The San Francisco 49ers filled out their coaching staff earlier this offseason, but on Tuesday, they announced the Bill Walsh coaching fellows that will join the team at training camp. The group includes Alonzo Carter, Nick Ferguson, Corey Ivy, Jerrod Johnson, Rony Sieperda, Katie Sowers, Donald White, and Rodrique Wright.
The Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellowship was initially created by Bill Walsh as a way to get minority coaches more opportunities to learn, coupled with greater exposure to job opportunities. He worked with Dr. Harry Edwards to create the program. Since then, the NFL has formalized the program, and now all 32 teams take part in it.
This year’s class includes some notable names. Katie Sowers joins the team after spending the past year with the Atlanta Falcons. She worked with Falcons assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Raheem Morris during training camp. She followed that by serving as a scouting intern for nine months. She was a former member of the United States Women's Football League’s Kansas City Titans.
Former Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson will be working with the 49ers quarterbacks. He finished his time at Texas A&M as the Aggies all-time career passing leader. He spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, and Dallas Cowboys. He was also the number one overall pick in the 2011 United Football League draft. He has spent time as Nike Elite 11 quarterback coach and lead instructor of The Quarterback Club of Houston LLC
You can read more about the other candidates here. Below is a short list of which position groups they will be assisting with throughout training camp.
Alonzo Carter: Running backs
Nick Ferguson: Defensive backs
Corey Ivy: Defensive backs
Tony Sieperda: Strength and conditioning
Donald White: Linebackers
Rodrique Wright: Defensive line