Packers announce 12 new coaches as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship

The Green Bay Packers announced the addition of 12 coaches who joined the staff during the spring to be a part of the NFL's Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. This is designed as a vocational tool to increase the number of full-time NFL minority coaches. The program's objective is to use NFL clubs' offseason workout […]

Wendell Ferreira — NFL News Writer

Jun 4, 2024 8:38 AM EDT

The Green Bay Packers announced the addition of 12 coaches who joined the staff during the spring to be a part of the NFL's Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.

This is designed as a vocational tool to increase the number of full-time NFL minority coaches. The program's objective is to use NFL clubs' offseason workout programs and minicamps to give talented coaches opportunities to observe, participate, gain experience and ultimately gain a full-time NFL coaching position.

One specific name for the Packers caught the attention: Ahmed Saleh. With a defensive background, he is a cousin of New York Jets' head coach Robert Saleh, who has a close friendship with Matt LaFleur.

Ahmed Saleh had a similar opportunity with the San Francisco 49ers in 2021, when Robert had just left the team to go to the Jets. He was a defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator at Madonna University. From 2021 to 2022, Ahmed Saleh served as the defensive coordinator at Dearborn Fordson. Last year, he was a defensive assistant/safeties coach at Northwestern Michigan.

Excited and thankful for the opportunity to join the @packers for the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship ? ?#GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/hZ5ahpMWeN
— Ahmed Saleh (@CoachASaleh) May 3, 2024

On social media, Ahmed Saleh said he is excited and thankful for the opportunity. The family is from Lebanese descent, which qualifies them as minority, and Robert became the first Muslim head coach in NFL history.

From the 12 new coaches added by the Packers via the Fellowship program, two of them —Siriki Diabate and Michael Hunter— had already participated on it with Green Bay last spring.