The NFL will be hosting the third annual Quarterback Coaching Summit this week in conjunction with the Black College Football Hall of Fame, which founded the program. The NFL jumped on board to serve as co-host last year. This year’s installment is scheduled to be held, virtually of course, on Jun 22-23.
And Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Art Rooney II will help lead sessions and panels, among others such as Byron Leftwich and Eric Bienemy, the only two minority offensive coordinators currently in the NFL. A couple of minority defensive coordinators, Robert Saleh and Leslie Frazier, will also be among those playing significant roles in the event.
“The Quarterback Summit brings together the brightest, most innovative and successful offensive minds from around the country”, Troy Vincent said in a statement, who is the league’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations. “From professional development to networking to coaching best practices, this summit should leave no doubt about the promising pipeline of championship play callers within the sport of football”.
Part of the purpose of the program is to introduce new coaches into the pipeline, particularly minority coaches who have largely gone underrepresented. The Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship Program is also a part of this, and recent participants in that program are invited to attend.
One of the biggest draws here is the opportunity to network with significant names, including those already named, as well as others, such as Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn, and Doug Williams, who is the co-founder of the BCFHOF.
One name in attendance you will have probably seen a few times this offseason, and that is Michael Locksley, who is the head coach of the Maryland Terrapins. Mike Tomlin’s son plays for him, and the Steelers just drafted two of their players in Anthony McFarland and Antoine Brooks, while Derwin Gray is still here as well.
Rooney is not only the president of the Steelers (duh), he is also the chair of the NFL Workplace Diversity Committee, and he played an integral role in expanding the Rooney Rule earlier this offseason, further details of which may still be incoming later this year.
As of this writing, out of 32 teams, only four have minority head coaches, and only two have minority general managers. Only two have minority offensive coordinators. Defensive coordinators and special teams coordinators are not much more significantly represented with minorities.
