The Los Angeles Rams have announced their Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellows for the team's Organized Team Activities (OTAs) leading up to the 2024 season. The fellowship is a continuation of the team's efforts to strengthen the NFL's diverse talent and provides experience to accomplished coaches from different backgrounds. This is the second consecutive year the Rams have mentored coaching fellows during OTAs and Mandatory Minicamp.
This year's fellowship will begin on Tuesday, May 28 and continue through the end of Organized Team Activities on Monday, June 12.
The fellowship is named after the late Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach, who first introduced the concept to the NFL in 1987 when he brought a group of minority coaches to the San Francisco 49ers' training camp. The fellowship is designed as a vocational tool to increase the number of full-time NFL minority coaches in the league while exposing fellows to the methods and philosophies of an NFL coaching staff.
Below is a list of the Rams' 2024 Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellows:
- CJ Cox: Outside Linebackers
- Jamil Douglas: Offensive Line
- Will Blackmon: Defensive Backs
- Kwesi Drake: Defensive Line
CJ COX will assist with the outside linebackers during his fellowship. He is entering his first season as the safeties coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and joined the Blazers after spending three seasons at Kent State where he coached cornerbacks and was the pass game coordinator. Prior to his time at Kent State, he coached cornerbacks at the University of Montana for three seasons, spent one year at Sacramento State, and had a five-year stint at his alma mater UNLV where he was a running back and linebacker. Cox was a member of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA)'s "35 Under 35" in 2023 and was a participant in the Bill Walsh Coaching Fellowship with the Kansas City Chiefs last season.
A former NFL player, JAMIL DOUGLAS will assist the offensive line during his fellowship with the Rams. He spent two seasons with the Miami Dolphins (2015-16), two seasons with the Tennessee Titans (2019-20), and one season with the Washington Commanders (2021). Douglas played in 50 career regular season games (11 starts) as well as four postseason contests during his NFL career. He was selected in the fourth round (114th overall) by the Dolphins in the 2015 NFL Draft.
WILL BLACKMON will support the defensive backs as part of his fellowship with the Rams. The 10-year NFL veteran spent four seasons with the Green Bay Packers (2006-09), two seasons with the New York Giants (2010-11), two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2013-14), and two seasons with the Washington Commanders (2015-16). Blackmon also appeared in five postseason contests and became a Super Bowl Champion with the Giants during the 2011 season.
A coach at Jones College, KWESI DRAKE will assist the defensive line during his fellowship with the Rams. He is entering his sixth season as the Bobcats defensive line coach and has coached many Division I signees during his coaching tenure. Before his time at Jones College, Drake worked in law enforcement for 16 years and was a detective in charge of a unit that had 10 investigators and two evidence technicians. He has held numerous roles in law enforcement and retired from the Lee County Sheriff's Office in Alabama in 2018. He began part-time coaching in a semi-pro league in Alabama for three years. Drake also coached Beauregard High School for three seasons and helped guide them to a state championship in 2016. Drake played four seasons collegiately at Auburn.
