Former Alabama offensive coordinator, and current Maryland head coach, Mike Locksley took it upon himself to form a group that serves a purpose of encouraging minority coaches and staff within the football realm.
The National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches (NCMFC) will be very hands-on in the much needed diversification of the football coaching community.
NFL.com’s Jim Trotter writes,
“The nonprofit organization will seek to not only identify and groom coaches of color (male and female) for upward mobility, but also create a candidates list that will be vetted by a board of directors that includes some of the most respected and powerful names in sport.”
Locksley immediately wanted to do something about the lack of minority representation in a coaching capacity. He soon formed the NCMFC with one goal in mind: help others.
“When I took the Maryland job last year and looked at the landscape of college football, I thought to myself, ‘There’s something missing. I’m on the back nine of my career and the pathway to becoming a head coach is still as difficult as when I got into the business in 1992,'” Locksley said. “I wanted to create an organization that would be able to help prepare, promote and produce the next group of coaches coming up through the ranks at every level.”
Along with Locksley comes a star-studded Board of Directors.
Ozzie Newsome, Bill Polian, Mike Tomlin, Chris Grier and many other accomplished individuals from the football community, both college and professional.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban was also named to the board.
Locksley explains why he chose these specifics people to help lead the coalition:
“These are all people that have either hired head coaches or coordinators or filled upper-level positions throughout their careers,” Locksley said. “They all have been at the top of the mountain, per se, in their respective areas, whether winning Super Bowls or national championships or being pioneers, like Debbie Yow and Willie Jeffries. We want to use their experiences to help us formulate and produce the list of qualified candidates, so when people say there aren’t enough minorities to fill the positions that have come open over the years, we’re going to produce a list of qualified people that shows there are qualified people. What’s needed is opportunities.”