Maryland head coach Mike Locksley is taking action. The second-year head coach of the Terrapins has announced that he is forming the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches, according to NFL.com’s Jim Trotter.

Locksley’s goal is to identify and help football coaches climb in the coaching ranks and prepare them for future success in the field. The new group created by Locksley is a nonprofit organization.

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“When I took the Maryland job last year and looked at the landscape of college football, I thought to myself, ‘There’s something missing. I’m on the back nine of my career and the pathway to becoming a head coach is still as difficult as when I got into the business in 1992,'” Locksley told NFL.com. “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.”

NFL.com identified the Board of Directors for the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches:

  • Ozzie Newsome, Hall of Famer on college and pro levels, first Black general manager in the NFL
  • Nick Saban, University of Alabama head coach
  • Bill Polian, Pro Football Hall of Fame general manager
  • Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach
  • Doug Williams, Super Bowl XXII MVP quarterback
  • Oliver “Buddy” Pough, South Carolina State head coach
  • Willie Jeffries, first Black head coach in Division I football at Wichita State
  • Chris Grier, Miami Dolphins general manager
  • Debbie Yow, retired basketball coach
  • Rick Smith, former Houston Texans general manager
  • Desiree Reed-Francois, UNLV athletic director and first Hispanic female and woman of color to be AD at an FBS school

According to NFL.com, the group will not begin developing a candidates list for another four to five months. You can read more about the new coalition here.