FOR USE AS DESIRED
NFL-40             8/04/03

NFL MINORITY COACHING FELLOWSHIP ATTRACTS 81 PARTICIPANTS;
BENGALS’ LEWIS JOINS JETS’ EDWARDS
AS HEAD COACH GRADS OF PROGRAM

Eighty-one African-American coaches are taking part in this summer’s NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program.

In two of the past three years, graduates of the program have become NFL head coaches – HERMAN EDWARDS of the New York Jets in 2001, and MARVIN LEWIS of the Cincinnati Bengals this year.

The program, begun in 1987, annually provides NFL training-camp positions to minority coaches.  Many current NFL coaches have participated in the program.  Two were Edwards and Lewis.

“I am a head coach in the NFL today because of the opportunity the program provided me,” says Edwards, who interned with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1989.  “The program is really the thing that jump-starts your career.  It really worked perfectly for me.  I was in the right place at the right time.”

Lewis interned with the San Francisco 49ers in 1988 and the Chiefs in 1991.  He went on to build one of the most dominant defenses in NFL history as the defensive coordinator of the Super Bowl XXXV-champion Baltimore Ravens.

“I believe I have a situation to uphold,” says Lewis.  “I represent coaches who came up the way I did – from Division I-AA and being a graduate assistant.  This is a positive step – white, black or green.  Winning football games and working hard at it -- that’s what people appreciate.”

Ironically, Lewis’ first game as the Bengals’ head coach will be against Edwards’ Jets next Sunday on the road.

Another graduate of the Coaching Fellowship program, KARL DORRELL, was appointed head coach of UCLA last December.  Dorrell interned with the Denver Broncos in 1993 and 1999, and spent the past three seasons as the club’s wide receivers coach.    

As part of training camp coaching staffs, the fellowship coaches perform duties that mirror those of full-time NFL assistant coaches.  They become working members of NFL staffs for the summer and are responsible for specific assignments, including planning and directing workouts, formulating scrimmage and preseason-game strategies, breaking down videotape, and evaluating players.  

Nearly 900 coaches have worked in the training camps of NFL teams since the program’s inception. 

Following is a list of some NFL coaches who have participated in the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program:

 

NFL GRADUATES OF NFL MINORITY COACHING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

CLUB

COACH

POSITION

Atlanta

James Daniel

Tight ends

 

Ollie Wilson

Running backs

Baltimore

Dennis Thurman

Defensive backs

Cincinnati

Leslie Frazier

Defensive coordinator

 

Jay Hayes

Defensive line

 

Ricky Hunley

Linebackers

 

Marvin Lewis

Head coach

 

Alex Wood

Wide receivers

Green Bay

Jethro Franklin

Defensive line

Indianapolis

Gene Huey

Running backs

Jacksonville

Todd Howard

Defensive assistant

Kansas City

James Saxon

Running backs

 

Vernon Dean

Ass’t. defensive backs

Miami

Keith Armstrong

Special teams

 

Clarence Brooks

Defensive line

 

Robert Ford

Wide receivers

Minnesota

Kevin Ross

Ass’t. secondary

New England

Pepper Johnson

Inside linebackers

New Orleans

Sam Clancy

Defensive line

 

Ty Knott

Def. quality control ass’t.

NY Giants

Johnnie Lynn

Defensive coordinator

 

Eric Studesville

Running backs

 

DeWayne Walker

Defensive backs

NY Jets

Rubin Carter

Defensive line

 

Herman Edwards

Head coach

 

Bishop Harris

Running backs

Philadelphia

Mike Reed

Def. ass’t.-quality control

Pittsburgh

Ken Jackson

Wide receivers

San Diego

Jerry Holmes

Defensive backs

 

Wayne Nunnely

Defensive line

Tampa Bay

Raheem Morris

Defensive assistant

 

Art Valero

Tight ends

Tennessee

Sherman Smith

Running backs

Washington

Hue Jackson

Offensive coordinator

 

2003 NFL MINORITY COACHING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Arizona

 

Joe Jefferson (Bethel); C.J. Cavazos (Trinity Valley C.C.)

Atlanta

 

Julius Dixon (Furman); Natrone Means (Former NFL player); Henry Jones (Former NFL player)

Baltimore

 

Jonathan Cannon (Howard)

Buffalo

 

Barry Foster (NFLEL); Robert Lyles (AFL)

Carolina

 

Martin Bayless (NFLEL, Former NFL player); Lawrence Livingston (No affiliation); Mark Saunders (AFL)

Chicago

 

Nelson Barnes (Lincoln H.S.); Jeff Braxton (Delaware State); Preston Jackson (California-Davis); Thomas Lavigne, Jr. (Southern)

Cincinnati

 

Sherman Wood (Salisbury State)

Cleveland

 

Adam Henry (McNeese State); Frank Robinson (Montana State); George Teague (Former NFL player)

Dallas

 

Dave Meggett, (American); Steve Smith (AFL); Adrian White (NFLEL)

Denver

 

Anthony Ball (Virginia Tech); Curtis Bray (Pittsburgh)

Detroit

 

Darryl Jackson (Arizona State); Taver Johnson (Miami, OH); Van Malone (North Dakota State)

Green Bay

 

Richard Glover (New Mexico State); Bubba McDowell (Former NFL player); Willard Scissum (Morehouse)

Houston

 

Vernon Hargreaves (Miami, FL); Dwaune Jones (Former NFL player)

Indianapolis

 

Reggie Brooks (NFLEL); Cedrick Hardman (Former NFL player); Ray Roberts (Former NFL player)

Jacksonville

 

Shannon Jackson (Indiana State); Greg Ross (No affiliation)

Kansas City

 

DeMontie Cross (Iowa State); Reggie McElroy (Buffalo H.S, MO)

Miami

 

Cheston Blackshear (Florida); Wayne Dickens (Morehouse); Charles Huff (Central Florida); Amp Lee (NFLEL)

Minnesota

 

Eric Green (NFLEL); David Hampton (Concordia); E.J. Junior (Former NFL player)

New England

 

Corwin Brown (Virginia); Howard Feggins (Northwestern)

New Orleans

 

Cortez Kennedy (Former NFL player); Darryl Sims (NFLEL)

NY Giants

 

Rob Harris (Bishop Moore H.S., VA); Todd Littlejohn (Syracuse); Michael Simpson (Albany); Pedro Valdez (Teaneck H.S., NJ)

NY Jets

 

Renato Diaz (No affiliation); James Lott (No affiliation)

Oakland

 

Jamal Fountaine (Washington State); Dan Land (Albany State); John Montgomery (Langston); Joe Wade (Eastern Washington)

Philadelphia

 

Frank Gonzalez (No affiliation); Jimmie Johnson (Shaw); Kevin Ramsey (Arizona State); James Salgado (Hofstra)

Pittsburgh

 

John L. Allen, Jr. (NFLEL)

St. Louis

 

Gil Byrd (Former NFL player); John Glapa (No affiliation)

San Diego

 

Cornell Jackson (Washington); Latrell Scott (Virginia Military Institute); Vancz Singletary (Hawaii); Keith Wagner (Trinity Valley C.C.)

San Francisco

 

Charles E. Collins (Trinity Valley C.C.); Roderick R. Plummer (Kutztown)

Seattle

 

Junior Bryant (Former NFL player); Kasey Dunn (Alabama)

Tampa Bay

 

Andre’ Curtis (Virginia Military Institute); Ron Middleton (Mississippi)

Tennessee

 

Carl Franks (Northern Arizona); Marquis Mosely (Army)

Washington

 

James Speer (Florida); Mike Wilson (No affiliation)