"Who's next up?"
Turnover is a fact of life in professional football. Every year, NFL clubs make changes to their coaching staffs and front offices.
Clubs that don't reach their goals may shake things up dramatically. Even the ones that advance deep into the playoffs lose key personnel. It's the price of winning: holes to fill as leaders rise in the ranks, earning opportunities to prove themselves elsewhere.
That's why the pipeline is crucial. It's also why cultivating an inclusive pipeline is imperative over the long haul.
Because inevitably, for various roles up and down their organizational charts, NFL clubs often ask themselves, "Who's next up?" And there's no shortage of worthy candidates who are Black, or women, or are members of another historically underrepresented group. The goal is to establish a level playing field on the solid ground of fairness to ensure these prospects are considered when positions become available.
How can we increase visibility for these prospects? By developing their skills, for starters.
That development piece is on my mind today, fresh off an inspiring week in Los Angeles, where the NFL and the Black College Football Hall of Fame hosted the Ozzie Newsome General Manager Forum and the Quarterback Coaching Summit.
Each year, our organizations invite up-and-coming front office personnel and coaches -- women or people of color, from college to the pros -- to these events so they can learn from the best minds in football. They get a crash course on advanced techniques directly from quarterback coaches, offensive coordinators, head coaches, club presidents and senior executives -- people who have been in their shoes and now hold aspirational titles.
In L.A., I saw future leaders who are hungry to learn. They're eager to put new concepts into practice and capable of significant career progression.
On the coaching side, presenters immersed attendees on things like teaching a quarterback to study film; organizing a passing game philosophy; improving a running back's performance; and interviewing for their next opportunity, whether it be QB coach, offensive coordinator or head coach.
The curriculum was similar for those working in player personnel. They went deep into specific areas -- media relations, salary cap, relationship building -- as well as interview prep on the path to GM.
The whole point is to supercharge the development of football's top minority talent.
We want attendees to go back to their teams, in their current roles, where they can use newly acquired knowledge to be even better at their jobs. As performance rises, so will their profiles. That's the short-term objective.
The long-term objective is for clubs to know that these professionals have been identified as viable candidates for promotion. And that the NFL -- and the candidates themselves -- have invested considerable resources in their training and preparation. So when the question arises, "Who's next up?," past attendees of the GM Forum and QB Coaching Summit will merit serious consideration.
The ultimate goal is that more minority candidates are hired as QB coaches, offensive coordinators and head coaches; as general managers and club presidents.
Improvements in front-office diversity have been encouraging. However, on the sidelines, there are still too few Black head coaches. The summit is intended to build depth on the offensive side of the ball -- the most common path to head coach in today's NFL -- so there are no excuses when embarking on an inclusive hiring process.
That goes for all openings on a club's coaching staff, including at the top.
It's all part of a larger play. The GM Forum and QB Coaching Summit are complemented by the NFL's Accelerator Program, which is focused more on minority prospects gaining face time with club owners and executives. Networking is a huge component, and its value to the pipeline shouldn't be discounted. But that's a topic for another op-ed.
It's important to know that pipeline initiatives like the forum, summit and accelerator are working together. Separately, the programs each have a purpose. Together, they're key in our efforts to break mobility barriers and build a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Helping historically underrepresented prospects get even better -- that's a worthy pursuit on its own.
But the work also helps us -- the NFL and its clubs -- be better.
Football is marching toward greater inclusion as the norm. The work can't stop. It won't stop. Last week's development initiative in Los Angeles was a single step, with many more ahead. And with each step we're moving that much closer.
Troy Vincent Sr. is the executive vice president of football operations for the National Football League.
