Report: Diversity Group to Ask NFL to Add Entry-Level Positions for Minority Coaches
A diversity group plans to ask the NFL to add two entry-level positions per team to help increase the number of minority coaches in the league, according to The Washington Post.
In an interview with the Post, chairman John Wooten of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which works to promote diversity and job opportunity equality in the NFL, said representatives of the council will meet with league officials in February at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. The Fritz Pollard Alliance will ask the league to add two minority coaches in entry-level, quality-control positions. Ideally, the two positions created would be split as one job on offense and one on defense.
Wooten told the Post that the goal of the request is for coaches to work their way up toward becoming position coaches, offensive or defensive coordinators or head coaches.
"It’s very obvious to us all that if you’re going to build a pipeline, you must follow the procedure that we're outlining," Wooten said. "I'm not talking about [coaching] internships. I'm talking about putting them in positions where they're going to have opportunities to advance. This should be done because this is what the league is about. The league is about opportunity."
This season, five of the eight minority NFL head coaches were fired or let go during or shortly after the 2018 regular season. The coaching departures included Hue Jackson of the Cleveland Browns, Todd Bowles of the New York Jets, Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals, Vance Joseph of the Denver Broncos and Steve Wilks of the Arizona Cardinals.
Six of the openings have been filled so far but not by minority coaches.
