Fins’ Allen, Embree to participate in diversity program
Dolphins assistant general manager Marvin Allen and tight ends coach Jon Embree will be two of more than 60 minority front-office members and coaches to participate in an NFL diversity networking program next week.
The inaugural NFL Coach and Front Office Accelerator Program will take place at the league’s spring meeting in Atlanta next Monday and Tuesday. The event is intended to “promote greater coach and C-suite level diversity among clubs,” according to a release from the league.
The program, which includes representatives from all 32 teams, will “provide senior women and minority prospects with leadership development sessions with football operations experts and facilitators, as well as time spent networking directly with club owners.”
Allen is entering his fourth season as Dolphins assistant GM. A former NFL running back, he previously served as the national scout for the Buffalo Bills and director of college scouting for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Embree was previously tight ends coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He joined new coach Mike McDaniel upon his hiring in Miami and was also given the title of assistant head coach. Embree has also coached tight ends with the Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and had a two-year stint as head coach at Colorado, his alma mater.
The league’s networking event is the latest move to promote diverse candidates for coaching and front-office positions, an issue brought back to the forefront of discussions after former Dolphins coach Brian Flores’ lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in the league’s hiring and firing process.
The NFL also made updates to the Rooney Rule, mandating all 32 teams employ a female or member of an ethnic or racial minority as an offensive assistant coach.