Ex-players join Rams as part of Walsh program

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ST. LOUIS -- Four former NFL players have joined the Rams coaching staff this summer as part of the Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship program.

The participants include former Titans running back John Simon, who coaches at Southern Miss; former Titans defensive tackle Tony Brown, who is an assistant at Tennessee-Chattanooga; former Colts, Falcons and Jaguars linebacker Mike Peterson, an assistant at his alma mater, Florida; and former Bills, Redskins and Saints safety Pierson Prioleau, who coaches at Radford High School in Virginia.

The program's objective is to use NFL training camps, offseason workout programs and minicamps to give minority coaches opportunities to observe, participate and gain experience and ultimately get a full-time NFL coaching position.

Three current NFL head coaches -- Tampa Bay's Lovie Smith, Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin and Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis -- are former participants.

The program is named after the former 49ers coach who conceived the idea and helped the NFL put it in place in the late 1980s.

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Copyright 2014 by The Associated Press

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index

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