San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced the following names of individuals who will be part of the team's 2019 Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellowship.

Name Position Group
James Beck DB
Chad Brown DL
Tony Dye Special Teams
Fred Farrier WR
Scottie Graham RB
Tywanois Lockett LB
Matt Merritt QB
Izaiah Prouse-Lackey DB
Steve Wallace DL

The program's objective is to use NFL clubs' training camps, offseason workout program, and minicamps to give talented coaches opportunities to observe, participate, and gain experience in coaching with a goal of landing a full-time NFL position. The program was designed as a vocational tool to help increase the number of NFL minority coaches. All 32 teams participate in the program.


The 49ers Communications staff provided the following information on each of the nine individuals taking part this offseason.


Beck will work with the 49ers defensive backs as he is entering his sixth season as an assistant coach for the football and track & field teams at O'Dea (Seattle, WA) High School. Beck, who was a cornerback at Yale University (2001-04), has coached at University School of Nashville (2010-13) and Rainier Beach (Seattle, WA) High School. He received his bachelor's degree in sociology from Yale in 2005 and his master's degree in human development counseling from Vanderbilt University in 2009.

Brown, who will work with the team's defensive line, was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round (44th overall) of the 1993 NFL Draft. Throughout his 15-year playing career, he appeared in 188 games (161 starts) and registered 1,088 tackles, 79.0 sacks, 17 forced fumbles, 15 fumble recoveries and six interceptions. A two-time First-Team All-Pro (1996, 1998) and three-time Pro Bowl (1997, 1999-2000) selection, Brown as also named to the 1993 NFL All-Rookie Team. He began his coaching career as a training camp intern working with the Seattle Seahawks defensive line in 2015. The following training camp, he served as an intern with the Tennessee Titans coaching the team's linebackers. In 2017, he was a training camp intern with the New York Jets, working with the outside linebackers. A former linebacker at the University of Colorado, Brown earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from the school in 1992.

Dye will work with the 49ers special teams as he is entering his second season as the defensive coordinator/safeties coach at San Bernardino Valley College. Dye, who was a safety at UCLA (2008-11), signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2012 and appeared in one career game. He has also coached at Norco (CA) High School (2014-17) as a secondary coach, defensive coordinator and strength coach.

Farrier, who will work with the team's wide receivers, is entering his first season at Alabama A&M University as the school's running backs coach/recruiting coordinator. He joins the 49ers Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellows in 2019 having served that role with the offensive staffs of the Cincinnati Bengals (2008), Denver Broncos (2009) and Detroit Lions (2015) along with a coaching internship with the Saskatchewan Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2018. Farrier also has coaching experience at Michigan State University (1998-2000), Saginaw Valley State University (2000), Tennessee Technological University (2001-03), Shaw University (2004), Kentucky State University (2005-08), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2012-13), Morgan State University (2014-17) and South Carolina State University (2018). He received his bachelor's degree in economics/accounting from College of the Holy Cross in 1994 and his master's in instructional leadership from Tennessee Technological University in 2004.


Graham, who will work with the team's running backs, was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round (188th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft. Throughout his six-year playing career with the New York Jets (1992-93), Minnesota Vikings (1993-97) and Cincinnati Bengals (1997), he appeared in 57 games (nine starts) and registered 364 carries for 1,267 yards and seven touchdowns. He began his professional career as the regional director with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) from 1998-2010 prior to becoming the Director of Player Engagement for five years (2010-14). He is currently the Senior Associate Athletic Director at Arizona State University, a position he's held since 2014. A former running back at Ohio State University, Graham earned his bachelor's degree in education/sports leadership from the school in 1991 and later earned his master's in black studies in 1996.

Lockett will work with the 49ers linebackers as he is entering his third season as the linebackers coach at Valdosta (GA) High School. He has a long history coaching at the high school level with stops at Fairfield (AL) High School, Jess Lanier (Bessemer, AL) High School, M.T. Blount (Mobile, AL) High School, Elbert County Comprehensive (Elberton, GA) High School, Cedar Shoals (Athens, GA) High School, Dr. Ronald E. McNair (Atlanta, GA) High School, Burke County (Waynesboro, GA) High School and Brunswick (GA) High School. He began his coaching career as a student assistant at Alabama State University, where he received his bachelor's of science degree in mathematics in 2001.

Merritt, who will work with the team's quarterbacks, is entering his first season at James Madison University as the school's running backs coach. Merritt joined James Madison following coaching stops at Capital University (2010), St. Charles (Columbus, OH) Preparatory (2011-12), Ohio State University (2013-15), Ohio Dominican University (2016) and Elon University (2017-18). He received his bachelor's degree in middle childhood education from Capital in 2010 and his master's in sport management from Ohio State and coaching education from Ohio University in 2016.

Prouse-Lackey will work with the 49ers defensive backs as he is entering his first season as a volunteer coach at Florida State University after spending the previous five years (2014-18) as a defensive back with the team. He received his bachelor's degree in sport management from the school in 2018.

Wallace joins San Francisco's Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship after working as a recruiting personnel graduate assistant for the past two seasons (2017-18) at Auburn University. He will be working with the 49ers defensive line, having played defensive line at Lindsey Wilson College from 2013-17. He graduated from Lindsey Wilson with a bachelor's degree in communication and later earned a master's degree in adult education from Auburn in 2018. Wallace is the son of Steve Wallace, who was drafted by the 49ers in the fourth round (101st overall) of the 1986 NFL Draft. He spent 11 years with the team (1986-96) and appeared in the sixth-most games in franchise history among offensive linemen (166). A member of the 49ers 10-Year Wall, Wallace was a part of three Super Bowl championship (XXIII, XXIV & XXIX) teams.

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