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.
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) |
