Eric Bieniemy, Byron Leftwich among more than 60 nominees for NFL's Coach and Front Office Accelerator program

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich are among more than 60 diverse head coach and general manager candidates slated to attend the inaugural Coach and Front Office Accelerator program next week at the NFL spring meetings in Atlanta.

Each NFL team nominated at least one candidate to attend the two-day program, which is scheduled to take place on Monday and Tuesday to coincide with the NFL's meetings.

There also are two women from clubs who will attend, the Denver Broncos' Kelly Kleine, the executive director of football operations/special adviser to the GM, and Jacqueline Davidson, the Jacksonville Jaguars' director of football research.

The main goal of the program is to get minority candidates for head coach and GM openings face time with the league's highest-ranking decision-makers. The idea grew out of feedback the league's diversity committee received at the NFL scouting combine in March from candidates — some who were successful and some who were not — from the most recent coach/GM hiring cycle. Some of those candidates told the committee that one of the things that bothered them about the process was that the first time they ever met a team owner was when they went in to interview for the job.

To avoid tampering, guidelines will be in place for these networking sessions, with no job interviewing or hiring allowed. This is more of a «getting to know you'' initiative that should help both candidates and owners in the future.

»The NFL is committed to diversity and inclusion, and this program is the latest in a series of steps designed to improve our hiring practices and create opportunities for advancement," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell