He was the first head football coach at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), serving from 1991 to 1994 and compiling a record of 27–12–2.
Hilyer played college football at Stetson University, where he was a four-year letterwinner at offensive guard and linebacker.
He was an assistant coach at Auburn University from 1968 through 1973 before joining George Allen and the Washington Redskins staff in 1974.
[2] Hilyer returned to Auburn from 1977 to 1981, and then he joined the staff of the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League in 1982.
[5] # denotes interim head coach note: program suspended in 2015 and the team practiced in 2016 but did not play with all players redshirted.