Coaching summit highlights minority candidates

The biggest takeaway following the NFL’s two-day quarterback coaching summit is there’s no shortage of qualified minority candidates waiting for opportunities to be head coaches and coordinators.

The league and the Black College Football Hall of Fame earlier this week held a virtual version of their summit, a third-year project aimed at improving the league’s diversity. Dozens of pro and college football coaches and assistants participated.

“We hear it all the time about how nobody’s in the pipeline,” said Washington Redskins executive Doug Williams, who co-founded the Black College Football Hall of Fame with James “Shack” Harris. “I hope after (the summit) that we get away from pipeline and realize we’ve got a bunch of guys in line. All they’re asking for is an opportunity. The pipeline is full. The most important thing is to open up the valve.”

There are three Black head coaches (Mike Tomlin, Anthony Lynn and Brian Flores), two

Black general managers (Chris Grier and Andrew Berry), two Black offensive coordinators (Eric Bieniemy and Byron Leftwich) and two Black quarterback coaches (Pep Hamilton and Marcus Brady) in the NFL.

Lynn, Bieniemy, Leftwich, Hamilton and Brady were among the presenters during several sessions on Monday and Tuesday. San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, a Lebanese-American, also spoke to the attendees.

Bieniemy, who interviewed with the Panthers, Browns and Giants before his dynamic offense led Kansas City to a 31-20 win over the 49ers in the Super Bowl, spoke at the summit about leadership and building a winning culture.

“True direction within an organization is born with a vision,” he said. “It begins when a leader accepts it. It gains acceptance when a leader models it. It becomes reality when the people respond to it.”

After the 2018 season, eight head coaches lost their jobs. Only one opening was filled by a minority candidate, Flores in Miami.