The National Football League has been implementing ways to improve diversity in hiring practices throughout the league. The latest program will be implemented at the spring meetings in Minneapolis this upcoming week May 21st-23rd.
In a press release from the NFL, the Coach Accelerator Program will include 40 participants viewed to be potential future head coaches. That list includes Minnesota Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell and special teams coordinator Matt Daniels. Here is what the press release said about the program.
The Coach Accelerator aims to increase exposure between owners, executives, and diverse coaching talent, providing ample opportunity to develop and build upon their relationships. In a change to the nomination process this year, clubs were able to nominate those from outside of their organization.
The 40 participants this year are attending based on their high potential to be considered for a Head Coach position in the future. Sixteen of the participants will be returning from the May 2022 Accelerator cohort.
In addition to networking, further development of the participants is a critical component of the accelerator, with curated content sessions scheduled that will further engage each participant on the advancement of their executive leadership skills and business acumen.
Not only do the Vikings have two current coaches participating, but former head coach Leslie Frazier and former assistants Jerry Gray and Jerrod Johnson will also be participating.