Pat Hill attended Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, California, graduating in 1970. A 1973 graduate of, and an offensive lineman for the University of California, Riverside, Hill was the offensive line coach at Los Angeles Valley College from 1974 to 1976. In 1977, he became the offensive line coach at the University of Utah, where he would stay through 1980. This was followed by short stints at UNLV in 1981 and 1982, and a one-year stay in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders in 1983. After an assistant coaching job at Fresno State, Hill went on to become the offensive coordinator at the University of Arizona from 1990 to 1991. He then went to coach in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns (under Bill Belichick) and the Baltimore Ravens,