The Denver Broncos honored the groundbreaking contributions of former quarterback Marlin Briscoe, by announcing that the season-long diversity coaching fellowship will now be named: The Marlin Briscoe Diversity Coaching Fellowship.
The development of this program can prove to be vital to the success of minority candidates. The NFL coaching body is made up of primarily nonmarginalized groups. This does not reflect the NFL players nor its fan base adequately. The Broncos have failed to hit adequate marks of diversity within their own program and identified that change was needed.
In 2020, the Denver Broncos announced the creation of a coaching and scouting program designed for diversity.
Emily Zaler, a strength, and conditioning coach earned a spot with the club permanently last season.
In 2021 the Broncos began their 2021 diversity coaching and personnel fellowship participants. Mateo Kambui, Ish Seisay, James Daniels IV, Marcus Lewis, and Chaz McKenzie make up the team’s inaugural class.
Kambui, a graduate assistant at Georgia Southern earned the team’s internship last season.
In creating this fellowship, qualified candidates who may have been overlooked receive an opportunity to reach their career goals and coach in the NFL.
Why the name Marlin Briscoe matters to the Broncos’ coaching fellowship program
In his first and only year in Denver, Briscoe started five games and played in 11. He eventually moved on a variety of teams, but the former 14th-round selection had a much bigger impact on the game than his statistics would indicate.
Briscoe made history in 1968 as the first Black quarterback in Broncos’ history. Furthermore, also becoming the first Black starting quarterback in the modern Super Bowl era.
That season, Briscoe was the Broncos’ most talented quarterback and did not receive a chance until injuries pushed him in the lineup. Not only did he suit up, but Briscoe played well.
His play helped change the narrative around the Black athlete.
Briscoe took the reigns of the Broncos during the volatile time surrounding the Civil Rights Movement. Without his struggle, today’s game might not have seen the advancement it needed to become truly inclusive.
The Nebraska-Omaha product paved the way for Doug Williams in the 1980s, Randall Cunningham, and Warren Moon in the 1990s. Briscoe’s fortitude allows us to enjoy the play of today’s stars, players like Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson.
When Briscoe entered the league, Black players had been pushed towards some positions and away from others. As Briscoe put it, Black players were steered away from “thinking positions”.
“There were times where Black people not only couldn’t play the position of quarterback, and they couldn’t play any of the so-called ‘thinking positions,” Briscoe said. “Center, middle linebacker, free safety. … Back in the day, Blacks couldn’t play those position(s) because they [NFL decision-makers] thought they didn’t have the intelligence [to be successful in those roles].”
Briscoe’s name attached to the program should provide an added spark to those running it. Adding a pioneer’s name to a program promotes a standard to meet and the Broncos are wise to do so.
With the Marlin Briscoe, Coaching Fellowship is in place while gaining momentum along with the team’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts powered by Brittany Bowlen. The Broncos must capitalize on this momentum and continue to take steps towards inclusion and equity throughout the organization.