half-year tenure.
Minnesota Vikings On February 17, 2017, Hazell was hired as the
wide receivers coach for the
Minnesota Vikings.
Retirement After the 2018 season, Hazell retired from coaching. ==Head coaching record==