No fewer than 128 football coaches around the country will be participating in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship with NFL teams the next couple of months.
Two of those coaches work for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Oscar Rodriguez
Chris CookThe Mocs' Oscar Rodriguez headed to Chicago on Monday to work with the Bears during their veteran mini-camp this week. Chris Cook will work with the Falcons in their veteran mini-camp next week.
According to its website, the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship was designed as a "vocational tool to increase the number of full-time NFL minority coaches," with all NFL clubs participating each year. Specific aspects of the program - including hiring, compensation and coaching duties - are administered on a club-by-club basis.
While not mandating any elements of the fellowship to the clubs, the NFL recommends several best practices, including hiring participants for the duration of training camp, including all preseason games; encouraging clubs to hire a minimum of four participants, with at least two of them having an offensive coaching background; and mentoring participants in the form of continuing and constructive feedback regarding their work while with the club.
"We are so excited for Chris and Oscar to have the opportunity to participate in the NFL's Bill Walsh fellowship program," UTC head coach Tom Arth said in a news release. "It is a rare opportunity, and to have two of our coaches selected it says so much about the strength of our staff."
Cook, a UTC alumnus, coaches tackles and tight ends for the Mocs and is entering his second season, while Rodriguez is the inside linebackers coach entering his first.
Rodriguez and Brandon Staley, Arth's initial UTC defensive coordinator who became the Bears' outside linebackers coach, were co-coordinators at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. Rodriguez was in Staley's wedding and admitted Monday that he's approaching this week as the "biggest job interview I've ever had."
"You always want to know if your way of doing things, what you know and what you've learned, can work at the highest level," Rodriguez said. "You have people always talking to you about your potential, but being around it, seeing it, doing it, it gives you a sense of confidence as a coach.
"It's a size-up thing. 'Where do I size up?' I think it'll give me a different confidence going forward with my coaching."
Ruston Webster, a national scout for the Falcons and former general manager of the Tennessee Titans, has a son, Jacob, who plays tight end for the Mocs. Cook also had a chance to speak with Falcons GM Scott Pioli.
"It's one of those things where any time you can get experience to do anything at the highest level, you want to be able to do it," Cook said. "The biggest thing for me is it's an opportunity to grow as a coach, learn more, be around the best coaches and players in the world. It's a chance to get in there, learn from those guys and bring it back here.
"You can't ever grow in a profession if you don't invest in yourself."
UTC adding Ramsey
Former Southeast Whitfield standout offensive lineman Noah Ramsey is transferring to UTC.
Ramsey, who was listed at 6-foot-3 and 306 pounds during the spring, spent the last two seasons at Football Bowl Subdivision and Sun Belt member Louisiana-Monroe. He played in 10 games as a redshirt freshman for the Warhawks as a backup center.
He was a three-star prospect at Southeast and rated as the 13th-best prospect at center by 247Sports. He was all-state and first-team Best of Preps as a senior.
He will be the Mocs' third FBS transfer and fifth new player for a position group that struggled last season. Former Signal Mountain standout and Mississippi State offensive lineman Harrison Moon has been on campus since January and went through spring practice, and UTC recently added Georgia transfer Chris Barnes.
Like Ramsey, Barnes will have three seasons of eligibility remaining, while Moon has two.
The Mocs also added Dalton product Dylan Cole and Zach Fox.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.