The spring and summer of 2020 was a fraught time for college football coaches. Their sport was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic, cutting them off from recruiting future players and on-field interaction with their current players. Then George Floyd’s murder beneath the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis added to the angst.
In an attempt to stay connected with his peers, and using newly popular technology, then-San Jose State running backs coach Alonzo Carter started what was titled the “West Coast Zoom Clinic.” What began with about 35 running backs coaches talking football in the early weeks of the pandemic exploded into a movement of sorts. It became a conduit for hundreds of Black people in football, and other coaches of color, to come together—to discuss their sport and how they might improve their position within it.
