Vikings push forward with diversity summit despite pushback on DEI efforts nationwide

MINNEAPOLIS — A year before Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell chose J.J. McCarthy from the 2024 quarterback class, he peppered a young Oregon coach with questions about the Ducks offense led by quarterback Bo Nix — drafted by the Denver Broncos two spots after McCarthy.

That coach, Colin Lockett, was among 10 up-and-coming coaches from underrepresented groups who participated in the Vikings’ 2023 diversity summit, an annual three-day event run by assistant head coach Mike Pettine. Last month, Pettine oversaw the fourth summit at team headquarters in Eagan.

His efforts come at a time when the NFL has paused its accelerator program, which connects minority coaches with team owners and executives. This spring, Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is assessing a “couple of changes” before the program’s return in May 2026.

Pettine, a 58-year-old former NFL head coach who is white, has said he has been motivated by the NFL’s lack of diversity in coordinator and head coaching ranks. That’s why he continued the program, which focuses on exposure and preparation for entry-level NFL jobs and fosters networking, despite diversity, equity and inclusion efforts being rolled back nationwide. President Donald Trump signed executive orders in January targeting DEI initiatives in public and private industries.

“I just always felt like sometimes the NFL doesn’t bring in enough young coaches and train them right,” Pettine said. “I always had a soft spot for quality control coaches because I felt like they make the best coaches. You’re exposed to everything. You’re breaking down film. You got to know the offense and the defense; you learn a lot of football that way. You’ve paid your dues. It’s a grind.

“We’ve been able to develop a pretty good working list of people we’d consider bringing back,” he added.

At the beginning of the 2024 season, about 44% of NFL coaching staffs were coaches of color, including a record nine head coaches, according to a USA Today report. Three of those head coaches were fired last season; one Black head coach, Aaron Glenn, was hired in 2025.

”It’s a legit summit that Mike Pettine puts on,” said former Vikings safety Robert Blanton, who attended the 2023 summit with Lockett.

As part of the event, participants present on a topic in their field, and O’Connell was intrigued by Lockett’s pitch on the Ducks’ up-tempo offense, elevating the experience of the many young coaches in the room.

“You’d think the head coach couldn’t care less, but they don’t treat it that way,” said Blanton, who is now an assistant coach with the New Orleans Saints. “[O’Connell] wanted to know: What is Oregon doing? How are they successful at this? And they’re all asking questions.”

‘Never any pushback’

Pettine said there was “never any doubt” that the program would continue for a fourth year under O’Connell.

“Support of the organization has made it possible,” Pettine said. “There was never any pushback to it.”

The Vikings’ three-day program is independent of the NFL’s multiple accelerator programs, which included sessions for minority front-office executives in December and ones for coaches during the scouting combine this offseason.

When the NFL paused its program, which, like the Vikings summit, began in 2022, Goodell defended the league’s DEI efforts.

“We are very focused on continuing our efforts in this area,” the commissioner said May 21 at the NFL’s spring meetings held in Eagan. “We believe [the accelerator programs have] been helpful in identifying talent, helping create talent development. … We think it’s right to make a couple of changes, but also bring it back next year when we think it’s an appropriate time to do so. So, I think we feel very good about the accelerator program, very positive about it, and I think you’ll see it in 2026. I know you’ll see it in 2026.”

Goodell said one of the changes being assessed is whether to join together programs for aspiring head coaches and general managers that have run separately.

Pettine said he is hopeful other NFL coaches will begin similar programs regardless of what the league is doing.

“We didn’t get wrapped up in stuff,” he said. “To me, it was too important. We weren’t going to make a big deal out of not doing it. There was never any thought of that.”

‘That’s what you’re looking for’

Lockett, who is now the receivers coach at New Mexico, lauded the consistent professionalism in the Vikings’ three-day program, which begins with a tour of the spacious halls at TCO Performance Center.

Participants spend a Monday and Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the team’s facilities in the middle of spring practices, followed by a half day on a Wednesday.

Lockett found himself sitting in a receiver meeting, seeing how Jordan Addison, then a rookie, was being coached. He stood on the sideline and observed how practices were structured, how coaches spoke to their players and how an NFL team ran its daily operations.

“That’s what you’re looking for when you’re trying to figure out if this is what you want,” Lockett said.

The program now includes a separate itinerary for a strength and conditioning participant, Pettine said. Everyone else breaks into meetings with position coaches in their specialty. Lockett, a former receiver at San Diego State, met with Vikings receivers coach Keenan McCardell, who put him through a mock job interview that tested his football IQ.

“It’s third down, we need man-to-man coverage,” Lockett recalled. “ ‘What are you drawing up? Get on the board and draw that up.’ ”

‘Who you know’

Participants also give presentations and are told to leave time for questions afterward from a crowd that often includes O’Connell, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips and other assistant coaches. Pettine talks about coaching expectations and teaching methods.

During the final day, two Black assistants — running backs coach Curtis Modkins and defensive line coach Marcus Dixon — shared their journeys through the NFL ranks.

“There were times where they were basically in the same position,” Pettine said. “Mod was talking about how he was the Bill Walsh [intern] with the Cowboys and made an impression on coaches, which ended up getting him a job later on down the road.”

Pettine is hoping to create more of those networking opportunities.

Blanton, who was a 2012 fifth-round pick by the Vikings, also credited the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship for helping him land his first NFL job with the Saints this offseason.

Blanton was the Bill Walsh intern in 2023 under then-Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, who is now the Saints defensive coordinator. Kellen Moore, the Chargers offensive coordinator that year, is now the Saints head coach.

“Who you know is 95 percent of it,” Blanton said. “If I didn’t do the minority internship with Kellen and Staley, there’s probably zero percent chance I have this job. The value is huge because it’s all about who you know in this industry.”

Pettine also has supporting evidence for giving young and inexperienced coaches a chance.

When he was the head coach of the Browns in 2014 and ’15, Pettine gave two individuals their first NFL coaching jobs: Glenn, now the Jets head coach, and O’Connell, who was hired as the Cleveland quarterbacks coach.

“There’s a sense of paying it forward,” Pettine said. “That’s something that’s always been important for me. Football has provided me an unbelievable career and lifestyle. I grew up in a football family; dad was a high school coach for over 30 years, and I just love the game. I want to see it done the right way, so it’s always nice to be able to bring coaches in and kind of let them see that, ‘Hey, these are the standards.’ ”