Five years after Shaun Dion Hamilton was supposed to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, he was running around the practice field on Tuesday in preparation for Mobile’s annual all-star game – as the defensive-backs coach for the American team.

Hamilton came to the Port City with Alabama teammates Bradley Bozeman, Da’Shawn Hand, JK Scott and Levi Wallace for the 2018 Senior Bowl.

But Hamilton couldn’t play in the game because he still was recovering from broken right kneecap sustained in the Crimson Tide’s 24-10 victory over LSU on Nov. 4, 2017. Hamilton had to limit his Senior Bowl participation to meeting with representatives of NFL teams.

“I remember going through the interviews and the process,” Hamilton said, “and that’s one thing I continue to reiterate to the players. I’m here for you, and I’m here to help you guys prepare for the next level, so it’s great being back here.”

As recently as August, Hamilton remained an NFL player in the Detroit Lions’ training camp. Coming back from a torn triceps muscle that caused him to miss the 2021 season, Hamilton had been on the field for 38 defensive snaps and 17 special-teams plays and recorded three tackles and one quarterback hit in Detroit’s first two preseason games when the Lions released him on Aug. 23.

But Detroit also made Hamilton an unusual offer.

“I waited for a couple of weeks to see if I was going to get some phone calls,” Hamilton said. “The coaching staff and the GM told me, once I got released, if I didn’t like any of the opportunities, they’d have a spot for me on the staff. I kind of figured where my career was going, so I decided to hang it up and jump full head of steam into this new coaching journey. …

“It definitely made me feel good. I’m a straightforward, business-first guy, and we got a special group of coaches in Detroit. Credit to (head coach) Dan Campbell and everybody for allowing me to join the staff.”

As a defensive assistant, Hamilton helped linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard with the linebackers, and he also worked some with the Lions’ defensive backs.

The player so often referred to as “a coach on the field” now really was one.

“All my coaches always told me I was going to be a coach,” Hamilton said.

Maybe that’s why being called coach doesn’t seem too weird to Hamilton.

“Kind of sort of, but it doesn’t at the same time,” Hamilton said. “The transition’s been smooth. Just enjoying it being on the other side.”

Before Alabama, Hamilton earned All-State recognition at Carver High School in Montgomery in 2012 and 2013.

“Absolutely hard work,” Hamilton said about the value that he’d carried with him from his days with the Wolverines. “That’s one thing I live by. Hard work pays off. Hard work got me to Alabama, got me to get drafted to the NFL, got me to play four years in the NFL. Now it’s even more. I believe I can never watch too much film, I can never prepare enough to make sure the guys are prepared to play on Sunday.”

A sixth-round draft choice by Washington in 2018, Hamilton played in every game during his NFL career until sustaining an elbow injury on Dec. 20, 2020. Hamilton landed on injured reserve, and he missed the final two games of the regular season and Washington’s 31-23 playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being waived.

In 46 games, with seven starts, for Washington, Hamilton had 97 tackles, 2.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, one interception, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery while getting on the field for 625 defensive snaps and 822 special-teams plays.

Hamilton joined Detroit as a waiver claim on Jan. 12, 2021, but he went on injured reserve in training camp seven months later after hurting his arm.

For the first time, the Senior Bowl is not using coaching staffs from two NFL teams to handle its all-star squads. Instead, the coaching staffs have been assembled from assistants across the league. Hamilton is the defensive-backs coach on the staff of American head coach Luke Getsy, who is the Chicago Bears’ offensive coordinator.

“I think it’s an amazing opportunity,” Hamilton said. “Being an in-state guy, this is a huge deal. I grew up watching this game as a kid, and now here being able to sharpen my toolbox coaching DBs, and corners specifically, because I’ve been a linebackers guy. But being able to train up young men and groom them up and help them anyway I can to help them succeed and get to their dream, which is to make it to the NFL.”

Other coaches on the Senior Bowl staffs have Alabama football roots, too, with both defensive coordinators former Birmingham prep standouts.

National defensive coordinator Grady Brown is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive-backs coach. He went from Wenonah High School to Alabama A&M, and he’s been as assistant coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State and Birmingham-Southern along the way to his current post.

American defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington is the defensive-line coach for the New England Patriots. He earned All-State recognition at John Carroll Catholic in 2006, when he had 75 receptions for 1,250 yards and 10 touchdowns and intercepted five passes before continuing his football career at Samford.

American running backs coach Pat Bastien is a Jets offensive assistant. He was a linebacker at UAB from 2009 through 2013.

“I always tell people, especially being up North, it’s a special place,” Hamilton said of Alabama. “I was so excited about the opportunity to come back down here. I haven’t been back down here to the state of Alabama for quite some time, probably since the offseason. They just eat, sleep and breath football here, and I’m so glad to be back here.”

The 74th annual Reese’s Senior Bowl will kick off at 1:30 p.m. CST Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile. NFL Network will televise the game. Tickets can be purchased online.

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Reese’s Senior Bowl American team practice

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.