With well over 1,000 former NFL players coaching in the high school rankings, High School Football America wants those NFL Legends to know that applications are now being accepted for the NFL Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.
For over three decades the program has been helping outstanding coaches gain exposure to NFL training camps and offseason workout programs.
The program’s objective is to use NFL clubs’ training camps, offseason workout programs and minicamps to give talented coaches opportunities to:
- Observe
- Participate
- Gain experience
- Ultimately gain a full-time NFL coaching position
Deadline: June 13 – Apply to the 2025 Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship
Designed as a vocational tool to increase the number of full-time NFL minority coaches, all 32 NFL clubs participate each year. Specific aspects of the program — including hiring, compensation and coaching duties — are administered on a club-by-club basis. The NFL does not mandate any elements of the fellowship to the clubs, but it recommends several best practices, including:
- Hiring participants for the duration of training camp, including all pre-season games.
- Encouraging clubs to hire at least two fellows with an offensive coaching background.
- Mentoring participants in the form of continuing and constructive feedback regarding their work while with the club.
As part of the programs’ evolution, in 2012 the NFL announced the formation of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship Advisory Council, comprised of a distinguished group of NFL coaches and general managers.
Applicants must meet one of the following prerequisites to be considered for the fellowship:
- Former NFL player
- Coaching experience at either the high school, college, and/or other football leagues level (CFL, UFL, etc.)
The Process: Applicants will fill out the online application and select the top 5 NFL clubs they have an interest in completing a fellowship with. Clubs will be alerted of the application submission and will reach out to the applicant individually for further steps if they so choose.
Timing: Fellowships can take place during OTAs, minicamps, or Training Camp and the length of the fellowship ranges from a few days to a few weeks. In select cases, clubs have extended a fellow to work on staff with them for a season or year.
Please direct any questions to nflbillwalshdiversity@nfl.com.
*Only one application submission per person. Please do not submit multiple applications.
