By Mandy Housenick
GoLeopards.com Featured Columnist
If you didn't know better and you saw Anthony Johnson at the NFL's Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship early this summer, you might have mistaken him for a reporter.
He could whip out a notebook and pen as quickly as he could his smartphone.
"Every day I walked in there, I was constantly taking notes about how they relayed information, about how the meetings were run and the way the presentations were going on, about every video," said Johnson, who is in his third season as Lafayette College's running backs coach. "I was trying to take something away from every day."
"When it was done, I was the last person to leave the building. It was a phenomenal experience for me. I have been trying to get in for several years, and I could have stayed longer."
For more than 30 years, the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship has given coaches the opportunity to observe, participate and gain experience at training camps, off-season workout programs and mini camps with the ultimate goal of securing a full-time NFL coaching position. Last year, the 32 NFL teams selected 172 fellows that saw 118 colleges and universities represented.
In this go-around, Johnson and Andrew Seumalo, who is the recruiting coordinator and outside linebackers coach for the Leopards, had to apply and be chosen to move further along in the process. Then they went through a grueling and extensive interview process. Johnson and Seumalo were chosen to spend time with the Washington Commanders.
Anthony Johnson spent the bulk of his time working alongside Commanders assistant head coach and passing game coordinator Brian Johnson, in addition to picking the brain of the team's run-game coordinator and running backs coach, Anthony Lynn.
Seumalo was grouped with the special teams staff, gaining experience under Commanders' special teams coordinator Larry Izzo and assistant special teams coach John Glenn.
"It was really a great experience," Seumalo said. "They put a lot of thought and a lot of attention to detail into our roles and what we would do."
Every NFL team participates in this program, and it consists of two sessions. Applicants have no control over what team they are matched with or which sessions they attend. Each organization runs its fellowship a bit differently, so those chosen never quite know what to expect.
Seumalo, whose brother Isaac Seumalo currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers and was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl team, has been in touch with quite a few other coaches who have taken part in these fellowships. But he'd never heard of anyone getting the chance to present at the end like he and Johnson did.
"They wanted us to present on any topic to the whole coaching staff and some of the front office staff on any topic of our choosing," Seumalo said. "It was a way to get in front of everyone and show that you can teach and explain, and at the end they would critique and give you feedback. Plus, we did an evaluation of a player – kind of like a scouting report – of a rookie on the team. Talking to some of the other fellowship members who had done this with other teams, it was something that was pretty unique and they didn't have the opportunity to do it. Sounds like it was very intentional by Coach Quinn and trying to find good candidates."
Maybe, just maybe, some of those "good candidates" will turn into NFL coaches one day. To do that, the Lafayette duo had to prove they weren't intimated, they had excellent communication skills, they took criticism well and were fast learners.
"You want that opportunity to coach at that highest level and keep growing and keep elevating," Johnson said. "I wasn't star-struck, but you wanted to prove you belonged there and prove you could do the work at this level. It was great to work with Anthony Lynn, who was coaching in the league for over 30 years. I learned a lot from him; I have been in this game for so long and I told myself, 'Hey I can do this. It's possible for me to coach in the NFL.'"
While learning the Xs and Os of football was certainly a big part of the fellowship, there was much more to it for these two, who have helped the Leopards get off to a 1-1 start, including a last-minute win in game 2 over Monmouth.
"They are not trying to overthink things or overcomplicate things," Seumalo said. "Even at the NFL level, you really see how important communication is. At the end of the day, you are essentially a teacher. The thing I was trying to soak up was that, not necessarily the schematics. I think what I wanted to take away most was how do they teach - how can I be a better teacher? Is there simpler verbiage I can use and how do they interact with the players?"
Johnson, who had applied four other times to the fellowship, was thrilled to get the inside scoop on how to be the best coach he could possibly be.
"When I got there I learned that coaching football is all about building relationships, and once you do that, you will win," Johnson said. "It was about meeting and getting to know each and every person in that building. That was the big take-away – about understanding your players and who you are coaching."
Lafayette head coach John Troxell did have to make some adjustments to his coaching staff while they were gone in June in order to make things work smoothly with his players. He already is seeing the benefits of them having attended the fellowship.
"One hundred percent they are already trying to make us better with what they learned there," Troxell said. "Coach Johnson runs our kick return. One of the things we talk about all the time is catching the ball while moving forward. A guy who is going to throw a guy out at home in baseball you want them to be on the move while they are catching it. That's what we want on kick returns. A.J. brought that back here, which is awesome and we are seeing some of the rewards already. We are seeing longer returns because they are hitting it faster."
