Moon Township, Pa. – Robert Morris University defensive line coach
Cornelius Coleman has received an invitation to join the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff during preseason camp through the NFL Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.
The Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship is in its 30th season of helping outstanding coaches gain exposure to NFL training camps and offseason workout programs. The program's objective is to use NFL clubs' training camps, offseason workout programs and minicamps to give talented coaches opportunities to observe, participate, gain experience and ultimately gain a full-time NFL coaching position.
"I hope to grasp a lot of different concepts and I look forward to the opportunity to work at the highest level, to improve and learn day-by-day," said Coleman. "I'm fortunate to have the chance to get a deeper understanding of their schemes. We run a lot of the same principles and now I have the opportunity to not only learn the techniques they are installing, but the methods they use to communicate with their players.
"My goal is to use those same tools with our men at Robert Morris, especially since we have a core group of young players that can grow with these techniques over the next few years. I'm looking forward to instilling those principles in camp and take it into our season."
Coleman will report to Steelers training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe along with the players on Thursday, July 27, and will remain with the squad through the first preseason game against the New York Giants. The fourth-year RMU coach will participate in all facets of the team's training camp sessions, from meetings to on-field instruction.
The former All-America selection at Waynesburg will return to the Colonials camp in mid-August, hoping to transfer what he learned with the Steelers to his young squad. Coleman has helped develop a pair of All-Northeast Conference picks on the defensive front, one in each of his three seasons on staff. Forrest Mason earned the honor in both 2014 and 2015 with
Ryan Lewis earning a position on the all-league team in 2016.
Coleman has served on the American Football Coaches Association Minority Committee, participated in the NFL-NCAA Future Head Coaches Summit in 2012 and 2015 and authored articles that have appeared in various coaching magazines.
Coleman was a four-year letterwinner at defensive end for Waynesburg University. He claimed an All-America honorable mention accolade along with All-Presidents Athletic Conference First Team honors after the 1999 season when he tied for the team lead in sacks and topped the squad in tackles for loss. Coleman was also a member of the first Yellow Jackets squad to claim a PAC Championship in 1998.
While Coleman is attending the Steeelers preseason camp, newly hired assistant coach Steve Fiadewornu will work with the Colonials defensive linemen. Fiadewornu was a three-year letterwinner (2014-16) and started 22 games. He had a career-best 23 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss as a senior.
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