The Bill Walsh Coaching Fellowship is a program whose main purpose is to provide minority coaches with a possibility to prove themselves at the next level. Thus, talented coaches are given a possibility to participate in NFL teams’ offseason activities such as training camps, mini camps, preseason games and other offseason workout programs. They are expected to use this chance to observe NFL coaches at work and gain experience in order to eventually become an NFL coach themselves.
The NFL’s recommendation for teams is to use a minimum of four coaches for the program. This year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose to use six coaches for the Bill Walsh Coaching Fellowship system. Three already joined the team for mini camp and OTAs. Now that training camp is just around the corner, three more coaches are set to join the Bucs for the program, namely Marvin Clecidor (defensive backs coach), Vae Tata (defensive intern coach) and John Johnson (running backs coach).
The program has worked for the Bucs‘ in the past, as the team currently has two coaches that worked their way into the coaching staff via the program.
Skyler Fulton, for instance, was a Bill Walsh Fellow in 2016 and the former Wide Receiver out of Arizona State was hired one year later as an offensive assistant. Anthony Perkins is another candidate who used the Bill Walsh Fellowship system in 2016 to help him acquire the job as the Assistant to the Head Coach one year later. He previously worked as a Defensive Backs Coach at the Ohio University.
There are very successful coaches in the NFL who got their career kick started with the Bill Walsh Fellowship Program, as well. Bengals’ Head Coach Marvin Lewis, former Buccaneers’ Defensive Backs Coach and current Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin and former Bucs’ Head Coach Lovie Smith all used the program to be given a chance at coaching at the highest level. Hopefully, one of the coaches the Bucs are trying out this year will have similar success.
Source used: Buccaneers.com
