Steve Ortmayer

Former University of Kentucky head football coach Rich Brooks once said, “The best way to describe Steve Ortmayer is that he was a football man.” With a coaching and executive career that spanned over four decades—including 25 years in the NFL—few statements ring truer.  

Conrad Stephen Ortmayer was born in Painesville, Ohio, but grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and later in Dallas, Texas. A standout football player at Highland Park High School in Dallas, he initially signed with the Vanderbilt Commodores but played just one season there. He transferred to the University of La Verne in La Verne, California, where he completed his collegiate playing career.

Football was Steve Ortmayer’s true calling. After his playing days ended, he shifted his focus to coaching, beginning his career at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he spent seven seasons. He then took a position at Georgia Tech for one year before making the jump to the NFL.

Ortmayer’s first NFL coaching role was with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he spent three seasons as special teams coordinator. It was during that time he caught the attention of Al Davis, a rising NFL power broker. Davis brought Ortmayer to the Oakland Raiders, marking the beginning of a 14-year relationship with the iconic silver and black.

With the Raiders, Ortmayer served as both special teams coach and director of football operations, playing key roles in the franchise’s victories in Super Bowl XV and Super Bowl XVIII. His meticulous attention to detail and forward-thinking approach to special teams earned the respect of both Davis and legendary head coach Tom Flores. Ortmayer developed a reputation for uncovering hidden talent in the draft and maximizing the potential of his players, especially on special teams.

When Ortmayer was offered the general manager role with the San Diego Chargers, Davis, though reluctant, encouraged him to pursue the opportunity, believing it was the right move for his career. However, success in San Diego proved elusive, and just shy of his third anniversary with the team, Ortmayer was dismissed. True to Davis’s famous mantra, “Once a Raider, always a Raider,” Ortmayer was welcomed back to the organization as special teams coordinator, a role he held for the next five seasons.

After the 1994 season, Ortmayer left the Raiders for another opportunity in NFL front office leadership—this time with the Los Angeles (later St. Louis) Rams. It was there he forged a close friendship with new head coach Rich Brooks, a connection that would eventually lead Ortmayer to Kentucky.

Following his stint with the Rams, Ortmayer spent a season as special teams coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. He later returned to front office work with the Memphis Maniax of the short-lived XFL, continuing to blend his coaching expertise with executive leadership.

Rich Brooks was hired at the University of Kentucky’s head coach in 2003, and one of first coaching staff hires was Ortmayer as special teams coordinator. Ortmayer fell in love with the Bluegrass State, and after retiring from coaching in 2010 settled in Lexington. He passed away on March 19, 2021.

Football image from the Oakland Raiders. Biography by Grace Frericks.