Offensive administrative assistant Al Dorsey takes a three-week position with the Raiders through the NFL Minority Fellowship program
By Ben Malcolmson
USCRipsIt
PeteCarroll.com
A member of the USC coaching staff is turning pro.
But this time, it's only temporary.
Offensive administrative assistant Al Dorsey has been selected to join the Oakland Raiders coaching staff for the next 17 days as part of the NFL’s Minority Fellowship program, beginning Wednesday and staying through Aug. 9 at the Raiders’ training camp in Napa.
Dorsey, who’s entering his third season with the Trojans, will be a guest coach with Oakland’s offensive staff, focusing specifically on the offensive line, tight ends and special teams.
“It’s a great opportunity to learn from the NFL coaches and see what it’s like over there,” said Dorsey, 32. “I just want to see what it’s like to coach in the NFL since I hear a lot of stories about how grueling and tough it is.
“I’m very grateful for the chance I’m getting so I’m going to do the best I can and take advantage of it.”
Dorsey will take part in all staff meetings, coach at practices and be completely immersed in the life of an NFL coach during the next two-plus weeks — including getting the minimal amount of sleep pro coaches notoriously get.
“I’m thinking it’ll be 15 to 16 hours of work every day,” Dorsey said. “I’m just going to be a lab rat and soak up everything I can so it can help me to be a better coach. I’ll maybe get three to four hours of sleep a night, but it’ll be worth it because it’ll be a great experience and give me more knowledge.”
Coach Pete Carroll encouraged Dorsey to apply for the fellowship program, which is offered through a handful of NFL teams each summer to give college coaches an opportunity to grow and hone their trade on the highest level.
“This fellowship is such a fantastic honor for Al and we’re very proud as a staff that he’s been accepted for this position,” Carroll said. “This should bring nothing but positive results down the road for him as a coach and as a person.”
Dorsey, who played linebacker at California in 1997-2000, will be reunited with several old faces on the Raider staff. Head coach Lane Kiffin was co-offensive coordinator at USC during Dorsey’s first year on staff; offensive line coach Tom Cable coached at Cal when Dorsey played there in the ’90s; and defensive line coach Keith Millard was Dorsey’s defensive coordinator in a spring professional football league seven years ago.
“This is a great opportunity for Al and it will expose him to all aspects of the National Football League — the players, the coaches and the different practice schedules,” said Kiffin, who’s entering his second season with the Raiders. “This is going to be very valuable for him because he’ll get to meet a lot of people and decide what direction he eventually wants to take.”
As excited as Dorsey says he is about the position, he said he has no idea what to expect in terms of the transition from coaching college players to professionals, especially considering the 32-year-old guest coach is younger than many of the players.
“The players are going to be like, ‘Man, you’re younger than me,’” Dorsey joked. “Some of those players are older than me. They’re my age or older, but I’m going to have to still coach.
“It’s going to be wild.”
• Ben Malcolmson is the Director of Online Media for USCRipsIt/PeteCarroll.com. You can contact him at Ben@PeteCarroll.com.
