COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Maryland football coach Michael Locksley has helped create an organization designed to give minority coaches a better chance to be hired and advance at the college and pro level.
Locksley announced Thursday the formation of the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches. The group will work to “remove roadblocks, increase awareness and spur action toward fair and equitable hiring at all levels of football.”
The nonprofit aims to identify and groom coaches of color - male and female - for upward mobility. The coalition will create a candidates list that will be vetted by its board of directors.
Joining Locksley on the board are: Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin; Alabama coach Nick Saban and Hall of Fame member Ozzie Newsome, who led the Baltimore Ravens to two Super Bowl victories as the first Black general manager in NFL history.
Now in his second season at Maryland, Locksley contends that the path for an African American to become a head coach is as tough now as when he got into the sport in 1992. He hopes this new group will change that.
“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,” he said.
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