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New York, New York - Ninety minority coaches took part in this summer’s NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program, the NFL announced today.

Also this year, two graduates of the program became college head coaches -- KEVIN SUMLIN at Houston and JEFF BRAXTON at Cheyney.

The NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program provides training-camp coaching positions for minority coaches at NFL teams. More than 1,300 minority coaches have participated in the program.

Four of the six African-American head coaches in the NFL are graduates of the program -- HERM EDWARDS (Kansas City Chiefs), MARVIN LEWIS (Cincinnati Bengals), LOVIE SMITH (Chicago Bears) and MIKE TOMLIN (Pittsburgh Steelers). TONY DUNGY (Indianapolis Colts) and ROMEO CRENNEL (Cleveland Browns) join that foursome as African-American NFL head coaches.

The two new college head-coach graduates of the fellowship credit it with helping them achieving their goals of becoming a head coach.

Sumlin, the new head coach at the University of Houston, is the first African-American to be hired to lead a Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision program in the state of Texas. He participated in the NFL Coaching Fellowship with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995 and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1997.

“The fellowship helped me gain experience and personal relationships,” says Sumlin. “The program puts coaches in touch with a lot of people and a lot of different resources. I was able to be around coaches like Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith, and my relationship with those two men has done nothing but help me. Being invited to be a part of that program exposed me to many different ideas and resources from coaches who have been successful.”

Braxton -- a participant with the Chicago Bears in the fellowship in the summer of 2003 -- is now the new head coach at Cheyney University in Pennsylvania.

“Going through the Coaching Fellowship was an extremely valuable experience,” he says. “It provided me with additional resources, ideas and networking opportunities to make me a better coach.”

Sumlin and Braxton join three other coaching fellowship graduates who are now college head coaches – RON PRINCE of Kansas State, RANDY SHANNON of Miami (FL) and NORRIES WILSON of Columbia.

This year, a record number of NFL minority coaches 22 will be either assistant head coaches or coordinators, the most ever in a season.

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